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Written by: Aidan Jonah

“Papa, ce train va à Lasa!” is a touching documentary about the journey of a Québécois man, Guillaume St-Amand, who visits China’s Xizang Autonomous Region for the first time on a journey entrusted to him by his father, who fell in love with it nearly 40 years ago when he visited it.

We see the efforts taken by the Chinese government to protect wildlife and local animals, along with an example of how simplifying travel through building railway infrastructure to Xizang has opened up economic opportunities for young people and allowed them to not need to leave home to earn a living.

Through this documentary, Guillaume St-Amand comes to understand why his father holds such deep nostalgia for his former visit to Xizang, even though decades have passed since his own visit. Seeing this man’s genuine emotion and happiness in being able to follow through on his father’s ask, showing his father that he was right to entrust him with this journey, was lovely. A truly heartwarming watch which, while it does not concern itself with geopolitics, is focused on the people-to-people connections that helps produced a more connected, cooperation-oriented world.

Watch this French-language documentary below.

Aidan Jonah is the Editor-in-Chief of The Canada Files, an independent news outlet covering Canadian foreign policy with a strong focus on Canada-China relations. Jonah wrote a report for the 48th session of the UN Human Rights Council, held in September 2021.

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