My China

Following our return from Japan, we went to my wife’s hometown in China.   The trip was originally planned to spend Chinese New Year with her family, however her father was diagnosed with terminal liver cancer before our arrival and the trip suddenly had a different purpose.

I was unable to access my blog, social media, and other websites due to China’s censorship, so I apologize for some delayed responses.

I have previously enjoyed traveling to China; however I believe I am now beginning to understand this country slightly better.  My father-in-law is a retired medical doctor and has the means to live comfortably.  However, he chooses to live in an apartment in the less prosperous (far less) part of the city.  We spent an extended period there giving my wife the opportunity to help with his care. The streets and alleys of his neighborhood are teaming with the small street vendors selling food, cooking meals and offering the necessities of a simple life.  You can buy a live animal cheaply (slightly more expensive if you act like it will become a pet), buy meals for less than one dollar and purchase a variety of pirated goods.

This city has not seen foreign investment and the large groups of westerners common along the coast.  I had a chance to walk this small city for more than a week, and got a sense of the people’s daily routine.  I was the only foreigner.  Old people stopped what they were doing to point and stare at me.  Children practiced their English; I responded to “hello mister, how are you?” numerous times.  Everyone at the hotel was well aware that a foreigner was staying there.  Nobody in this city over the age of 16 speaks English and I only know Mandarin greetings.

My wife attended the large city high school where she was the equivalent to valedictorian and class president.  When in town, many of her classmates ask her out to lunch and dinner.  One night while she was having dinner with some friends, I decided to have dinner at the hotel restaurant.  I made the universal gesture of spooning food into my mouth, hoping to be seated.  Within a few minutes six young women surrounded me and they had someone on the phone.  I liked the attention however after more than 10 minutes had elapsed, I was not close to being seated.  I’m sure the restaurant workers were talking with the hotel management and trying to decide what to do with the foreigner.  I waved goodbye and walked to Dekes (a KFC knockoff) where I could point to the picture of a chicken sandwich.  Even at Dekes I needed a 10 year old to help explain to the worker that I desired takeout.

Life can be very difficult in the China that hasn’t benefited directly by global trade.  I walked by some construction and found a several hundred year old brick open sewer that became exposed by the digging (see picture). I followed the sewer to find it emptying into the river, where a local construction worker had stopped his bridge building to fish, at the point sewage was flowing. 

People say that the Chinese don’t follow traffic rules and I respond there are no rules.  Traffic is like the game rock, paper, scissors.  Trucks beat cars, cars beat motor scooters, which beat bicycles which trump pedestrians.  Unlike rock, paper, scissors, the pedestrian doesn’t beat trucks.  On a previous trip to China, I counted 31 accidents witnessed in 19 days.

Almost everyone smokes cigarettes. If you are looking for a taxi without smoke, then you must walk.  We found a private driver with a nice clean car and thought we would hire him for all of our needs.  Unfortunately the next day, he wrecked his car.  People urinate on the side of the road, though I had a guy relieve himself one meter from me while eating lunch outside in Germany two years ago.

Despite the issues I describe, there is so much good to discover in the unexplored China.  People are very willing to make you a nice cup of their special tea whenever they see you.  All tea in China is special; I don’t know what they do with the average tea.  Restaurants are often attached to the owner’s home and they are more than willing to open at midnight to make you a wonderful dinner for four that cost $7 USD.  Grandparents fill the parks along with their grandchildren; grandparents are traditionally the daycare for young working adults.  The parks are beautiful-see the picture of cactus at one park we visited. The street markets are filled with very fresh and delicious food; the Chinese won’t usually accept the processed meats and old fruit that Americans buy daily.   I feel totally safe anywhere at any time in China.  The real China has so much to offer, but many westerners traveling to China don’t experience it.

Attached are pictures of a typical bicycle street vendor selling chestnuts.  I love the street vendors.  A parent is selecting a balloon for his little girl.  I watched the man and vendor work for 10 minutes to get the right balloon.  These are the simple pleasures that are universal to most of us.

The Chinese are very frugal people, though they love luxury brands and conspicuous consumption.  Because purchasing a well known luxury brand and not spending money is a conflict, pirating thrives.  They don’t see buying a pirated item as stealing, since either way, the luxury brand owner won’t get their money.

Many times I have listened to a business executive talk about their recent trip to China and how they got to see what the real China is all about.  They saw construction cranes erecting buildings from the 89^th floor window of their room at the Grand Hyatt Shanghai or Peninsula Hotel, drove around in a chauffeured Audi A8 and ate at very expensive restaurants.  These executives talk about the sacrifices they witnessed; someone had to drink Johnnie Walker Black Label rather than their preferred 25 year single malt scotch.  They don’t know the real China and I am just beginning to learn myself.  I used to be an oblivious executive.