China News Service, Putian, February 2, Title: "Foreign Wife" Becomes a Blogger: Use Short Videos to Record Chinese Rural Life

　　Author Ye Qiuyun

　　"HELLO, hello everyone, I am Katya..." The Spring Festival of the Year of the Dragon in the Chinese Lunar Calendar is approaching. Katya, the "foreign daughter-in-law", specially wore a red dress, waved her hands in front of the camera and greeted the audience with a smile on her face. In her live broadcast room, the words "Chinese Year·Chinese Dragon" are particularly eye-catching.

On January 29, Katya, the "foreign daughter-in-law" from Ukraine, was preparing to appear on the live broadcast. Photo by China News Service reporter Lu Ming

　　In Xipukou Village, Shanting Town, Meizhou Bay North Shore Economic Development Zone, Putian City, Fujian Province, this "foreign daughter-in-law" from Ukraine is a household name. Online, her Douyin account "Chinese Wife Kajia" has more than 600,000 fans.

　　"I like China very much, especially living in Putian. Everything here is very good." In a recent interview with a reporter from China News Service, Katya spoke Mandarin with a "Putian accent" and said, "Being a Chinese daughter-in-law So happy".

　　In the summer of 2015, Katya, who was a sophomore at Kyiv University in Ukraine, received a call from her mother and learned that there was a very good Chinese guy (Liao Ruijie) in the factory where her mother worked. Her mother asked her to go back to Uman to meet him. “I grew up in a small town in Uman and rarely saw Chinese people, so I was very curious,” Katya said.

　　"When we met for the first time, I wondered why there was such a young girl in the factory. Did she come here to apply for a job?" Liao Ruijie mentioned this with a bit of shyness on his face after many years.

　　At that time, Katya could not speak Chinese, and Liao Ruijie could not speak Ukrainian or English. Therefore, when the two met for the first time, translator Jonny was present. "The translation software at that time was relatively backward and could not translate our conversations very well." In order to overcome the language barrier, Katya began to learn Chinese by herself when she returned to school. "I was most afraid of learning the tones of Chinese Pinyin." She smiled and narrowed her eyes when talking about the interesting things she learned while studying.

　　"Every weekend after that, I returned to Uman from Kiev to meet Ruijie." In this way, the two young people got closer and closer, and their wedding was held in Uman in May 2016. In 2022, the family returned to Putian to settle down, and Katya has now fully integrated into life in rural China.

On January 29, Liao Ruijie and Katya’s family took a group photo in front of their home. Photo by China News Service reporter Lu Ming

　　"Use this vegetable (lettuce) to make a salad, wow! I keep talking and my mouth is watering." Katya chatted with reporters while pouring water in the vegetable field in front of her home.

　　In the short video of "Chinese Daughter-in-law Katja", Katja grows vegetables, watering, going to sea with her mother-in-law, and cooking delicious food... The short video is shot around her daily life in Putian. She expressed that she hopes to record her life in rural Putian so that netizens at home and abroad can see the real Chinese countryside.

　　Putian, located in the central coastal area of ​​Fujian, is a famous hometown of overseas Chinese in China. There are as many as 1.5 million overseas Chinese in Putian. Kajia said that the small Western-style buildings that can be seen everywhere in the village were all built by Putian people who went out to do business and returned to their hometown. "When I came here for the first time, I was shocked."

　　"My besties and friends are very happy when they see the video I posted. They said that although they don't understand, they know that I am living a good life in China." Katya's video combines Chinese food culture, traditional customs, etc. spread to Ukraine and the world.

On January 29, Katya and her mother, dressed in red, went to the market to buy new year's goods. Photo by China News Service reporter Lu Ming

　　The Putian people's "year" starts from the "Tail Ya" on the 16th day of the twelfth lunar month and ends with the "Tou Ya" on the second day of February, which lasts for more than 40 days. Katya brought her mother from Ukraine to Putian to celebrate the New Year, and they went to the market to buy new year's goods together.

　　At the market, Katya and her mother lingered in front of the Spring Festival jewelry stalls. From time to time they picked up Chinese knots, red lanterns, etc. and looked at them carefully and couldn't put them down. Katya told reporters that her mother was very happy to come to China because there were many delicious foods, and the Putian cuisine cooked by her mother-in-law was very delicious.

　　The Putian people's more than a month-long Spring Festival Lantern Festival folk carnival is even more colorful, with "different styles in ten miles, and one custom in each village." Mazu’s golden body patrols the border, builds orange pagodas to pray for blessings, puts up brown sedan chairs and jumps into the fire, and thousands of people carry thousands of dishes... Liao Ruijie, who is responsible for shooting the short video, said that Putian’s traditional folk activities during the New Year are very special Now, he and Kajia are preparing to launch a folk experience video feature that will focus on Putian’s unique annual customs.

　　"Come to 'Chinese Daughter-in-law Katya' and follow me to experience the Chinese New Year." Katja said that during the Spring Festival, she will take her mother to Xiamen, Fuzhou and other places to visit the beautiful scenery of Fujian and experience Fujian. food, history and culture. (over)