China: The Good, the Bad, and Everything in Between

I have written a good deal about our trip, but I think it warrants an overview, particularly for those less interested in reading pages of my musings. China: I have been reading books and watching movies about it for years. Our whirlwind tour was surely not enough to give me a comprehensive view of such a large country, but I do leave with some distinct impressions.

First of all, if you have ever been to a big Chinatown, say in New York or Los Angeles, you are already familiar with China. The main tourist areas are full of the same food markets, endless stores full of trinkets, and that distinct fishy smell. China is also similar to Korea with its back alleys full of activity, laundry hanging from windows, bicycle commuters, people wearing face masks, exercise equipment everywhere, and old men playing games on the sidewalk. One new thing was the masses of people dancing in the parks. The first time I saw this, I was thrilled and had to stand and watch through a couple of songs. We saw it again and again throughout our stay. Sometimes there were different dance groups with competing music right next to each other.

The Chinese diaspora is brutally honest about China's past, particularly the crimes of Chairman Mao, so I was kind of surprised to see his picture on all of the money. There is a Mao museum and a large portrait in Tiananmen Square. Many slogans from the cultural revolution have been quietly painted over, but China has not admitted to its ugly past. The presence and absolute power of the Chinese government was intimidatingly evident everywhere. Many major sites had bag scanners. Bobby and I were wanded each time we went to the airport, and there were cameras everywhere. No wonder there hasn't been a terrorist attack in China.

The Chinese people do not have any of the consideration of Korean and Japanese people. They shove each other aside to get on the subway, cut in line, and are constantly trying to bilk tourists out of their money. Both Shanghai and Beijing have distinct big city attitudes, unlike Seoul. Bobby and I were surprised at how many street people spoke excellent English. They would often try to engage us in conversation to try and sell us something. At first, we were happy to talk to them, but after the second day we would just ignore shouts of “Hello! Where are you from?” The Chinese don't have the earnest friendliness of the Koreans. It's like comparing North Carolina with New York. This can be refreshing, as I don't ever know how to end a polite conversation with a Korean, and sometimes their solicitousness can be downright rude (a woman once grabbed money out of my hand to try and show me how to charge my subway card, something I know well how to do.)

China's cities are as diverse in nature as the country, which was a refreshing change. There are people from all over the world. The architecture itself varies from traditional imperial to communist utilitarian to colonial European. We saw mosques and kebab houses, which are not evident anywhere in Korea.

The traffic is a nightmare, and it's not easy to get around. Cars don't move on the roads, and the subways fit an unbelievable amount of people. We walked for miles and miles to see everything, which is really the best way to see a city anyway. We stumbled across some interesting things that were not in guidebooks. The air is very dirty, visibly so.

The food is out of this world. Meals are always shared, like in Korea, but there are far more flavors and textures. Every time we went out we ordered three or four dishes, and we never had a meal we were not happy with.

We had a wonderful time, and were both sorry we could not stay longer. China has much more to offer than can be experienced in a week. I have taken far more pictures than will fit in this blog. You can find the rest here.

China