For the first time this year, I went to the countryside with my mother to celebrate New Year's Eve. In my mind, the countryside is supposed to be very "rustic". There are no modern shopping malls, no first-class recreational facilities, and even the toilets are of the most rudimentary kind.
On the second day of the Chinese New Year, my cousin said to me, "Let's go to the town to watch a movie." I was a little surprised that there were still people watching movies on New Year's Day in a small town in the countryside.
Getting into my cousin's car, in about 10 minutes, we arrived in town. Cousin said that the square here is the commercial center of our town. Although it was Chinese New Year time, many stores were still open as usual. Especially the KFC restaurant, which was packed with people and long lines of customers. And more people, carrying their plates, had a hard time finding an empty seat to sit down and dine. My cousin stood in line for more than 10 minutes to get 2 bags of fries.
We went up to the 2nd floor of the theater with my cousin and I said, "Cousin, we haven't bought our tickets yet, have we?" My cousin smiled slightly, "I bought them online, the seats are still available, they're right in the middle and it's a 3D movie."
After entering the movie theater, I, a city dweller, felt a little bit like "Liu Laowai entering the Grand View Garden": a combination of rich European romantic and oriental aesthetic style design, opulent decorations, comfortable and spacious double sofas, as well as free WiFi.
Prior to the movie, I took a close look at the seats around me. The movie theater, which has about 100 people, is surprisingly full!
The movie we watched with my cousin was The Greatest Showman. In fact, in my opinion, to be able to watch the new New Year's Eve movie in such a nice movie theater in the countryside, the quality of the movie is no longer so important. What is important is a kind of cultural quality enhancement for the countryside people to celebrate the New Year.
On the way back, my cousin told me that this New Year's Eve, after dinner, fewer people in the village set off fireworks and played mahjong, and there were more square dancers outdoors. And the town's movie theater, almost full. Nowadays, moviegoers are not only couples in love, but also parents with their children, young people with the elderly, and even the whole family to see a movie together. It's a stark contrast to decades ago, when village people watched open-air movies on the threshing floor.
The countryside is changing, and the way country people spend New Year's Eve is changing. The hot movie theaters in small towns are a true reflection of today's countryside.