The documentary 'Fish For Future' was created on the occasion of the 10th anniversary of the Belt and Road Initiative.
Yohana, the protagonist of the documentary, is from Tanzania, Africa. He is studying for a master's degree at the Freshwater Fisheries Research Center of Chinese Academy of Fishery Sciences. Yohana grew up on the shores of Lake Victoria, the second largest freshwater lake in the world, so he has been interested in fish since he was a child.
After graduating from university, he worked in Tanzania's fisheries sector.In fact, in addition to working for the government,Yohana has another dream: he wants to build two fish ponds and become a 'pond owner'. However, his late father wanted him to become a medical professor. How does Yohana choose between being a professor and being a pond master?
The documentary is narrated from the first-hand perspective of African students. Through real images, it reflects the stance of foreigners who know China, understand China, and are friendly to China.
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LifestyleTranscript
00:00What can we do?
00:16Actually, this is the first experience to me.
00:25They don't have wings.
00:27That one is the bigger one.
00:33In our country, capture fisheries is stagnant for almost 20 to 30 years.
00:43China globally is now the leading country in aquaculture production.
00:50Now, in Chinese rules, is it allowed to be used by fishermen?
00:55In China, along this side of the river, there are no fishermen.
01:01I believed, once I come here to China, I will learn a lot about aquaculture.
01:09You know, we were there in Africa and we have been hearing,
01:13oh, Chinese people are very kind, Chinese people are good people.
01:17So I was curious to come here and meet new people.
01:20Guess what? Once I arrived here, I met, wow, life is good and people are very nice.
01:36I want to study further, day to day.
01:39The more we get knowledgeable, the more we will deliver back to our country.
01:50In the next episode
02:01Boss, we want this one.
02:10Thank you.
02:13Hello, are you students or engineers?
02:17No, we are students.
02:18Hi.
02:21She knows English.
02:23Very well.
02:26I am Johanna, an international student majoring in fisheries.
02:48Amen.
02:53I have been in China for almost a year.
03:07Before I came to China, I often read a lot about China's fishing industry from the news and FAO reports.
03:15So I knew exactly China is doing good in development of fisheries sector, specifically aquaculture.
03:33On campus, I have experienced two different lifestyles.
03:38We had a moment where we were attending classes here.
03:42Now we started this another era of research and experiments.
03:50In my country, we are still facing a number of challenges in terms of feeding technology, seed quality and diseases.
04:00In addition to learning theories, professors often take us out to practice.
04:11Oh, you can choose your seat.
04:24This is my first study tour since I came to China.
04:32They say you are handsome.
04:42This one.
04:46Many people are curious about my scarf.
04:49You know, this is the cultural symbol of my country.
04:58I grew up on the shores of Lake Victoria, the second largest freshwater lake in the world.
05:05It is a very beautiful lake which supports African inland fisheries.
05:11When I was a child, I liked to play in water and catch fish with my friends.
05:17Every time I caught fish, I was very happy.
05:20From then on, I decided to learn and get knowledge on how to raise fish.
05:26I wanted to be a master of fish ponds.
05:34But when I told my late father about this idea, he opposed me.
05:42The origin of tilapia is in Africa.
05:46It is one of the main economic fish in my country.
05:50However, I heard from the professor that tilapia farming technology here is very developed.
05:59Hello.
06:01Hello.
06:02So I wanted to come and see and experience what I have been hearing.
06:22Hello.
06:24What are you doing?
06:26We are collecting the fish today.
06:29Oh, my God. This is the dream fish pond.
06:48Oh, my God. This is the dream fish pond.
06:58They are very big.
07:00I think they weigh more than one kilogram.
07:03We are using four pieces of fish to weigh one kilogram.
07:08But here you can see fish is more than one kilogram.
07:21The fish pond in front of me is known as fish king by the locals.
07:29In 1966, tilapia was the first fish in China.
07:33Tilapia is a big fish.
07:35In Guangdong, there are only two people who raise tilapia.
07:38One is Jiang Shan, and the other is my father.
07:42I admire him very much.
07:44Not only having that he has such a huge industry,
07:48but also having that he and his father had the same dream.
07:54In my family, my father wanted me to study medicine more than fisheries.
08:00He wanted me to become a professor in that field of medicine.
08:05During that time in my country, medicine was one of the respected professionals.
08:12If you mention that I'm a doctor, I'm a lawyer, or I'm an engineer,
08:18then you receive a certain respect.
08:20Parents don't want to advise their children to pursue fishery
08:25because they believe that employment is not readily available.
08:29We thought fish farming is too difficult.
08:32No future and no fortune.
08:40The development of tilapia in China
08:42has been similar to the development of tilapia in Africa
08:47since 1966 to 1985.
08:50The development of tilapia in China began in 1985
08:54with the improvement of tilapia species.
08:58So in reality, it is not that the fishery has no future.
09:03It is because of lack of technology,
09:06especially breeding techniques.
09:09There are very few fry breeding farms in our country.
09:13The technology is just beginning to develop.
09:39This is my wife Dina and my daughter Cecilia.
09:44We always make video calls whenever we are free.
10:09My wife has been very supportive of my dreams.
10:13She has been open-minded about my ideas,
10:16motivating, cheering me up,
10:18compassionate, understanding,
10:20and helping me to visualize my goals.
10:24She gave me a lot of encouragement to come here to study.
10:29The fishpond's owner is ready to take us into the fishpond
10:34and teach us how to pick genetically strong breeding fish.
10:41I like this practice
10:44because then I can embrace the whole fishpond.
10:50How do you catch fish?
10:52Then I can embrace the whole fishpond.
10:58However, my friend seems to be a little bit scared.
11:01Did you see my new hairstyle?
11:16Yolanda is from Botswana,
11:19another beautiful African country.
11:22Unlike my country,
11:25more than 60% of her country is a desert.
11:28She never had the opportunity to learn to swim,
11:32so she was a little bit afraid of water.
11:59Seems like easy, but it's not easy.
12:11Look at this fish.
12:13It's beautiful.
12:15Yeah.
12:17Two holes.
12:19When we choose to breed fish,
12:21we need to consider several aspects.
12:23First, we need to consider the size of the fish.
12:25Second, we need to consider its age
12:26and also the size of the back fins.
12:29Generally, there are 16 or 17 fins.
12:39The fishpond's owner is willing to share his experience in fish farming
12:44as good as the professors in our college.
12:48They are all ready to help us get a useful knowledge about fish.
12:57So, that is to be 17 back fins,
13:00that means the fish will be big, will be long.
13:26The fishpond's owner is called the professor.
13:30I can seem to find my father's expectations for me.
13:35This is my father.
13:38This photo was taken the year before his death.
13:44Although I didn't become a medical doctor as my father wanted,
13:49I want to be a successful master of fishponds
13:53and be called a professor in the future like Professor Lee.
14:03I will stick to my dream
14:05and I think my father's dream will be realized in another way in the future.
14:22The next day
14:28Let's do it.
14:30Three, two, one.
14:34Now!
14:36Happy birthday!
14:47You are a good man.
14:48You are a good man.
14:57Robert is my best friend in China
15:00and also the classmate of Yolanda and me at FFRC.
15:06Today is his birthday.
15:08I have prepared a surprise for him.
15:15After coming to China,
15:16I learned a lot of interesting Chinese words
15:20such as
15:22I chose this one specifically.
15:25I think he would like it.
15:27Who told you that I like cars?
15:32Happy birthday!
15:34Thank you so much.
15:38The good thing with Chinese cake
15:41is very nice
15:42and this one is not sweet like those back home.
15:48Actually, in China,
15:50the highest compliment that we give for dessert
15:54is that it's not so sweet.
15:58So, in China, people don't like sugar
16:03except Wuxi.
16:06Wuxi loves sugar.
16:13I spent most of my study abroad life in Wuxi,
16:18a sweet city.
16:21My college is here,
16:23one of the top fisheries colleges in China.
16:26My fellow students here are from different countries
16:30but we live as a family.
16:37Through continuous studies and practice,
16:39we have learned a lot of knowledge in aquaculture technology
16:43and gained a lot of useful experience.
16:49I think I'm one step closer to my dream
16:53of being a master of fish pots.
17:00Time flies fast.
17:02I'll be moving to the second year of my study soon
17:06so I needed to meet the new professor as my supervisor in advance.
17:12But I didn't expect that the first time we met,
17:16something unexpected would happen.
17:24We were actually reported.
17:31Is it allowed to be used by fishermen?
17:33Fishermen are using it.
17:35In China, along this side of the river, there are no fishermen.
17:43Fishing is not allowed in some fresh waters of China.
17:47The professor said that this measure is to protect
17:51the ecological resources and the environment.
17:54Our survey boat was mistaken for a fishing boat.
17:58This was a misunderstanding.
18:00This is Taiho Lake.
18:02We are here. It is connected with Yangtze River.
18:05This is Yangtze River?
18:07Yes, outside is Yangtze River.
18:09So we are very near to Yangtze River.
18:11Very near.
18:13The professor suggested that I visit the Yangtze River
18:16so that I can understand better the significance of ecological protection.
18:21So you know, even my major, when I was a master,
18:25it is the conservation of Yangtze Finnish poppies.
18:29I spent a lot of time on this river.
18:34Now you can see.
18:36Oh, it's very big.
18:38Right?
18:39It's very wide.
18:40It's very wide.
18:42Oh, you can see there.
18:44There are a lot of poppies.
18:46It's very wide.
18:48Oh, you can see there.
18:50They are filming.
19:09They are welcoming you.
19:10They are welcoming you.
19:16That's a very nice view.
19:18You can see the buildings behind.
19:20They bring a very nice view.
19:23It has reminded me back home about Lake Victoria.
19:27Seeing this big river, I seemed to understand why the professor let me come here.
19:34Oh, is that a police boat?
19:38Like the Yangtze River, Lake Victoria in my country is also facing a natural resource crisis.
19:46For a long time in the past, people kept fishing from the lake every day,
19:52but did not pay attention to the protection of fishery resources.
19:57In our country, capture fisheries is stagnant for almost 20 to 30 years.
20:04So an excellent professional in the field of fisheries should not only learn about aquaculture,
20:11but also understand ecological protection.
20:15I still have a lot to learn.
20:34Now?
20:47I often make video calls with my family at around 2 a.m.
20:52because we have a five-hour time difference.
20:55No one knows how much I miss them.
20:58I want to see them every day.
21:04Sometimes when I miss my hometown, I call my friend Robert to walk around the Taihu Lake.
21:15After I persuaded my father to let me study fisheries,
21:20I promised him to support my young brother to study medicine.
21:24I want to become the master of fishponds as soon as possible,
21:28so that apart from imparting this knowledge to my community and the country at large,
21:34but also to earn more money and improve my family life.
21:43Now my young brother is studying medicine in Tanzania.
21:47I am sure he will fulfill my father's expectation very soon,
21:51and I will also break the stereotypes of fish farming
21:54and become a respectable fisheries professor.
22:24Your beautiful eyes are like the moon in my palm.
22:29Your beautiful eyes are like the moon in my palm.
22:38My study abroad life is still going on.
22:41Next year, Yolanda, Robert and I will graduate.
22:47Hey, I see the flag of Tanzania.
22:55This?
22:57Oh, yeah.
22:59Yeah, yeah, yeah.
23:01I found mine.
23:03Where?
23:05There it is.
23:07Oh, mine also here.
23:11I think no matter what the original intention is,
23:15we have come from all over the world,
23:18met in China and gathered in Wuxi
23:21in order to make the future of ourselves,
23:24our family and our country brighter
23:27and make our life better.