Down memory lane

In August 2019, his video about villagers exchanging sesame seeds for sesame oil from a peddler won a best performance award in a short video film festival hosted by videosharing platform Douyin. Director Ning Hao and director-actor Xu Zheng presented the award to him and his son onstage.

"The award made me think that all my hard work is worthwhile. It's a great honor and encouraged me to produce more short videos," he says.

"As the bread winner, I was putting all my energy into it and I didn't have a regular job. My family is still in debt due to my previous business. At that time, they wanted me to give up filming videos as they thought it was a waste of time."

Once he came back to his hometown, a village in Shandong, an 8-year-old recognized him. The boy was a fan and gave him snacks as gifts. "I want to pass on positive energy via my videos, especially when I find out that some of my fans are kids," he says.

He made a short video to introduce some toys and physical exercises that were once popular in his childhood. He says now, even in the rural areas, kids play with smartphones, and he wishes that children would do sport after class.