Angel of Nanjing (Screenshot from Official Trailer on YouTube)Provided that China hawks in Congress haven’t convinced you the Chinese people are all diabolical communist footsoldiers, then the trailer for this documentary will bring a tear to your eye.
Mr. Chen Si, known as the Angel of Nanjing, has volunteered to patrol the Yangtze Bridge every day, and over a 21-year career, he has saved 469 people from committing suicide.
One of the most famous bridges in the country, it is also the world’s most popular location to commit suicide. Almost daily there are people lingering alone or wandering aimlessly along its sidewalk, and Chen engages them in conversation to test whether or not they are prospective jumpers.
Sometimes that’s all it takes, but as the footage shows below, it sometimes requires an awful lot more.
South China Morning Post reports that it started for Chen back in 2000, when he saw a desperate-looking girl wandering on the bridge. He was worried something might happen to her so he brought lunch for them to share and started to chat with her. He eventually paid for a bus ticket for her to go home, but realized that this was something that must happen all the time.
For the past 21 years, he’s crossed the bridge 10 times a day on his electric scooter wearing his red jacket with the words “cherish all life” written across the back, he’s charismatic, he’s determined, he can be almost rude, in a certain Chinese way, in his efforts saving people’s life, and he’s become an expert.
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“People with an extreme internal struggle don’t have relaxed body movements, their bodies look heavy,” Chen told the Chinese outlet News Weekly.
He’s caught suicidal people who’ve been cheated on by their spouses, those who can’t afford school, and many other reasons. He has spare rooms in his house to keep those he pulls off the bridge in a safe environment.
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His story was made into a Western documentary in 2015 which won over a half-dozen awards. Called Angel of Nanjing, it’s a gripping look into those on the margins of a rapidly changing Chinese society.
WATCH the trailer below…
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