First of all, I am obsessed with Op Docs and look forward to them every week. Secondly, Junting's beautiful window into his family and homeland during this time is just what people need to watch to understand how a like we all are. (Some are funnier than others tho, your mom is hysterical!) Thank you for sharing!
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Please tell your family they are wonderful. You all have lucky genes :)
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Beautiful humanity, from your “wisest” (and funny) mom, to dinners and TV, to the little girl in the yellow jacket picking her nose. Could be every family in the world!
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Mommy's the best! Be like mommy.
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Thanks so much for this glimpse into your lives. A positive spirit like your mom is exactly what people need to get through this
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Thank you for sharing your family with us. It was a privilege to see their love and humor in action - love for you and each other.
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How can I not stan a prepared queen like Mommy?! And Dad: so calm and funny.
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For several days now I have read about and listened to tons of sadness, sickness, and depression...I needed these few minutes of your mothers smile. Your parents together are hilarious. I love their home! Love the view too. Thanks for those smiles...heading back into the NYTs of sadness.
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Watching this freaked me out. Here in Hong Kong GuangZhou is indeed only a few kilometers away, our families even speak the same language, but it feels like worlds apart. We have news that isn't controlled entirely by the central government. We have friends abroad to bring us extra supplies of masks when we run out. However, the family dynamic and your mom feels like a snippet of MY life. Sometimes drawing these parallels can make us more aware of the similarities and differences between us all.
God bless your family and hope the virus situation continues to improve.
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@Laura why do I always find Hong Kongers making everything political with comparisons and such? No doubt we are all human beings and this article was proving just that - we as humans are all capable of compassion and kindness and that is what is needed to get us through this ordeal. Also I’m pretty sure that those in China have friends and relatives abroad to send supplies as well....
Your parents are just lovely! They must miss you so much. And I really think your Mum should be an entertainer. She is super fun, and your Dad seems like a great sport. Thank-you for sharing this video.
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Your mother is incredibly charming! You are blessed to have been raised by such a great family.
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Your mom reminds me so much of mine, she ALWAYS has hunches and is always the smartest and luckiest Chinese lady in the room! Hehe. Thank you for the film, it was pretty amazing to see such a warm, real reflection of my own family life, even here in the states and in spite of circumstances. Glad you got your red envelope too.
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Very pleasant and entertaining.
The moral is: rich people have a better chance of dealing with public adversity without suffering greatly. It can even be fun.
Now let's see how the median income Chinese family is coping.
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Mom rules!!
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Your mum is amazing.
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The containment China provided slowed the virus spreading. Too bad the time saved was wasted because the U.S. did not take the threat seriously due to foolish Trump and his minions.
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Yes, it's about China, because they are the ones who unleashed a killer virus upon the rest of the planet. I don't see any positivity in that.
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Your Chinese-American brethren are facing a degree of fear and loathing as a result of what is happening in China. You should encourage Chinese people the world over to create a unified campaign against the wet markets that sell dogs, pangolins, and other wild animals for food in China, and in favor of press, speech, and other personal freedoms. People are fearful after SARS, MERS, and now COVID-19 originating in China, and the lack of freedoms and strict authoritarianism makes people doubt "official" information coming out of China. Do these things and the fear will largely evaporate.
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Exactly. Biden must be ready for the dirtiest, lying, and ugliest campaign ever. His entire team needs strategies and tactics to deal with every possible type of attack. And Joe needs to adopt and practice care and control in all he does. No improvising. He needs to be super prepared and stick to the plan. He's got the perfect mentor and role model to follow and learn from - President Barack Obama.
And we all need to do our part - to support and communicate positive, pro-Biden messages. There is only one goal - defeat the monster in the White House.
Your mother is a star! Thanks for this video. Humanizes the experience. Maybe you should make an entire film about your mother and her genes/smarts/luck? I'd watch that.
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The world's kookiest and bestest mommy. You are a lucky son.
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That was the cutest thing I have seen in a long time. I LOVE your parents, your Mom is a breath of fresh air.
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Your mom has a lot of personality! And a positive disposition. Way to go Mommy.
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Awww, I really like your parents! Such nice people.
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Your mom is so great! :)
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At least she didn’t cook bar soup.
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First off Zhou Junting is a lucky man to have such nice parents.
Secondly, I'm a bad person. I howled with laughter when the little girl pulled off her mask and started vigorously picking her nose. I'm sure they'll be fine, but still. If you have kids, consider getting a hazmat suit.
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Thank you for sharing. Good and no scrubbed film report.
But as my mother told me, as an Asian myself, when I was a kid. "Don't talk while your mouth is chewing." It's only a suggestion.
Beautifully done, thank you for this.
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Always amuses me how nobody nowadays finds amusement in BOOKS. They are deep, long lasting, affordable sojourns requiring little more than time and a literate mind.
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Thank you for sharing this look at life inside China during the crisis. Your mom is a star.
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Your mom is wonderful!
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Lovely thank you for creating and sharing.
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Pure art! Thank you Junting Zhou! Keep making films.
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Haha your Mom is an absolute legend! What a bubbly personality. Best of luck to you and yours.
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What a spirited optimistic family.
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I loved this inside view of what it’s been like in parts of China! Your mom is adorable!
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This was a beautiful, powerful and sweet video and yes "slice of life". May we all deal with whatever comes our way with this sort of grace and humor. Here is to Junting and his family, and may everyone have such a "Mommy" in their lives, or memories.
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A Mommy dearest, for real. A positive attitude like hers will help when many of us will be cocooning in the coming weeks and months.
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To those who have been following other vlogs from China about the covir-19 quarantine, this op-doc is not a flattering picture of the mother. Better ask someone who understand Cantonese to explain.
Soon Junting Zhou will have the opportunity to compare and contrast how China versus USA handle the covir-19 outbreak, despite the fact that he was not quarantined in the hot zone of Wuhan.
Why? I speak Cantonese and I don’t find anything wrong with it. The translation is quite spot on
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What a wonderful little film! Thank you so much. And your mother is adorable.
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At a human level this is heartwarming and uplifting. They are the most endearing and delightful family...how lucky for Junting Zhou to spend an extended period with them.
Of course -- not to detract from a wonderful story -- of China's 1.2 to 1.6 billion people, they're part of China's 1 Percent (if only American 1 Percenters could be so charming). Not that many Chinese families live in modern, sleek highrises, spacious flats with antique furniture, a refined (and uncluttered) esthetic, with contagious Joie de Vivre.
Shenzen is China's capital of prosperity, exceeding Singapore and Hong Kong for overall quality of life. Shenzen is the Big City Bright Lights that young Chinese flock to from interior provinces.
Even though the Op-Doc makes no claim that the family is typical of all or most Chinese families, what felt optimistic and reassuring is that by US standards they seem like a normal, well-off, educated family living next door.
The big reveal for me is how they relate to Beijing -- not as politically oppressive but as lamentable in-laws whose bickering no one should get involved in. China's leaders are the uncles and aunts running the business, which has been spectacularly successful. Though the in-laws are often cranky and ruthless, they do it for the good of the whole family so just mind our own booming business and keep out of the way.
For China it's a dangerous world: Uncle Xi is strong and will protect China from its enemies.
Works for them?
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@Yuri Asian On what basis can you assert that his family is the 1%. 1% of 1.4 billion is 14 millions, may be the top 20 or top 30 %.
To keep the numbers in perspectives, Car sales in China for 2019 was 20.7 million, 20.8, down from 22.3 millions in 2017.
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Thank you for this stunning film. I love how you told the story of your quarantine through such ordinary and intimate snippets of your time together.
I read Pearl S. Buck's The Good Earth when I was a young girl many years ago. Your film made me realize how my ideas of Chinese culture are still stuck in my childhood impressions. Of course, there are cultural differences, but I'm now more present to the commonalities--love of family, need for safety and security, community, humor, self-expression, and so on. Thank you again for opening my eyes.
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I've got the same feelings about the detachment of media and reality, though not exactly with the same mentality.
Trying to be as open-minded and informed as possible, I followed pretty much both sides of the political spectrums on Weibo, Twitter and subscribed to both the "nationalist tabloid" Global Times and the New York Times, along with many more western newspapers. Together, the pro-China side and bash-China side are giving me alternative realities, much like parallel universes.
Living in Beijing for most of my time, and spent more than six years in the US while two elections took place, I was blessed to know a bit of the both worlds, giving me some first-hand rule of thumbs to tell the credibility of the information I receive. I am disappointed to find that facts are always organized and interpreted to fit a narrative in this post-truth world. It usually takes me to wait for several days to read enough pieces from multiple sources on different sides to tell what is really happening. No one is telling the whole truth, just the part that goes with their narrative.
If you read Weibo the day that the doctor died, you would have the impression that CCP would crumble the next morning when you read so many pessimistic posts that night. But it didn't, somehow. Is the sentiment real? It is, but that's not all the sentiments out there. There's a bigger world out there which I don't know. It's the case for me, also the case for the people in other parts of the world.
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Absolutely gorgeous. I love your parents.
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Thanks for sharing the film of your Wuhan experience with your wonderful parents -- your adorable mom's optimism and humor made my day. Love that kind of rock-star mommy power (no doubt because of her great mommy genes).
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China's command economy and in effect command society is what you need when one is dealing with a pandemic. The Chinese have been able to do things that few other societies are capable of. Building two large equipped hospitals in a matter of days can only be done if the state can mobilize resources immediately and a huge scale.
Beyond the Corona Virus is the challenge of the hybrid command/market economy that China presents to the world. Will this model surpass Western forms of political economy and will it threaten human rights? The pandemic is bad, but is China's political model far more threatening even with its efficiencies?
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@Yankelnevich
Not really true. Great Britain imposed all sorts of controls on people during ww2 amd they worked just fine. It’s a myth that authoritarian regimes are more capable of engaging in mass control than democratic countries.
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This made me happy in a time of being anxious about flying. Great job. Thank you!
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Your mom has talent! Please let her know we all love her here and wish her and your dad the best.
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Thanks for sharing this. Loved it!
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Mom needs a reality show. Now. She’s fabulous!
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Your mom is a treasure!!! Thank you for this look into your time with them.
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Mommy is Marvelous! I loved this film. Thank you for sharing your experiences. Such a lovely family!
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Words can not describe how lovely this was to watch. I could have watched a full length documentary. I can get statistics and case numbers and advice from a million sources. But what I don’t see a lot of is real families, acting on the advice of health officials, being patient, safe and remaining positive.
So well done. More “stories” like these.
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Considering the subject, this was as delightful as it could be. Everyone should have a musical "Mommy" who's just as much fun if they have to be quarantined.
Thank you for filming and sharing this with us; I'd wondered what it was like to be in China right now. I hope you and your family will continue to be well.
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Thank you so much for sharing this. If we do have to be quarantined here in nyc I hope everyone can do it with such grace. And of course, moms are always one step ahead! Now, onto further critique of our government...!
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This was a fascinating slice of life during this time. I came to the comments to see if others loved "mommy" as much as I did, and I'm glad to see I'm not alone. She is delightful!
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wonderful insights. thank you for sharing your experience.
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Your mother is a delight! Thank you for this film – it’s perfect.
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Lovely short movie...and your mother is a star! Thank you for sharing this personal insight.
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You’ve shown us that security and comfort come from the people you’re with-I’m sure that not every moment was filled with song and joy, but a lot of your time was spent being as optimistic as possible. Your Mommy is a gem - staying strong, creative and resolute. Thank you for sharing a very personal experience (and thank you to your parents!)
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Masks are fun but the big deal is hand to hand. Mano et Mano Hand to face.
Of which there was plenty going on.
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This was a lovely short film! It made me smile and laugh. So unexpected and joyful in the midst of a very difficult time. I could watch your mother for hours! She's a delight! Please do more of this. Wishing you and your family all the best.
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Your mother is wonderful and I admire her resourcefulness and spirit! Thank you for sharing this with us.
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"Mommy is very incredible."
She is indeed and what a treasure! Immensely enjoyed your film.
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One of my friends has a similar story. He also went to visit his parents in Guangzhou, and has been locked down for almost 6 weeks. We have been emailing. He seemed in some despair, but I told him I was honored to know him as he went through this, especially as his was a true voice of what I think many of us here in the U.S. may soon be experiencing. I think this helped. We are all in this together, aren’t we?
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Mommy is a national treasure. Good luck to your family.
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Wonderful parents. Love your mom! I tell my family the same thing - they are lucky to have me. :-) I spotted this nightmare coming in mid January, immediately prepared for my family - medicine, created a pantry, bought baking supplies. They thought I was nuts. This “mommy” also had masks from years ago already, because of some other scare, probably expired now. But we have enough & can enjoy our days together as we sequester because of a very elderly and frail loved one in our midst.
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But overall it went well, right?
Yes, people died, but it certainly could have been worse. DID the Red Cross keep masks away from people? My understanding is that masks are not recommended for the use of regular people, where they do no good, but just for medical people who need them badly and in places were running out of them.
I imagine the gap between the 'positive' messages from the government and the 'sad' messages from social media was quite the dissonance.
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I loved this too especially when I heard the familiar dialect and saw the street views (my home province too). Thank you for posting this. "The difference between foreigners and us is that we praise our government and the foreigners criticize their government". Love it!
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Most adorable mom ever? This made me smile.
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@Ess that’s exactly what I thought! We need to see more of her :)
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This was an unexpected film that made me smile and laugh — I would love to see more. Your mom is hilarious and I’m sure you have ample material from her alone to make a full-length film. Also, I loved the piano music. It really set the tone. Great work!
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That was the highlight of my day. Thank you for making this. And my best to your family.
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Great video. Helpful in a time like this.
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Thank you for sharing. I need more real life stories about this outbreak right now.
My husband and I know people quarantined in Kirkland and Seattle right now. We are practicing “social distancing” and are working from home till April 1st. I am so grateful for my situation vs. what others have/are going through.
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Thanks for sharing your story. I absolutely LOVED your parents, and your mom is just adorable. What wonderful snippets of family life amidst trying times, with unflagging positivity and good humor, and clearly lots of love.
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