Oh China. So, it has taken me a long time to write this one because there is so much to say and I didn't want to leave anything out. I would write part of it and then be walking through the streets of Hong Kong and remember some important things to note. Enjoy, because I did!
Hands down my favorite country thus far. Traveling through the southwest part of China was like being a celebrity. Everyone is staring at me, trying to say hello, and taking my photo. Non-Chinese tourists are few and far in between, so I was making more friends with locals than foreigners; thats what its all about, got to get to know the locals to have a truly unique experience. I will admit that if I didn't have Joseph it probably wouldn't have been the same; the language barrier is absolutely awful. In the Chinese language there are four tones, so one word can mean four different things (buy and sell are the same word, just said with a different tone). Even when trying to say the name of a popular city, a Chinese person may not know what I am talking about because of my tone. Another drawback is that people just want to have super basic conversations with you; I would then try to tell them where I have been and they have no clue what I was talking about. I was trying to ask a girl what is the name of the province that Beijing is in: I said Kunming - Yunnan (Kunming is the capital of Yunnan, and so on...) yes! she replied, Chengdu - Sichuan, yes! she replied, Xi'an - Shaanxi, yes! she replied, Beijing - ?, oh sorry I don't understand? she replied.... It is even hard for people from southern China to understand people from northern China, and vice versa, because the way they speak combined with the different tones are difficult to understand.
Chinese people don't know what common courtesy is. It is common for someone to answer the phone and shout (that is their level of speaking), if they are in a hostel dorm room, or in a common area, or bus, etc. they don't care WEI!, which means hey in Chinese. If its 5am, screw you, they are turning on all the lights, talking loud amongst themselves and packing; forget being nice and packing the night before. This would really piss me off. They are also not big on manners. Need to sneeze? LET IT RIP; its almost like the louder it is, the more respect you get. Got a stopped up throat? hauck a loogie on the metro. There are actually signs in buildings that say no spitting and have a picture of this projectile coming out of a persons face. Got a booger, PICK IT. I would be walking down the road and see this attractive Chinese girl, then she spits up a loogie, or is digging in her nose and looking at it; I would take an immediate 90 degree turn. Yikes! Shaven legs and armpits are also not required in this country. I might see an attractive girl, wave to her and she waves back and bats fly out of her armpits. Squat toilets are back! While they are everywhere, they are not as prevalent as India; you can go to a really tourist area and find a western toilet. There are signs on the doors that show a picture of someone squatting or someone sitting. In public bathrooms (only squat toilets) the stalls were about 4 feet tall, it was like I was in a midget bathroom; or even worse, I would walk in and see guys knee to knee going to the bathroom... No dividers! Chinese men are also interested in Western guys' penises. It was common for some guy to hop over the urinal or toilet divider and check me out. Weird!
The driving in China is awful. There isn't nearly as much traffic as I was expecting, it is just that the drivers are TERRIBLE. People drive around in a civil western manner, but don't know how to merge. People just pull into on coming traffic, get a horn blown at them, and both cars have to slam on the breaks.. Its like they just don't look. That would be ok if we were in a country where everyone does it and all are aware (like most other Asian countries), but no one is aware here. This is going to sound weird, but Chinese people walk like they drive, they can't walk right. It is going to be hard to explain this, but here we go; if you are ever in a crowded area in China, you will experience this. To start, they don't walk in a straight line. I would be walking through the metro and try to pass someone, go to the left, they veer to the left, then to the right; its like they are drunk. They would get off the metro and look to the right and walk to the left directly into oncoming people. Its like they don't know that hundreds of people are rushing through the metro. Or I might be walking down the road and trying to cross over to the left side of the wide sidewalk to cross the road, someone would be coming around the corner, look me in the eyes, make a wide turn and run right into me. It got rather annoying. I would see all these people running into one another or running into me and wonder what is going through their head; maybe the tweet they just sent?
People are glued to their mobile devices! Walking around, on the metro, driving, they are on their devices. I would look down the metro car, and everyone is on their phones, playing games, texting, or online. Trying to have a nice meal? sorry, can't talk, I'm surfing the web. They are probably texting the person they are eating dinner with.
Chinese people tend to be rather timid and don't like confrontation. It is similar to when I was in India, they do what's called 'keeping face.' It will take a couple times to get a no out of people. While they are timid, waiting in line is a rare sight. It would be common that I would be buying something from a 7-11 and someone else would come up and start talking to the cashier and then she would start helping him or her. What happened to me? I might be waiting in 'line' and someone would just come up and stand in front of me. At first I was like what the hell?, and eventually I just started using my long arms to move people behind me when it came to my turn.
Also, China is very safe. The whole time I was there, I only heard one police siren. I never had to worry about someone ripping me off or my pockets getting robbed. I would say that that is one thing that is helping China grow. Why work in New York, NY where there is loads of crime, high taxes, high cost of living, high poverty, ancient public transport, cold weather, and a vacation home can be a plane ride away when you can live in Hong Kong where there is very little poverty, virtually no crime, little taxes, cheap food, close to new and very efficient public transportation, great weather, and after all you live on an island that is home to a diverse tropical geography and amazing hidden beaches. One reason might be that all US citizens get taxed wherever they live. Yes, if you have been living and working in Spain for the past 10 years, you are paying income taxes to the US and to Spain; depending on where an American lives, he or she might only be getting 30% of their actual paycheck if they live abroad. Gotta love the US tax code. "In this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes," Benjamin Franklin 1817.
Trash is a pretty big problem. Somewhat similar to the problems in India, but not as bad on the hygiene level. The environmental practices of businesses and the government are atrocious. Beijing is the most polluted city in the world for a reason. Air pollution is measured in microgrammes per cubic metre, if it gets over 300 then old people and children should stay inside because it can be hazardous. One day, the US embassy recorded that it broke 800. This type of air pollution is prevalent in all big cities in China, and there are multiple cities in China with a population over 10 million people. There is also a severe lack of safety conditions in the workforce. It was common to see men doing manual labor/construction with no shoes on or in sandals, without a shirt on, and a cigarette in their mouth; I would also sometimes see their kids playing around near where they were sawing/grinding metal or welding (they also don't wear protective eye wear when they are welding). It was shocking to see this. When I was with Joseph and I would point these things out, he would laugh, saying "Welcome to China." Chinese baby found in a sewer? Welcome to China!
While China is pretty big on pollution, it was common to see solar panels and wind turbines. From large wind and solar farms to a small solar panel and wind turbine that would power individual street lights. To me, it is always a great sight to these kind of environmental practices underway. I never have, but I would really like to see a massive wind turbine close up.
Chinese people are rather short and the old people are OLD!!!! Almost all shoes, even sneakers, have platforms or heels built into them. I would really like to see the true height of these people without the extra INCHES they all wear. Also, it is common to see an old person working, carrying food, picking up trash, rummaging through the trash to collect recyclable bottles, or carrying supplies for construction. It surprised me, you would think that the young people would be doing these labor intensive tasks. However, doing this kind of labor, as you would imagine, shows a lack of wealth. That is one of the reasons why there are so many Chinese people carrying umbrellas, because if you have any sort of tan, that is a display of low class. Complete opposite from our culture where we put ourselves in these beds to fry us as close to brown as possible. I was always batting away umbrellas so I didn't get an eye poked out.
When most foreigners think of an American, they think of someone who is overweight. In our defense, I asked all those who say that if they have seen an overweight American backpacker, they, like me, have yet to see one (there are some overweight backpackers). Believe it or not, obesity in China is becoming a growing problem. I wouldn't say the majority of the people, but a good portion of the ones I saw were overweight. I think the problem is that Chinese people have just started to run into wealth and food in China is cheap, so they eat and eat. I would also say that the food in China is not healthy. I am sure you have heard about some of the various scandals in China relating to poor food quality; as soon as I got to China, BBC reported that some street food was using rat meat in replace of normal meat, but they assured the public that the rat was free ranged. Thank God! Also, it is very hard to go into a convenient store or small grocery and find healthy food. The aisles are filled with potato chips and sweets. It was rare for me to find some form of grains or nuts instead of candy, treats, or soda. You are what you eat. Chinese people also love to smoke cigarettes. China does not have smoking restrictions like in some western countries, so it was common to see people smoking everywhere.
One of my friends said that China's expansion into the world has been peaceful (and it has been for the most part) because they offer money to countries to accumulate these vast amount of resources from poor and developed countries; however, I see that as going to a homeless person in the fall and saying, Hey, its hot outside, I'll buy your jacket, he sells it and then in 3 months its freezing cold and he's without a jacket. Another friend said that the US foreign policies and Chinese foreign policies can be compared to each country's board game. Chess's objective is to get to the King as fast a possible and take him down; in Go the objective is to surround a large area around the opponent. Think about it for a second...
Having said all of that, the Chinese people are so nice. It is like the Chinese government is the exact opposite of its people. Everyone loves the United States and wants to go there so bad; the land of the free and the American Dream is what they speak of. While we do have some form of the American Dream still alive, China has come out with the Chinese Dream, which Xi Jinping (the current ruler) is pushing really hard. I asked a Chinese man about the Chinese Dream, he didn't believe in it; however, the Chinese government is pushing the idea really hard, it has received a strong propaganda blitz, being taught to young people in schools and universities. Sounds like China is doing what China does best, copy and paste.
When I visited China, I was seeing things that I never thought I would see. When I used to think of China, I thought of massive factories and clustered cities, but its really about amazing geography that is unlike anything you could even imagine. I was upset that the weather was bad when I first started my trip because there was so much that I missed out on; however, that's a reason to come here again. Also, you can see things in two different seasons and both will be amazing. The time I had on the Great Wall was close to perfect, but I saw some pictures of the same area when it was snowing, wow, it was so beautiful. There are things that I am still coming across that are in China that I would love to see. Definitely want to go back.
I think the biggest reason why I enjoyed China so much was because of the lack of western tourists. Taking a line from the movie The Beach, "everyone tries to do something different, but they always end up doing the same thing." To an extent, this couldn't be more true. While it was nice being with other backpackers in Vietnam and Thailand, it is so nice to get away. When Robbie and I were in Nepal and driving motorcycles up to the Annapurna Mountain range, we were driving up a very old hiking trail. This trail has evolved into a road. When I first saw the hikers, I thought they were crazy for hiking this, we are on a motorcycle after all. Then Robbie explained how famous this trail is and how much it takes away from the experience when some ass comes roaring by in a motorcycle. It would be like someone driving by as you are hiking the Appalachian Trail. That is how I look at backpacking. It really takes away from the experience when I see other foreigners at the same place as me; if others are here, then what makes this place a rare slice of heaven? Aside from a local tourist, it was rare to see a westerner in China, outside of the big cities.
Chinese food is very different from what I thought Chinese food was. Theres no General Tso's or Sweet and Sour Chicken, definitely no fortune cookies. A common meal would be a bunch of dishes served to the table and you pick and pull what you want, making your own meal. Each province has its own type of dish, so I got to try a bunch of different things. Also, since I have been traveling the world, my definition of spicy has changed. Is it Southern or Texas spicy? or is it Indian or Sichuan spicy? theres a huge difference! Do you want a good hot meal, or do you want to experience pain that lasts through the next day? Tabasco would be like ketchup over here.
Before I came to China, I was not a fan of the country. Caught between extremely low wages, poor environmental practices, dumping of products overseas, hacking other countries, and bickering over territory with surrounding countries, I had little desire to visit the country. With my already negative outlook, I was thinking that I might get arrested under suspicion of being a spy and thrown into some labor camp for the rest of my life. However, after going to the country, my mindset has changed. I truly enjoyed being in the country and wouldn't mind working here one day. Everything I said in the second sentence, I still believe in and truly dislike that this is coming from a country that is on its way to becoming the largest economy and potential superpower of the world. While the US might not be the greatest superpower in this world's existence, I am scared of a superpower that represses and kills its own people, just to keep the government alive.
Hands down my favorite country thus far. Traveling through the southwest part of China was like being a celebrity. Everyone is staring at me, trying to say hello, and taking my photo. Non-Chinese tourists are few and far in between, so I was making more friends with locals than foreigners; thats what its all about, got to get to know the locals to have a truly unique experience. I will admit that if I didn't have Joseph it probably wouldn't have been the same; the language barrier is absolutely awful. In the Chinese language there are four tones, so one word can mean four different things (buy and sell are the same word, just said with a different tone). Even when trying to say the name of a popular city, a Chinese person may not know what I am talking about because of my tone. Another drawback is that people just want to have super basic conversations with you; I would then try to tell them where I have been and they have no clue what I was talking about. I was trying to ask a girl what is the name of the province that Beijing is in: I said Kunming - Yunnan (Kunming is the capital of Yunnan, and so on...) yes! she replied, Chengdu - Sichuan, yes! she replied, Xi'an - Shaanxi, yes! she replied, Beijing - ?, oh sorry I don't understand? she replied.... It is even hard for people from southern China to understand people from northern China, and vice versa, because the way they speak combined with the different tones are difficult to understand.
Chinese people don't know what common courtesy is. It is common for someone to answer the phone and shout (that is their level of speaking), if they are in a hostel dorm room, or in a common area, or bus, etc. they don't care WEI!, which means hey in Chinese. If its 5am, screw you, they are turning on all the lights, talking loud amongst themselves and packing; forget being nice and packing the night before. This would really piss me off. They are also not big on manners. Need to sneeze? LET IT RIP; its almost like the louder it is, the more respect you get. Got a stopped up throat? hauck a loogie on the metro. There are actually signs in buildings that say no spitting and have a picture of this projectile coming out of a persons face. Got a booger, PICK IT. I would be walking down the road and see this attractive Chinese girl, then she spits up a loogie, or is digging in her nose and looking at it; I would take an immediate 90 degree turn. Yikes! Shaven legs and armpits are also not required in this country. I might see an attractive girl, wave to her and she waves back and bats fly out of her armpits. Squat toilets are back! While they are everywhere, they are not as prevalent as India; you can go to a really tourist area and find a western toilet. There are signs on the doors that show a picture of someone squatting or someone sitting. In public bathrooms (only squat toilets) the stalls were about 4 feet tall, it was like I was in a midget bathroom; or even worse, I would walk in and see guys knee to knee going to the bathroom... No dividers! Chinese men are also interested in Western guys' penises. It was common for some guy to hop over the urinal or toilet divider and check me out. Weird!
The driving in China is awful. There isn't nearly as much traffic as I was expecting, it is just that the drivers are TERRIBLE. People drive around in a civil western manner, but don't know how to merge. People just pull into on coming traffic, get a horn blown at them, and both cars have to slam on the breaks.. Its like they just don't look. That would be ok if we were in a country where everyone does it and all are aware (like most other Asian countries), but no one is aware here. This is going to sound weird, but Chinese people walk like they drive, they can't walk right. It is going to be hard to explain this, but here we go; if you are ever in a crowded area in China, you will experience this. To start, they don't walk in a straight line. I would be walking through the metro and try to pass someone, go to the left, they veer to the left, then to the right; its like they are drunk. They would get off the metro and look to the right and walk to the left directly into oncoming people. Its like they don't know that hundreds of people are rushing through the metro. Or I might be walking down the road and trying to cross over to the left side of the wide sidewalk to cross the road, someone would be coming around the corner, look me in the eyes, make a wide turn and run right into me. It got rather annoying. I would see all these people running into one another or running into me and wonder what is going through their head; maybe the tweet they just sent?
People are glued to their mobile devices! Walking around, on the metro, driving, they are on their devices. I would look down the metro car, and everyone is on their phones, playing games, texting, or online. Trying to have a nice meal? sorry, can't talk, I'm surfing the web. They are probably texting the person they are eating dinner with.
Chinese people tend to be rather timid and don't like confrontation. It is similar to when I was in India, they do what's called 'keeping face.' It will take a couple times to get a no out of people. While they are timid, waiting in line is a rare sight. It would be common that I would be buying something from a 7-11 and someone else would come up and start talking to the cashier and then she would start helping him or her. What happened to me? I might be waiting in 'line' and someone would just come up and stand in front of me. At first I was like what the hell?, and eventually I just started using my long arms to move people behind me when it came to my turn.
Also, China is very safe. The whole time I was there, I only heard one police siren. I never had to worry about someone ripping me off or my pockets getting robbed. I would say that that is one thing that is helping China grow. Why work in New York, NY where there is loads of crime, high taxes, high cost of living, high poverty, ancient public transport, cold weather, and a vacation home can be a plane ride away when you can live in Hong Kong where there is very little poverty, virtually no crime, little taxes, cheap food, close to new and very efficient public transportation, great weather, and after all you live on an island that is home to a diverse tropical geography and amazing hidden beaches. One reason might be that all US citizens get taxed wherever they live. Yes, if you have been living and working in Spain for the past 10 years, you are paying income taxes to the US and to Spain; depending on where an American lives, he or she might only be getting 30% of their actual paycheck if they live abroad. Gotta love the US tax code. "In this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes," Benjamin Franklin 1817.
Trash is a pretty big problem. Somewhat similar to the problems in India, but not as bad on the hygiene level. The environmental practices of businesses and the government are atrocious. Beijing is the most polluted city in the world for a reason. Air pollution is measured in microgrammes per cubic metre, if it gets over 300 then old people and children should stay inside because it can be hazardous. One day, the US embassy recorded that it broke 800. This type of air pollution is prevalent in all big cities in China, and there are multiple cities in China with a population over 10 million people. There is also a severe lack of safety conditions in the workforce. It was common to see men doing manual labor/construction with no shoes on or in sandals, without a shirt on, and a cigarette in their mouth; I would also sometimes see their kids playing around near where they were sawing/grinding metal or welding (they also don't wear protective eye wear when they are welding). It was shocking to see this. When I was with Joseph and I would point these things out, he would laugh, saying "Welcome to China." Chinese baby found in a sewer? Welcome to China!
While China is pretty big on pollution, it was common to see solar panels and wind turbines. From large wind and solar farms to a small solar panel and wind turbine that would power individual street lights. To me, it is always a great sight to these kind of environmental practices underway. I never have, but I would really like to see a massive wind turbine close up.
Chinese people are rather short and the old people are OLD!!!! Almost all shoes, even sneakers, have platforms or heels built into them. I would really like to see the true height of these people without the extra INCHES they all wear. Also, it is common to see an old person working, carrying food, picking up trash, rummaging through the trash to collect recyclable bottles, or carrying supplies for construction. It surprised me, you would think that the young people would be doing these labor intensive tasks. However, doing this kind of labor, as you would imagine, shows a lack of wealth. That is one of the reasons why there are so many Chinese people carrying umbrellas, because if you have any sort of tan, that is a display of low class. Complete opposite from our culture where we put ourselves in these beds to fry us as close to brown as possible. I was always batting away umbrellas so I didn't get an eye poked out.
When most foreigners think of an American, they think of someone who is overweight. In our defense, I asked all those who say that if they have seen an overweight American backpacker, they, like me, have yet to see one (there are some overweight backpackers). Believe it or not, obesity in China is becoming a growing problem. I wouldn't say the majority of the people, but a good portion of the ones I saw were overweight. I think the problem is that Chinese people have just started to run into wealth and food in China is cheap, so they eat and eat. I would also say that the food in China is not healthy. I am sure you have heard about some of the various scandals in China relating to poor food quality; as soon as I got to China, BBC reported that some street food was using rat meat in replace of normal meat, but they assured the public that the rat was free ranged. Thank God! Also, it is very hard to go into a convenient store or small grocery and find healthy food. The aisles are filled with potato chips and sweets. It was rare for me to find some form of grains or nuts instead of candy, treats, or soda. You are what you eat. Chinese people also love to smoke cigarettes. China does not have smoking restrictions like in some western countries, so it was common to see people smoking everywhere.
One of my friends said that China's expansion into the world has been peaceful (and it has been for the most part) because they offer money to countries to accumulate these vast amount of resources from poor and developed countries; however, I see that as going to a homeless person in the fall and saying, Hey, its hot outside, I'll buy your jacket, he sells it and then in 3 months its freezing cold and he's without a jacket. Another friend said that the US foreign policies and Chinese foreign policies can be compared to each country's board game. Chess's objective is to get to the King as fast a possible and take him down; in Go the objective is to surround a large area around the opponent. Think about it for a second...
Having said all of that, the Chinese people are so nice. It is like the Chinese government is the exact opposite of its people. Everyone loves the United States and wants to go there so bad; the land of the free and the American Dream is what they speak of. While we do have some form of the American Dream still alive, China has come out with the Chinese Dream, which Xi Jinping (the current ruler) is pushing really hard. I asked a Chinese man about the Chinese Dream, he didn't believe in it; however, the Chinese government is pushing the idea really hard, it has received a strong propaganda blitz, being taught to young people in schools and universities. Sounds like China is doing what China does best, copy and paste.
When I visited China, I was seeing things that I never thought I would see. When I used to think of China, I thought of massive factories and clustered cities, but its really about amazing geography that is unlike anything you could even imagine. I was upset that the weather was bad when I first started my trip because there was so much that I missed out on; however, that's a reason to come here again. Also, you can see things in two different seasons and both will be amazing. The time I had on the Great Wall was close to perfect, but I saw some pictures of the same area when it was snowing, wow, it was so beautiful. There are things that I am still coming across that are in China that I would love to see. Definitely want to go back.
I think the biggest reason why I enjoyed China so much was because of the lack of western tourists. Taking a line from the movie The Beach, "everyone tries to do something different, but they always end up doing the same thing." To an extent, this couldn't be more true. While it was nice being with other backpackers in Vietnam and Thailand, it is so nice to get away. When Robbie and I were in Nepal and driving motorcycles up to the Annapurna Mountain range, we were driving up a very old hiking trail. This trail has evolved into a road. When I first saw the hikers, I thought they were crazy for hiking this, we are on a motorcycle after all. Then Robbie explained how famous this trail is and how much it takes away from the experience when some ass comes roaring by in a motorcycle. It would be like someone driving by as you are hiking the Appalachian Trail. That is how I look at backpacking. It really takes away from the experience when I see other foreigners at the same place as me; if others are here, then what makes this place a rare slice of heaven? Aside from a local tourist, it was rare to see a westerner in China, outside of the big cities.
Chinese food is very different from what I thought Chinese food was. Theres no General Tso's or Sweet and Sour Chicken, definitely no fortune cookies. A common meal would be a bunch of dishes served to the table and you pick and pull what you want, making your own meal. Each province has its own type of dish, so I got to try a bunch of different things. Also, since I have been traveling the world, my definition of spicy has changed. Is it Southern or Texas spicy? or is it Indian or Sichuan spicy? theres a huge difference! Do you want a good hot meal, or do you want to experience pain that lasts through the next day? Tabasco would be like ketchup over here.
Before I came to China, I was not a fan of the country. Caught between extremely low wages, poor environmental practices, dumping of products overseas, hacking other countries, and bickering over territory with surrounding countries, I had little desire to visit the country. With my already negative outlook, I was thinking that I might get arrested under suspicion of being a spy and thrown into some labor camp for the rest of my life. However, after going to the country, my mindset has changed. I truly enjoyed being in the country and wouldn't mind working here one day. Everything I said in the second sentence, I still believe in and truly dislike that this is coming from a country that is on its way to becoming the largest economy and potential superpower of the world. While the US might not be the greatest superpower in this world's existence, I am scared of a superpower that represses and kills its own people, just to keep the government alive.
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