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Wish Lanterns 

David Seddon

Alec Ash

Jill Waters

Wish Lanterns by Alec Ash: 3. Meaning

Wish Lanterns

3. Meaning

Wish Lanterns by Alec Ash

BBC Radio 4 Extra - Wish Lanterns by Alec Ash, 3. Meaning

China's  'one-child' generation of the 1980s are now turning 30. We follow four of them.

Exploring the lives of young Chinese and their search to escape the treadmill of exams and finding a job. Read by David Sneddon.

The Chinese youngsters search for more to life than the treadmill of exams and finding a job. They seek meaning in other realms - hipster fads, star signs, online gaming and religion. 

Dahai is a child of the military who grew up in a compound, Fred is a pampered daughter of the Party, Xiaoxiao grew up in the far north where her parents ran a fruit wholesalers, and Snail comes from a farming family and is the son of a rural migrant worker. All were infants when the tanks rolled through Beijing in 1989 and none really know much about their country's recent past. 

But the way China develops in the future is very much something that will affect their lives - and their behaviour and decisions will affect ours.

Written by Alec Ash.

Read by David Seddon.

Abridged and Produced by Jill Waters.

A Waters Company production for BBC Radio 4, first broadcast in August 2016.

BBC Radio 4 Extra

Your digital radio entertainment station showcasing the best in comedy and drama

Your digital radio entertainment station showcasing the best in comedy and drama. With recent favourites from BBC Radio 4.

Factual: Life Stories

Exploring the lives of young Chinese, the 'one-child' offspring of the 1980s.

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