We only have 10 more days left in China before heading south to Laos, Cambodia, and Thailand. My general impression of China, so far, has been somewhat uninspiring, except, for Tibet and Yunnan Province. Yunnan Province, the province we are currently visiting in Southwestern China, has more of a Southeast Asia feel than a China feel. And, of course, Tibet is still very unique; it’s still the city on the “top of the world”. Albeit, that will change as the Chinese Government continues to encourage more Chinese to immigrate into the Tibetan Province. Financial incentives are provided to those who immigrate. Tibetan culture is beginning to dilute.
Getting back to my impression of China, I’m not exactly sure why I feel so uninspired by China. A little has to do with “sensory overload” – we’ve been traveling for 5+ months and seen so many spectacular sites already. During our four weeks in China, the Great Wall, Forbidden City and the Terracotta Warriors have been the highlights for me, but little else. Moreover, many of the cities in China look exactly the same, mainly due to the Communist Party’s construction policies and the destruction of the country’s history during the Cultural Revolution. Also, it been cloudy and rainy during our visit and the air is polluted from the burning of coal. There is a permanent layer of haze in the sky.
Nevertheless, no matter how uninspiring I’ve found China, I’m still intrigued and fascinated by the culture and history. While has been difficult to interact with local Chinese people, because of the language barrier - very few Chinese people speak English and I speak no Chinese - their unique culture and history permeates throughout. Another fascination is the economy - it’s booming!!! New modern buildings, highways, and bridges are being constructed everywhere. Similarly,, “consumerism” is also booming, which is a little surprising, given it’s a “communist” country, per say; the stores are stocked with designer and brand name items. One question still remains: when will the Chinese economy take over the American economy as the largest in the world?
Similar to other country’s we’ve visited, I’ve tried to learn a little bit about the country’s history through reading. I’ve finished two books, so far: “Wild Swans: Three Daughters of China” by Jung Chang and “Red Azalea” by Anchee Min. Both books are ban in China and appear to promote “western” views of the Cultural Revolution and Chairman Mao, which, of course, are both negative. However, it appears that the general public in China still views Chairman Mao as their “liberator”. His portrait still graces Tiananmen Square along with his mausoleum. This conflicting view of Chairman Mao has piqued my curiosity of him and his “cult of personality”. Is Chairman Mao’s “cult of personality” significantly ingrained in Chinese history or are there changes ahead as China continues to shift from a government-directed to a market oriented economy?
What are you homesick for? your bed? a clean bathroom? a type of food? I’ve received a bunch of email and this seems to be the most popular question. I have to say, the thing I missed the most, after traveling for 5+ months, other than family and friends, of course, is WATCHING MOVIES. While traveling I’ve only seen one movie at a theater in India and it was in Hindi. I have, however, been keeping up with new movie releases by reading movie reviews online and adding titles of the movies I want to watch to my Netflix list. I expect to spend at least 3 weeks watching DVDs 24/7, when I return to the States in December.
The other question people have been asking me in emails is: Aren’t you sick of the people you’re traveling with? Well, I can’t answer that question. Most of the people on the trip view this blogsite. No, I’m just kidding, everybody on the trip is wonderful and we’re all having a great time. However, once we arrive in Bangkok the current group will disperse, I can tell you the truth….again just kidding.
Note: I can update the blogsite, but I still cannot view the blogsite while in China.
2 comments:
Great stuff Mike. All of my friends and family are envious of your travels!
Don't you think China is going to get in their own way quite a bit as they try to grow their economy on their way to eventually becoming larger than ours? The inefficiencies (legal structure, tax system, corruption, free flowing capital markets etc.) and lack of capitalistic experience should be large obstacles I would think, not to mention the great boom/bust phases they will inevitably have to endure along the way. Still, it's says something about their size when I read about a cities in China that have 20 million people and I've never heard of any of them before!
Your not missing anything with movies Mike, don't worry. You are missing a lot that's going on with the NFL (National Football League)though. Leigh will tell you all about what you have missed I am sure.
Mark Manning
No new updates? Have you been captured? Hope all is well?
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