"In the past, grown children were often dependent on their parents. Now those children have become more independent in building their own futures. Marriages are based increasingly more on love than on prearrangement."
She approves.
It was during the Japanese occupation that Cai met her husband. Theirs was a bond forged through shared hardships and difficulties, but sadly, she became a widow early on.
Cai likes the one-child policy.
"It allows the child to reap the undivided attention of the parents," she says. She, herself, has one child and one grandchild. For them, she feels, the future of China holds great promise.
Name: Fu Lei
Age: 74
Occupation: retired, formerly clerk
"I came to this city in 1938 when I was 13. Beijing was such a dirty city. There were no high buildings, let alone green belts. In the winter when the wind blew, people couldn't open their eyes.
"People riding bicycles or even walking the street used gauze kerchiefs to protect their faces from the dust. Just like Lao She wrote, the city was wu2 feng1 san1 chi3 tu3, you3 yu3 yi4 jie1 ni2. Without wind, the dust is as high as a meter. If it rains, the streets will be covered with mud.
"But I still like this city as it is full of history, full of ancient things. I used to play with my little sister on the ancient city wall. Children today don't have this chance.
"Then my father died. My mother, my sister and I lived a very hard life. When I was in school, I ate lunch at the dining room. Every time, I bought the cheapest dishes to squeeze a little money to give back to my mother at the end of the month.
"I graduated from high-school and gained a place at Furen University. Because of money problems, I had to give that up and find a job.
"Without a father and a brother, my sister and I had to buy rice for the family. As rice supply was limited at that time, everyone would elbow their way to the front and grab the rice.
"We weren't as strong as the pushy men, and we often went back home crying empty-handed. Although I had a job, life was still so hard. I remember a cartoon in the newspaper of a car and a plane. The car on the ground represented the rise in salaries, and the soaring plane represented prices.
"When Beijing greeted its liberation, I was the mother of two babies. To tell you the truth, I had never felt such a spiritual release. It was the liberation of the soul, the liberation of women. Before '49, married women always faced the dilemma of losing their jobs. Now everybody is really equal.
"In the early 1950s, the life was still hard. I lived in a family of three generations. The happiest thing for me was to let everyone get enough to eat and enough to wear.
"You may find this hard to believe, but at that time, I had only one good shirt and I wore it only when I went to work. Going home, I washed it and changed into a humble one.
"I used to worry about the weather a lot, because if it rained, I had to dry it by the fire. My work unit was opposite Wangfujing. When Wangfujing Shopping Center opened to business for the first time, I went there, almost buying nothing except one toy watch, and I hesitated about which child to give it to.
"It goes without saying, things have changed completely. I am already tired of fish and meat. All kinds of clothes fill my wardrobe. My children have grown up, as have their children.
"The only thing I worry about now is how to make my life more interesting, more meaningful. Even in my mid '70s, I still think I am young at heart. I want to live longer, enjoy life, witness the further construction this city."
Name: Guo Shizhang
Age:75
Occupation: retired, formerly pharmaceutical researcher
"It was the Chinese Communist Party who led the Chinese people in overthrowing the three big mountains: imperialism, feudalism and bureaucrat-capitalism, which weighed down on the backs of the Chinese people before liberation.
"It was Chairman Mao who rescued the Chinese people from the abyss of misery, and made the Chinese people stand up and be masters of their fate.
"I am 75, so I have experienced three 'dynasties'. The Japanese occupation, the Kuomintang period and liberation. The three regimes made a world of difference to our lives. In old society, the poor had no social status and it was very hard to make a living.
"I left home and began my apprenticeship in a Chinese pharmacy at the age of 12 in 1936. During three years' hard times, the poor quality food barely appeased my aching belly. I couldn't get any pay and my family had to supply my clothes. One little mistake would lead to endless trouble, such as being beaten.
"The apprentice life in other fields was even worse. One of my friends apprenticed in a grocery. He was not allowed to talk at random. Before he started his apprenticeship, he had to sign a death contract, which said if he was grew ill or died, the grocery would not take no responsibility.
"The Peking Opera apprentice lived in a sea of bitterness. They also signed a contract with terms clearly stated: No responsibility taken if the apprentice were beaten to death.
"After apprenticeship, I worked in the North China Wholesale Pharmacy, which was run by Japanese. They watched our every move.
"After liberation, we gained more opportunities for education. We no longer worried about losing our jobs and I took a job researching organic synthesis at an organic chemical department in the Medical Science Institute.
"The old Beijing was surrounded by city walls. Outside the walls were vegetable gardens. All the roads were dirt roads huang tu tao tian "All is dust under heaven."
"There were no large buildings at all. Ordinary people didn't have tap water of their own, so we had to go quite a distance to the other end of the hutong to carry water. Before that, a man used to deliver water to households every day.
"It sounds like tall tales to the younger generations who never suffered under the yoke of the old society. Only people who have experienced the misery of the past can appreciate today's peace. So we are strongly opposed to Li Denghui's dangerous splittism and support the "One China" Policy.
"I believe we in the elder generation have a responsibility to teach young people about the past. I admit there is a gap in ideology, attitude towards life and many other aspects between the old and the young.
"But we elderly hope we can reach a consensus at least on one point -- cherish today's happy life, never forget history and make concerted efforts to build our country."
