Chinese woman's plea for help killing pigs draws thousands to her village

中国女子求人帮忙杀猪 数千民众涌入其村庄

When Daidai realised her father was too old to slaughter two pigs for a traditional community feast in the run-up to Chinese New Year, she turned to social media.

当呆呆意识到父亲年纪太大，无法在春节前的传统社区宴席上屠宰两头猪时，她转向了社交媒体。

She didn't want him to feel bad.

她不想让父亲感到难过。

"Can anyone help me?" she asked on Douyin, China's version of Tiktok, at the end of last week. "My father is old. I am worried that he can't handle these pigs."

"有人能帮我吗？"她上周末在中国版抖音"抖音"上问道，"我父亲年纪大了，我担心他处理不了这些猪。"

Daidai, who's in her 20s, promised that those who came to their village, Qingfu, to assist would be treated to a pork banquet.

二十多岁的呆呆承诺，那些前来他们清福村帮忙的人将享受到一顿猪肉宴席。

In rural Sichuan and Chongqing, large community meals are an important part of culture, featuring twice-cooked pork, steamed ribs, soup and homemade liquor.

在四川和重庆的农村地区，大型社区聚餐是文化的重要组成部分，通常包括回锅肉、粉蒸排骨、汤和家酿白酒。

"Let me hold my head up high in our village," she said.

"让我在村里抬起头来做人（让我在村里扬眉吐气），"她说道。

Her appeal for help attracted more than a million likes and the response on the ground was like a scene from a cheesy feel-good movie, as thousands of cars poured in, carrying many more people than she needed for the task.

她的求助吸引了超过百万点赞，而现实中的响应如同暖心电影的桥段：数千辆汽车涌入村庄，载来的人数远超她所需。

So many responded that traffic jams have brought roads in this part of rural Chongqing in south-west China to a standstill. Drone images show carloads of people queuing up with rice crops on either side hoping to still enter Qingfu. Walking in from long distances has been a traffic-beating option for some.

响应者如此之多，以至于重庆西南部这一带的乡村道路已陷入瘫痪。无人机画面显示，载满人群的车辆在稻田夹道中排队等候进入青福村，部分人选择长途步行以避开拥堵。

Daidai posted that drivers coming into the area should be careful on the roads, especially those from the city unaccustomed to conditions in the countryside.

呆呆在发帖中提醒，进入该区域的司机需注意道路安全，特别是来自城市、不熟悉乡村路况的驾驶者。

"The atmosphere has been great. It reminded me of my childhood when my family still kept pigs. It has been years since I felt anything like that," one man, who drove more than 100 kilometres (65 miles) to get there, told the BBC.

"这里的气氛太好了，让我想起小时候家里养猪的日子，已经好多年没有过这种感觉了，"一位驱车 100 多公里赶来的男子向 BBC 这样说道。

He has seen licence plates from all over the country, he said.

他说，他已经看到了来自全国各地的车牌。

When the pig slaughter and subsequent mass banquet did happen, it was watched live online by more than 100,000 viewers, registering 20 million likes, and the local government embraced it as a flash-tourism moment.

杀猪宴最终如期举办时，超过十万网友在线观看了这场盛宴直播，收获两千万点赞。当地政府将其视为一次闪现式旅游热潮。

With many more people in town than two pigs could feed, tourism officials donated more pigs to meet the huge demand, and small restaurants have been serving crowds of visitors in outdoor seating areas.

由于到访人数远超两头猪能招待的规模，当地旅游部门捐赠了更多生猪以满足巨大需求，小型餐馆纷纷在户外场地为游客们提供餐饮服务。

Daidai said she thought maybe "a dozen" people would come to help

呆呆说，她原以为可能只有"十几个人"会来帮忙

Yet what this phenomenon has shown is how quickly a small matter can become something massive in the age of social media.

然而这一现象显示出，在社交媒体时代，一件小事能以多快的速度演变为一场大规模活动。

"I thought maybe a dozen people would come," Daidai told Chinese media. "But there have been too many to count."

"我以为可能只有十几个人会来，"呆呆告诉中国媒体，"但来的人太多，根本数不清。"

The response has also been driven by what seems to be a yearning from Chinese people to get back in touch with community cultural events, as well as a need for positive experiences when life can, at times, seem very dark.

这种反应背后，似乎还折射出中国人对重拾社区文化活动的向往，以及在生活有时显得黯淡之际对积极体验的渴求。

Daidai couldn't believe how quickly it's all happened. Last Friday she posted her request for help. By Saturday the response was so large that she went to the police to warn them that there could be disruption in the village and extra officers were brought in to manage the situation.

呆呆对这一切发展之快感到难以置信。上周五她发布了求助帖，到周六响应已如此热烈，以至于她不得不报警提醒可能出现的村庄秩序问题，当地也增派警力维持现场。

The banquet celebration, by then huge in size, went on for two days – 1,000 diners on 11 January became 2,000 the next day – with bonfires into the night and much partying, accompanied by a band.

这场盛宴规模持续扩大，持续了两天——1 月 11 日有 1000 人就餐，次日增至 2000 人——篝火彻夜燃烧，乐队助兴，狂欢不休。

Eventually, Daidai posted that her celebration was over, urging any more visitors to enjoy the region but not visit her home. After sleeping for only four hours over two days, she said she was exhausted.

最终呆呆发文宣布庆典结束，恳请后续访客游览当地风光但勿前往其住所。连续两天仅睡四小时后，她表示自己已精疲力尽。

However, it had been an incredible moment for her and her village.

不过，这对她和她的村庄来说都是一个不可思议的时刻。

To all the strangers who answered her call she said, "without your enthusiasm and passion, there would not have been a feast like this".

她对所有回应她求助的陌生人说，"没有你们的热情，就不会有这样一场盛宴。"

"For everyone who came, the feeling was like that of a big family. It was really warm, really healing and really meaningful."

"对所有到来的人来说，感觉就像一个大家庭。真的很温暖，很治愈，也很有意义。"

She thanked government officials and the police for allowing a sudden celebration of this size to proceed.

她感谢政府官员和警方允许这样一场突如其来的大型庆祝活动顺利举行。

It is already being predicted that the now famous Hechuan region, where her village is located, may try to turn this into a regular event, to tap into the enthusiasm for genuine, grass-roots interaction in a world where many feel isolated and removed from their culture.

人们已经开始预测，呆呆所在的合川区或许会尝试将这一活动常态化，以回应在这个许多人感到孤独疏离于自身文化的时代里，人们对真诚、草根互动所抱有的巨大热情。

One villager was quoted in the People's Daily as saying: "Here neighbours help each other. Today I might help you slaughter a pig at your place, tomorrow you will come to my place to do the same."

《人民日报》援引一位村民的话说：“在这里邻居互相帮忙。今天我可能在你家帮忙杀猪，明天你就会来我家做同样的事。”

As for Daidai's father, she said in an interview: "My dad is very happy. Seeing this many people arrive he had to borrow tables and chairs from other villagers. We've never experienced anything like this."

谈及呆呆的父亲时，她在采访中表示：“我爸爸非常开心。看到这么多人到来，他不得不向其他村民借桌椅。我们从未经历过这样的事。”