Close Chinese families!

I found that generally Chinese families are close and extended.

They consist of husband, wife, and typically one child.

But often the grandparents and some uncles and aunties are living in the same house or close to each in the same neighbourhood.

The family members support each other in various ways including sharing meals and jobs.

Grandparents seem to take a major role in child rearing. Chinese working women will give birth and go back to work very quickly. A grandparent will look after the child for much of the week.

This picture was taken in a small rural town in Chongqing.

The mother of the child was busy running a small restaurant with the help of other family members.

The old man's role as a grandfather was to look after the young child while everyone else worked.

He seemed quite happy doing it - a good example of the family support that exists.

The Chinese Government introduced the one child policy in 1979.

You will find a lot of families with a single child in their early twenties or less.

This was introduced to reduce the rate of population growth. The Chinese I spoke to seemed to accept it without too much problem.

I did see some younger mothers carrying their child.

Sometimes they were working such as selling goods in the street.

I presume that they did not have the family support that many other Chinese people had.

However, their children still seemed well looked after.

The one child policy affects mainly the Han Chinese - the majority group in China. Minority groups are allowed to have two children, and possibly more in some rural areas.

The policy still exists today. However, if more than one child is born, the family can keep the child but have to pay a fine at the police station.

As children grow up and begin working, they are expected to help their family in every way.

Young Chinese adults will spend some of their savings on buying goods, such as washing machines, that their parents have not been able to afford before.

This young couple are friends of mine in Chongqing.

They are typical of the growing Chinese middle class.

They both have good jobs.

They have purchased their own apartment in Chongqing and seem pretty content with life.

The young people are optimistic about the future and are doing well.

But whatever happens, I think the Chinese family unit will remain very strong.