The Magic of Painting

Yanjing Chen

ESL INTG100

Cause and Effect Essay 

The Magic of Painting

In the song, The Story of The Spring, the singer sings about it was a spring in 1979. An old man painted a circle on the South China Sea. This circle called “Special Economic Zone” which means the Chinese government gave some special economic power to the cities in the circle. In addition, these cities are close to Hong Kong, and Macau. At that time, Hong Kong and Macau were more developed than most cities in Mainland China. Therefore, the government wanted the cities in Mainland China to getting better with help of Hongkong and Macau. In fact, it worked. My hometown Guangdong was the biggest winner because of the “Special Economic Zone”. It turned my hometown into a modern city, and it created a close relationship between Guangdong and Hongkong. For these reasons, this magical circle had a huge influence on my parents and me. 

           

After more than twenty years of economic development, my parents changed from farmers to workers, and I got a chance to see my parents every day. At first, my parents were similar to most people in my hometown. My parents were farmers, and they had a small lychee garden. Thus, my parents spent a lot of time working in the lychee garden. In the harvest season, they slept there. However, the lychee garden was messy, dirty and full of mosquitoes, so I had to live with my grandparents. Even though my grandparents loved me and took good care of me, I missed my parents every day. Fortunately, more and more businessmen opened factories in my small town because of the special economic powers, so my parents choose to work in a factory because the working hours were regular. They could pick me up from school, and they could sleep with me at home. Therefore, I came home and stayed with my parents.

               

Due to the “Special Economic Zone”, my parents were no longer in debt, and they did not have to worry about the cost of my school. Even though working as a farmer was hard, my family’s financial situation started to improve. However, my father made a huge mistake. He was addicted to gambling. He not only lost a lot of money, he also owed a lot of money. When I was young, I hated to go to school. My parents used to quarrel because they did not have enough money to pay for my school. Most of my classmates had two summer uniforms and two winter uniforms, but I bath barely had one. In the summer, it was horrible because the weather was humid in Guangdong. My uniform was difficult to dry, so I had to use a fan to blow my uniform all night. This was not a good memory for me. As a result, my parents tried to find a better job. Unlike factories, the income was not stable working at lychee garden, so my parents could not save more money without the harvest lychee seasons. Because a stable salary help my parents eventually pay off their debts, working in a factory was a good choice.

               

Because of the economic right, I realized my childhood dream that was to travel to Hong Kong. At that time, only Cantonese people could watch the Hong Kong channels on TV. For this reason, every Cantonese people had a special affection for Hong Kong. So do I. I grew up with Cantonese songs, Hong Kong movies, and TVB that is the general name for Hongkong TV series. Traveling to Hongkong was one of my dreams when I was a child. Besides, the “Special Economic Zone” let every Cantonese person travel to Hongkong only with an EXIT card. It just likes an ID card, and it was easy to use. For example, my Hong Kong dream came true in 2017. When I arrived at customs, I scanned my EXIT card. The workers would make sure I was not carrying any weapons. Then, I started my trip. I went to find the place mentioned in the Cantonese song, and I felt like I was in a movie scene.

               

In conclusion, this circle had a wonderful power because it brought my family together, it helped my parents financially, and made my dream come true. Now, Guangdong is one of the most prosperous cities in China, and it has the highest GDP of the country. I used to feel that the historical events were far away from me. Actually, I am a part of history. One of the historical events changed my life quietly, and the “Special Economic Zone” was the best example.