UP THE YANGTZE

UP THE YANGTZE gives you a beautifully constructed, first-hand look at the people displaced by China’s Three Gorges Dam. The documentary examines how modernization can bring national advancement while placing a heavy burden on struggling families. It also offers a strong message about work ethic, personal strength, and the strain change places on the human heart.

The film’s Christian elements are especially meaningful. An older Catholic woman prays for families and rebellious teenagers, asking that young people learn to respect their struggling parents. The documentary also presents suffering peasants who continue pressing on with honor.

The content requires discernment, especially for younger viewers. Older teens and adults who can engage its difficult material thoughtfully should take the trip; families with younger children should choose something else.

The Three Gorges Dam symbolizes China’s economic advancement, but its construction floods the city of Fung Du and forces two million people to relocate. UP THE YANGTZE follows Jerry Bo Yu Chen and his family as they prepare to leave their home near the Yangtze River.

Their teenage daughter, Cindy Shui Yu, must work on the cruise ship Victoria Queen to help support the family, while her younger brother dreams of attending middle school. The documentary also follows Cindy’s adjustment to shipboard work and another young person’s ambitions.

Three stars means this is a strong, worthwhile documentary with some limitations. UP THE YANGTZE is beautifully filmed and gives a thoughtful, first-hand look at modern China and the price paid for its movement into the 21st century.

The film’s strength is its focus on two socially diverse individuals and the way their lives reveal personal strength, adversity, slothfulness, and change. Its treatment of capitalism and communism remains neutral. The documentary’s most lasting achievement is showing how economic advancement affects real families.

UP THE YANGTZE presents a mixed worldview. It discusses capitalism and communism neutrally while including both Confucian and Christian elements. The film opens with a quote from Confucius about learning wisdom through reflection, imitation, and experience.

Its strongest moral emphasis falls on work ethic, endurance, family responsibility, and respect for struggling parents. The older Catholic woman’s prayers are unselfish and filled with abiding faith. Her home is described as a sanctuary to the Lord, and she prays that young people will stop being self-centered.

The documentary also shows the human cost of modernization. China’s economic advancement is connected to displacement, corruption, and families forced to make painful sacrifices. The film does not present a specifically biblical analysis of government or economics, but it does honor perseverance through suffering. Scripture says of Christ, “Although he was a son, he learned obedience through what he suffered” (Hebrews 5:8).

UP THE YANGTZE is a thoughtful, beautifully filmed documentary about modernization, sacrifice, family, and perseverance. Its content calls for discernment, but older teens and adults can find much to consider here. Our answer is WORTH THE TRIP — OLDER TEENS AND ADULTS.