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Watch the complete 112 minute program here, streamed in eleven consecutive segments.

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1. 1998:  Facing the State Sector's Crisis
Debt-ridden state-owned companies are ordered to become profitable ‚ or shut down in 3 years.  Feng Hui-xiu- and tens of millions of workers like her-  is scared
2. Scrambling to Survive in Shenyang
In this gritty northern industrial city, 85% of the economy is state run. For Shenyang's estimated 1.3 million unemployed, there is nowhere to look for work.
3. Fear and Optimism in the Countryside
China's drastic economic reforms began years ago in the vast countryside. In Chestnut Flower Village, reform has transformed two peasants' lives: one has grown wealthy, the other  is slipping into poverty.
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4. A Role Model for China's Reforms
Zhang Wu quit his state job and started his own design firm. He's now part of an emerging new middle class ‚ ambitious, and making more money than they ever dreamed.
5. 1999: The New Generation Gap
State worker Feng Hui-xui's 16-year old son, Gu Feng, is the center of her life. But she despairs over the growing generation gap between them - made wider by Gu Feng's fascination with Western culture.
6. Mayor Mu Fights for His City
Shenyang's tough, charismatic mayor tries everything - arranging loans, brokering deals -- that could help create jobs. Job losses keep rising, but  Mu is convinced the city will make it.
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7. Beijing 2000
The new market economy keeps expanding. But some young, like photographer Nie Zheng,  choose to opt out.  And,  confrontations grow between Feng Hui-xiu and her teenage son, Gu Feng.
8. Corruption - A Fact of Life
Rampant  corruption is escalating with the economic reforms.  But businessman Zhang Wu thrives, moving his family into a  penthouse in a  Beijing luxury compound.
9. Changes in the Year 2000
Mayor Mu's troubles in Shenyang... corruption in the countryside... and updates on the lives of the peasants in Chestnut Flower Village.
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10. 2001: Taking Stock
Lack of legal and political reform is jeopardizing China's economic reforms. Some state companies are doing better; others  struggling.  The future of millions of workers' like Zhang Shu‚yang is uncertain.
11. Updates...
Over the 4 years covered in this film, the lives of those featured changed greatly. Some have become clear winners due to the  economic reforms, while  others still struggle, and some have lost out.
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