1st "To be Rich is Glorious."
-Deng Xiaoping
Going into this trip I had just undergone 2 weeks with no money to spend on anything. When I say that I really mean anything I was lucky I had food stockpiled http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifor else I would have had some serious issues. When we got to China and Williams
pulled out our Per Diem money I had a Grin Ear to ear. With that money I was able to have a relatively easy time of it. Eating when I wanted and buying whatever. Thats when it struck me that China is really just like America. Its great to have money, and whats even greater is being a foreigner with money, especially an American. It was interesting living the life of a tourist. In general I have to worry about money and while over there it was nice feeling like a big shot. Then I realized that most Chinese will never get to know this feeling. "In recent years it has introduced an old Confucian concept into its propaganda. The word it uses is xiaokang it means moderate prosperity."(Gifford 65) Its interesting that there is a reassertion of socialist ideals after the failed student uprising of 1989. 2nd They have just censored O****y
If there is one thing the government of China fears the most it is revolution and unrest. They have gone through extraordinary lengths to censor and obfuscate information, oppress anyone who stands against them violently, and outlaw anything deemed anti party.
Which includes the censoring of certain words such as Occupy from internet search engines. Declaring self immolation an act of terrorism. The CCP has even gone to the length in my opinion of defacing Tienanmen square with giant television screens playing soothing music “It seems as though every time someone starts to think outside the box politically, either the state collapses or the people doing the thinking are crushed.”(Gifford, 167) 3rd They either love Americans, Or just our money.
While wandering around the markets of Beijing something was very strikingly different from that roaming around a flee or farmers market here in the states.First, if you looked unique IE blond, redhead, or what have you. People wanted to take your picture. Second, was how aggressive the shop keepers were at getting customers to enter and buy something from the store. Part of it must come from the bartering culture that is so ingrained in their society. It is not a place for the meek, they are aggressive and will try to ripe you off. I believe it is http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifyou ask for 80% less than they tell you. Third, you could find almost anything on the street. It was funny how aggressive the shop keepers were at getting customers to enter and buy something from the store. Part of it must come from the bartering culture that is so ingrained in their society. It is not a place for the meek, they are aggressive and will try to ripe you off. I believe it is you ask for 80% less than they tell you.
4th The Freedom of the Car
China's middle class is growing, there is no denying that. With all these people growing older they are demanding more and more consumer goods. The car has always represented freedom to the consumers that purchase it. In the states it allowed for the proliferation of suburbia and in China it lets the people move. What do I mean by that? Travel across China was expressly forbidden unless you had the proper http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifpapers and visas. Now since the easing of travel restrictions many more people want to move about China and what easier way to do it than in a Car. They are new to the world of the automobile so they don't have it down like we do. “Mr. Wang seemed nearly as thrilled as he did whenever I returned a damaged car. “that's great!” he said, beaming “All the way to Inner Mongolia!” He called over the other workers and showed them the mileage; everybody laughed and lit cigarettes in celebration. I picked up my deposit and headed to the door. They were still talking about it when I left: “All the way to Inner Mongolia!”(Hessler, 59)
5th The Great Wall Cannot Be Seen From Space
“In 1923, National Geographic Magazine claimed that the Great Wall is visible to the human eye from the moon. (In truth, nobody on the moon could see it in 1923, and they still can't.)” (Hesller, 23) This blew me away two times. Once when I read that in Country Driving and again when I saw the Great Wall with my own eyes. It was unreal looking at it. It stretched from horizon to horizon it reminded me of lake Champlain. It didn't seem like it was made by men. It seemed like a natural formation, because nothing I have ever seen had carved the land like that. Unless it was a river or a lake. But when it dawns on you that it was built by hundreds of thousands of workers and has sat there for centuries holding silent vigil atop a mountain it really changes you.
6th China doesn't really seem like a socialist country.
Huuwhaa? Its true, there are free markets everywhere. In Beijing there are stores everywhere, and not just small stores, there is designer fashion, McDonalds, and so on. Part of this weird evolution of the socialist system is that China is allowing encouragement of entrepreneurial pursuits. The show is called Win in China. This show is where a 120,000 businessmen and women try to win a million and half dollar grand prize in which to invest in there business. Its kinda like project run way. Except the winners try to contribute to society. I neglected to mention that it isn't a winner takes all show. There is 5 million dollars in capital that is given to hungry business people that want to make a difference in the world.
7th They have fantastic food
Its almost nothing like how you would think of Chinese food, there is no General Tso chicken or chop suey. Most of the food there is cheap, plentiful, and delicious and if you want actually spicy. I remember getting a plate of bellpeppers and pork, for 3 bucks. It was great but by the end my eyes were watering and my nose was running. While In China you could spend 15-20 dollars at a hotel to eat or you could go to the street and find a filling breakfast for 1 to 2 dollars. China's love of food goes even deeper than just being good cooks and having a place to eat at every street corner. It permiates there very interactions “Have you eaten yet?” is a traditional Chinese greeting similar to the American “How are you?” Both questions are formalities and are rarely sincere in form. (Hessler, 130) Food is a large part of their culture. They have a rare hospitality in this day and age.
8th The language barrier doesn't really stop people for talking.
Being in a foreign land you generally won't be able to speak the language, let alone the vernacular. However, I did okay in communicating with people in China. 1. For the most part everyone over there knows a few words in English and how to use our numbers. 2. A smile and a thumbs up goes a long way. 3. The profit motive is also helpful, which is strange because it is a communist country. But as aforementioned To be rich is glorious. To be sure there are some miss-communications, While in Beijing we made friends with a local shop keeper named Mao Wei Chang who would always give us fair prices since we only bought from him. Pretty sure he didn't speak a lick of English but we were able to communicate with him through pointing and smiling. A less fun example of the language barrier was when we got into a cab after being at a flee market. Williams had given us a slip of paper with the address of a Tibetan restaurant instead of telling us he didn't know where it was and letting us out he drove us around for a little bit and dumped us out at the silk market(which is a 4 floor huge store with probably at least a hundred shops.
9th China oppress their minorities
One thing I learned from studying China is how much they oppress and subjugate their minorities. Whether it is forcing them off their ancestral lands, large scale population relocation, or commercialization of minority cultural rituals all are used to bring them into the Han Chinese Fold. The Mongols are one of these minority that has suffered greatly at the hands of the CCP. But this goes back much further than the time of the CCP. Khubilai Khan was a mongol leader that did what no other Mongol has done. He conquered China. But he did in a way that is now used as the basis for Chinese racism toward the mongols. “He built a Chinese capital, took Chinese names, created a Chinese dynasty, and set up a Chinese administration.” ( Weatherford 197) By having to buy into the Han Chinese way in order to rule he basically threw the present day Mongols living in the IMAR to the wolves so to speak.
10th They truly have an ancient culture.
"History hangs heavy over China. Like a vapor that used to be sweet but has somehow imperceptibly turned bad, it seeps into every corner and silently makes its way into the mind of every Chinese person. Sometimes you feel the Chinese don't know quite what todo with their five thousand years of history."(Gifford, 41) Its hard to imagine 300 hears let alone over 10 times that. Its kinda like living in a house for 10 years and then having to move, you have so much stuff you have to either throw most of it away because you never really needed it, or go to great lengths to preserve it. From 1966-1976 Chairman Mao decided that it was time for a Cultural revolution. Which in the construct of my metaphor is moving. History is all the accumulated stuff in his house. He proceed to throw most of it away.
Picture sources in order of appearence
http://cnreviews.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/05/rmb.jpg
http://censorshipinamerica.files.wordpress.com/2011/10/china_norss.png
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3223/2596329879_1f47fb850f.jpg
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipIBTSG_8j46w73uwtciFJi1zKt8KC_ordZ7Mi_AGAE2x2cEhmesEcpAM-JC77m1-A9HGRpL5tB_gSzcKikKRatYfo4yhWiMK5btf8ecSeRwouF7Rn-HemhR0pHHIhk8BroCmIrdfSf2jz/s1600/Moscow+Traffic+Jams.jpg
http://images.mybeijingchina.com/attraction/beijing/greatwall/greatwall-badaling1-b.jpg
http://www.thechinabeat.org/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/WIN-Revised-Poster-217x300.jpg
http://blogs.uww.edu/ssfriedman/files/2009/04/img_9341.jpg
http://www.worldhum.com/images/images2009/confusionsign_360.jpg
http://takashikusui.com/files/gimgs/48_p1010736.jpg
http://www.picturesofchina.net/China-flag.JPG
