This is a huge country, with 1.3 billion people, that they know about. It is modernizing at a phenomenal rate. Everywhere we went we saw evidence of new building of skylines and infrastructure. On the trains we saw lots of coal burning power plants, new roads, bridges and rail lines. Huge complexes of dozens of high rise buildings going up that all look similar. All stations we were in (except Xi'an) were new and very modern. I did not see single house dwellings anywhere in the cities.
The sky here is always overcast and thick. People say it's because of the humidity in the air, but I've been to lots of humid places, including Canada and never seen this before. It is probably pollution, but there is no smell to it. My nose did get stuffier than other places. If it is pollution they have a huge problem and I wonder of the long term consequences to the people.
In the streets there are more cars than scooters, but there are still poor people and peddlers riding bicycles and and three wheeled carts carrying produce to market. Although I was told that tuk tuks are illegal there are quite a few around. Members of our group were intimidated by the traffic, but although it was chaotic by Canadian standards, it didn't hold a candle to India or Egypt or Vietnam. I had learned to indicate you intention and just walk out. You have to be careful, but realistically, they don't want to hit you any more than you want to be hit. They will stop or go around behind you.
In Beijing taxis are impossible to get. I have never been in a city where hailing a taxi is so difficult. If they stop, they might still refuse to take you.
It is frequently very difficult to talk to the Chinese people, because of all the places I have been, fewer people speak English here than anywhere else. However, I frequently found them staring at me, because Westerners are still oddities, and I would say “Hi” and “How are you?” They'd look surprised, but they'd always smile and if they could they'd say something, at the very least “Hello.” I found them to be very friendly and warm people.
In hot weather Chinese men frequently pull their shirts up above their belly in order to cool off, not necessarily an attractive sight. I didn't notice a difference in the ratio of men to women as we've been told because of the one baby policy. I was told by a number of people the problem exists more in the rural areas than the cities. Unfortunately, I didn't get to any real rural areas on this trip. I talked to a couple of young women who were from the country and came to the city to find work. They made money to send home to family but didn't have enough left for themselves to go back home to see their families more than once every few months. Rally, is also from the country and likes working in the city. I got the impression she was happy to be away from her mom, who was trying very hard to set her up with someone there. Her mother also told her that she was ugly, and that to be a lady she had to wear high heels.
Young Chinese women wear high heels everywhere. Their dress is very influenced by a combination of Western and Japanese culture. They dress in a very feminine way, wearing short shorts or skirts.
Chinese people like to wear clothes with English writing or sayings on them. Much like Westerners who like to get tattoos of Chinese letters on their bodies. Many of the sayings make no sense, or are really bad translations of English. I think there is someone out there making these shirts who is having lots of fun laughing at people who wear shirts that say things like: 'I'm Not Easy, But We Can Talk About It'. Unfortunately I can't remember any of the others at the moment. They also like to wear clothes from some of the sports team or universities in the US.
This is a Communist country and the West portrays Communist countries as bland, boring places with repressed, controlled and unhappy people. I didn't see much evidence of that. People seemed happy. Communities seemed vibrant and alive. People danced and did tie chi in the parks. People play mahjong, Chinese chess and card games out on the streets. Our guide at the Terra Cotta Soldiers talked about the progress that the Chinese people have made in the area of human rights, but said there was still a long way to go. Hard to know and impossible to get a really accurate impression of the country or the people in a three week tour like this. However, there is no doubt that this is a country to be reckoned with. I have met lots of fellow travelers and guides who are convinced that China will be the number one super power within the next decade. The feeling is they are unstoppable and that America has yet to see the writing on the wall.
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