What is China? Family and home call out to Chinese at Spring Festival

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Each one of these journeys is personal – reuniting with family and friends leaving the troubles of work behind. CGTN correspondent Nathan King follows one young man in Sichuan - down on his luck and longing for home.

For most of the time, migrant worker Qiu Zhongjun lives in a dormitory that sleeps five other men. Qiu longs for his other home - high in the hills of rural Sichuan where a family he rarely sees depends on him.

His job as deliveryman has ended. His bosses let him go after customer complaints and the theft of a scooter. This Spring Festival he barely has enough money to get home, but he goes anyway and we travel with him.

Hours and hours on the road – then a hike up into the hills - scenic Sichuan at its best. At last a reunion with his five-year-old son, Qiu’s whole family and village have turned out to greet him.

A pig is killed for a feast. This is a highlight of the year in this rural community. It will feed all these people, not just for today and Spring Festival – but all year. This meat will be smoked for three month using traditional cooking techniques.

Back in Chengdu, Qiu may feel like a loser but here, he is important – the center of a family and village. Taking charge, he prepares the pork in traditional Sichuan style. The wood-burning stove blazing, the whole family prepares the feast: spice, sizzle, and smells engulf the farmhouse.

The meal is served – generations united for the first time in months. They celebrate the bounty they have made with their own hands.

So whatever troubles Qiu is facing in the future, now is a time to forget them and come together as a family. The pig has been killed, the eating has begun, and so has Spring Festival.

1512km