Reflections on China - 2007 ( a travellog)
by Pauline Hager
The mighty red-eyed dragon is awake and snorting, broadcasting to the world that China has entered the 21st century. What a difference thirteen years has made. When I visited Southern China in 1995, the country appeared lethargic and dirty. Roads were in poor condition, few cars were on them, most markets were half-empty of merchandise and food, and the streets were dirty. The exception was in the city of Foshan, which was experimenting with capitalism. Construction was everywhere. Bicycles were competing with cars on newly built roads. At five in the evening, there was a small traffic jam in the city. Black iron bars covered most doors and windows. When I inquired, our tour guide replied that many country people come to the city looking for work. They are so poor they resort to breaking into apartments to steal what they can. He explained that the government is experimenting with capitalism in Foshan, and the growing economy draws thousand of poor people here.
These conditions no longer exist. In November 2007, my husband and I revisited China and marveled at the changes. After twelve hours of flight time from San Francisco, we arrived at the Beijing Airport. Our two guides from China Focus greeted us at the airport. We transferred to a bus to take us to our hotel. It was still light outside and we could see the city in its raw beauty. Rows upon rows of high-rise apartment buildings dominated the scenery. Most were monotonous and drab looking, painted in various shades of gray, brown, or yellow. Office buildings were abundant and varied in design, some tall and round, others low and rectangular, some constructed in glass and steel. Most were attractive and innovative. Billboards were everywhere. Traffic was a nightmare and the air was barely breathable. Cars of all makes competed with the bus. I cringed when sedans attempted to outmaneuver our bus. There were many taxis on the road; the majority of them were either Volkswagen or Renault. I saw Peugeots, Renaults, BMW, Audis, Hondas, Nissans, and Hyundai sedans, but very few SUVs and no RVs. The cars came in all colors, 99% black, or white. I saw a few Buicks and occasionally a few Chevrolets. If I didn’t know any better, I would have thought I was in some capitalistic city in the Far East, perhaps Tokyo, Bangkok or Hong Kong, but certainly not communist Beijing. The streets were clean and empty of litter. The street sweepers were winding up their work for the day. They were on every street corner. With 17 million people living in Beijing on 6,490,000 square miles, you can imagine the accumulation of trash on the streets.
We arrived at a luxurious first class hotel (brand new), had a large dinner, and later crashed in our beds. The following morning after eating a semi Western breakfast, we began our tour of Beijing. Our first stop was Tiananmen Square. On the way, we saw more high-rise apartment buildings, office buildings, many fast-food restaurants such as McDonald, Wendy, Kentucky Fried Chicken, Taco Bell and many others, and a glimpse of the new Olympic Stadium, built for the summer Olympics in August 2008. The construction began in 2003 and almost completed. It was impossible to park anywhere near the site, so the bus driver slowly drove by in order for us to take pictures. The communist government is spending millions on this event, including having street sweepers scouring the landscape in order to leave a lasting positive impression of China to the world. Their mantra is; BIG is good, RICH is better, make lots of money. You don’t argue with 1.3 billion people working toward that goal. My impression of the people is that they are satisfied with their so-called liberal leaders after the disastrous teachings and lifestyle of Chairman Mao. Everywhere we went, the guides freely criticized Chairman Mao, the Cultural Revolution, and some of the present policies. However, they were careful to warn us not to discuss the student massacre that occurred at Tiananmen Square in 1989 while we were visiting the Square.
We finally arrived. Tiananmen Square is the largest square in the world. We were impressed with its size and everybody took pictures of each other standing in front of a large portrait of Mao. From there we toured the Forbidden City (Imperial Palace) the world’s largest palace complex and once home to the Ming and Qing Dynasties. We passed through several ornate gates, viewed exquisite architecture, and caught a glimpse of the lavish lifestyles of the Chinese Emperors and their innumerable concubines. After lunch, we visited the Imperial Summer Palace on Kunming Lake. Later that day, we visited the old city of historic Huton, which is protected by the Beijing Cultural Relics Protection Association. We experienced what China was like before high-rises and shopping malls took over a city. We toured the district in a rickshaw propelled by a man riding a bicycle. Later that evening, we enjoyed a special Peking duck dinner.
The following day we traveled by a motor coach to explore the Great Wall of China. It is indeed great. The wall is approximately 4,000 miles long, another of China’s largest man-made structure in the world. I was astonished at its size. We climbed about one-quarter of a mile, just to say we climbed the wall. The steps were steep, worn, and very uneven. Fortunately, there was an attached hand railing. The view was spectacular. The massiveness of the wall was impressive. I bought a beautiful wall hanging of a painted picture of the wall overlaid on silk. It hangs on the wall in my entry.
The next day we flew to Wuhan for an overnight stay. We visited the Hubei Museum, and later saw a traditional bell and drum concert. The closing concert piece was the Chinese version of the theme from Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony. A bus took us through many kilometers of farmland to Yichang. Chinese farms are typically about seven acres. Our guide told us that 75% of the population must farm to be able to furnish the food for their 1.3 billion people. Obviously, the farms are not very efficient or productive. We noticed little mechanization. We saw many oxen plowing the fields.
At Yichang, we boarded our boat for the Yangtze River Cruise. After our first night on the boat, we started upstream and stopped to visit the Three Gorges Dam Site. Pictures do not do credit to the size of this project. Twenty-six generators will produce 700 megawatts of power each. The structure is mostly complete and the reservoir is projected to be filled to its final operating level in 2009.
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The Dam is over half full now and when complete, five locks will be required to lift river boats to the typical reservoir elevation of 370 feet above the lower river height; over four times the lift of the Panama Canal. Of course, this means that over a million farm residents who lived along the riverbanks below the eventual level of the reservoir had to be displaced. New Villages have been constructed, along with highways and suspension bridges to cross the water. Along the upper reaches of the river, we had to transfer to a small riverboat and cruise up the tributary Shennong Stream, then transfer to a sampan for a close-up view of the life of the “local minority people”. As we cruised through these Three Gorges, we saw ancient plank roads carved into the cliffs and the Hanging Coffins of the Ba people, who disappeared over 400 years ago. The view was simply breathtaking: limestone peaks rose over 4,000 feet, the gap between cliffs narrowed to less than 200 feet. The sheer cliffs and mist-shrouded mountains and peaks were awesome, something out of this world. At times, I felt I was in another world. The downside to this constant mist and haze was that it was difficult to take a decent picture, but I felt the mist was part of the charm. Along our journey through these Three Gorges, Xiling, Wu and Qutang Gorges, we took two mini tours. We disembarked and visited the White Emperor Village and Fengdu Ghost City. These tours each required a climb of about 400 steps to reach the top. I still can’t believe we climbed all those steps.
After four days on the boat, we disembarked at Chongqing, where we toured the Chongqing Zoo. The zoo was clean and well maintained, very different from the unkempt zoo we visited in Southern China years ago. We enjoyed watching the cute but spoiled Panda bears who ignored us and the brown bears that put on a nice show for us by standing up and twirling around like a ballerina. It was particularly interesting to see some Chinese pre-schoolers who knew enough English to greet us with a clear “Hello.” The Chinese teach our language in their schools starting in the very early grades.
From Chongqing, we flew to Xi’an to visit the famous Terracotta Warriors, horses, and chariots buried with the first Chinese Emperor, Qin Shihuang, in about 200 BC. Nearly 8,000 life-sized warriors have been unearthed and more are being found. This site is truly amazing. One interesting note, back in the early 70s, three farmers discovered the site as they were digging to find a well. Of the three, one is still alive. He sits inside the museum’s gift shop and autographs your purchased CD movie of the warriors, but you are not allowed to take pictures of him. He has been photographed so many times through the years, that the camera flashes are blinding him. Later that evening, we had an eleven-course dumpling dinner and treated to a traditional Tang Dynasty Music and Dance show.
The following morning we flew to Shanghai and then bussed to Suzhow where we stayed the night. The following day in Suzhow, we toured a silk factory and a furniture factory that specialized in intricate hand painted lacquer finishes, some requiring over a year to complete. I’m not usually a big shopper, but I couldn’t resist buying a set of lacquered nesting tables. It took six weeks to arrive by boat to San Diego. As we left the factory, I saw a little girl about four or five years old playing in the courtyard. I asked her “How are you?” She replied in perfect accented English, “I’m fine, thing you.”
Suzhow is also noted for its canals and bridges, reminiscent of Saint Petersburg, Russia, but on a smaller scale. After a canal boat tour, we visited a former home called the Garden of Fishing Net Master, which featured period furniture, a large pond, and many rooms with garden views, all contained within a large walled property. That evening we returned to Shanghai. The following morning we visited the waterfront promenade called the Bund and then the Shanghai Museum, an impressive, large modern edifice filled with China’s antiquities. An acrobatic show in the evening was full of spectacular juggling, balancing, and unicycle riding. The following morning we flew back to Beijing and transferred to a 747 for a grueling ten-hour flight back to San Francisco.
Our take on the Chinese is that they will be a very serious challenge to our economy and educational system. The government’s ability to impose tough requirements, such as Mandarin language for all (at the expense of Cantonese now spoken in the south) and English education starting early in life are resulting in a very competitive “trading partner.” We are told that most families, including farmers, are willing to sacrifice their lifestyle in order to send at least the male child to university. Beware of the Dragon.
Pauline
Hager
Author of "Memior of an American Housewife in Japan"
Pauline's website: www.thehagers.org is a delight to explore.
Thanks Pauline for telling us about the dragon... J.
Wolf
