Humans of China: "I Am 90 Years Old. I Am No Longer Able to Work"

This article comes from Humans of China (WeChat ID: humans-of-china), which aims to document and tell the stories of the many varied people of this vast country, one individual at a time. Both of the ladies below live in Longsheng, a village tucked among the rice terraces of Guangxi.

I am 90 years old. I am no longer able to work.

I live in one of the oldest houses in this village. It's around 50 years old and there are five of us who live here altogether. It's made of wood and balances on stilts as we live close to the river. The house is filled with old things and I open it for people to see to make a little money.

Since the tourists have started visiting our village we can all make money and we can live quite well. I also sell some souvenirs, and I am happy when people buy them. My two children have opened a restaurant which serves some local and traditional foods.

As I have grown older life has become better, but when I was younger we were poor and we couldn't afford simple things such as salt. I married my husband when I was 20 but it wasn't arranged. We had the chance to find our own husbands back then, unlike others at that time in China. We worked hard farming, and my body often aches after years of hard work. My husband died five years ago in this old house. I have some fond memories of him and us together.

I cut my hair once at the age of 18. When I was younger my hair was so long and very beautiful. When I took it down it would reach the floor and even there it would coil up. My hair started to fall out as I grew older, but I still kept those hairs that fell out. Some young girls here still follow tradition and keep their hair long but my daughter doesn’t.

I made the clothes that I am wearing when I was younger. My mum taught me how to make clothes; we would use an old wooden machine to make detailed patterns which took a long time to make but was worth the effort.

At around 60, we stop wearing bright red or pink clothes. Instead, we wear black with just a little color sown into the collar or cuffs.

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My husband is 93 and he can’t speak Chinese very well. Up until a few years ago nor could I. Since tourists have started visiting us I have had to learn, otherwise, I can’t sell souvenirs to them.

I am 10 years younger than my husband. He thought my long hair was very beautiful when I was younger. If I didn’t have long hair back then I don't think I would have been able to marry him. When we were younger, pretty much all ladies we knew had long hair. The ones that didn’t, belonged to another minority which he wouldn't have married into anyway.

My hair is shorter than before, as with old age some has fallen out. All the hair that falls out is kept and when we die we are buried with it on top of our heads.

Life here is much easier than when we were farmers and I am very happy as I can still spend time with my husband even though I am old.

READ: "After We Die We Will Be Dressed in Brand New Clothes"

Photos courtesy of Cameron Hack