Tag vacation china

1 Year in China!


1 YEAR IN CHINA!

It’s a few days before the Chinese New Year and I have lived in China for just over 1 year. The time seems to have past so quickly!I thought I would post some general comments about my life in China along with a few pics thrown in for good measure. Just when you think you’ve seen it all…BAM!, something else comes along you see here. In a nutshell, living in China is always full of surprises. It must be that the culture here is so different from Western culture. Chinese people just process information totally different from what we Westerners would consider logical.

I was just reading a news article about an incident that happened in Beijing. This is a good example of Chinese logic. A man called the ambulance service after becoming very ill. The hospital dispatched the ambulance to the man’s house. En route to the man’s house, this ambulance struck and killed 3 people in two different locations. I guess he was a new driver. Anyway, he continued to the man’s house and finally got him to the hospital. It wasn’t long before the families of the accident victims contacted the hospital and demanded the hospital compensate them for the deaths of these victims. The hospital responded that they are not responsible and would not pay. They said that the party responsible is the man who called the ambulance out in the first place! This case is now going to court for review.

I have come to know that China law is a very new concept here. This is all part of the process of China’s development and transformation from a 3rd world country into a major world player. China is on the right path of change, but like any government, change is slow. More important, billions of people in China have to somehow be made aware of these changes. It will take generations before the social awareness in this country updates itself. Until then, you have to be very careful of getting into situations that can go in very unpredictable directions. Things just don’t play out with what I may conceive as a “logical” conclusion. I personally have not had any major issues to deal with, i.e. car accidents, confrontations, or “misunderatandings with anyone to speak of. Still, I am ever vigilant to keep myself out of trouble as best I can. You cannot rely on being able to have the police intervene on your behalf. Another example is I have seen several fights on the street. My guess is they seem to be about someone caught stealing from a store. The process is always the same. Several people beating the hell out of some guy while the police stand and watch. They allow the store employees to pound away delivering “street justice” while more or less providing crowd control duties. After a short time they whip out their notebooks and take down the appropriate data, usually also arresting the guy in question. I suppose this guy ends up in jail somewhere. A traffic accident (of which there are many) is handled right on the street. The police arrive and make a report. Normal enough process. They check to see if anyone was drunk or who may have broken a traffic law. Other than that it is up to the parties involved to reach an agreement as to who and how much they pay each other for the damage. The police help the parties come to some sort of agreement, money is exchanged and everyone goes their own way. Case closed. In defense of the police, they must be careful how they intervene in a dispute. It is very common that people will attack the police. They have no laws protecting them as police officers. They can arrest you sure enough, if there is enough of them to fight off the people involved first. So usually they take a very passive approach to implementing law. Basically one cannot blame the police for their seemingly lack of action in these cases. I learned to not assume that they will come to my aid should I get into a fracas with some locals. That being said, luckily crime is not pervasive here at all. Petty crime is very common and you need to be careful with your bags and pockets. Other than that, it is rare violent crime occurs here. I certainly feel a lot safer in China than I would feel in the US. People tend to leave you alone and the encounters I do have with people here are always friendly. Chinese society does not permit child abusers, sexual predators and the like. People here are just not wired for such behavior. Talking with my Chinese friends, they cannot even begin to understand that there are people who commit crimes like these. Having “face” is all important to people here. They would be outcast from family, work, or friends for even thinking of such things.

On the other hand, most common people here have little to education. They are naïve about the most basic things. One cannot “assume” that the guy walking on the street will not quickly begin crossing the street right in front of your car. They usually won’t look beforehand. In their mind they want to go across, so they just go! When you slam on your brakes, they look like a deer in your headlights. Completely surprised that they were almost hit by a car!

I spend a lot of time observing people here and I think I can sum it all up this way; Each person here truly believes that they are in their own world, with everything around them only there for their own use. They make no consideration for anyone else around them. From the outside one could see this as acting in a very rude way. But really, it is only that they have never been taught to consider other people. This explains why if you are standing in line, at say a bank, they will walk up and stand in front of you. Hey, they want to get serviced, why wait behind you? Or you are talking to the teller and someone will lean over in front of you and start talking to the teller. Better yet, in the doctor’s office, someone will walk in and start a discussion with the doctor like you are not there. I’ve even stopped them and motioned them to wait, where them they politely smile and remain right there not only listening to me talking to the doctor, but also reading my medical papers while they wait!

China is slowly recognizing this as bad social behavior and trying to educate people. Most banks have lines drawn on the floor where people must stand behind while another customer is being helped. Also’ many now have a number machine and you sit in the lobby to wait for your number. In Beijing the government is working hard to educate people on proper conduct before the start of the Olympic games.

The Chinese have a world wide reputation for “being rude”. The travel agencies now give classes to customers traveling out of the country on how to act. Things like spitting and clearing your nose, talking loudly, waiting in line, and table manners are all addressed in these classes. As frustrating as this behavior is to me, I do my best to remember that it is not rudeness on their part, rather it is simply not being educated about what is acceptable to most other countries in the world. The Chinese are really nice people that are being pulled into a new modern world for which they have little experience. Things are changing all the time in China on every level.

I encounter many things here that just don’t make any sense. But I say to myself that the Chinese have been around longer than anybody, and they are still going strong. That says a lot about the way things are here. Maybe we have a lot to learn from them as well. Patience is really the key to enjoying your experience in China. Do not use your Western ideals as a benchmark to comparing China. It is, after all, what makes China unique to anyplace in the world.


Shanghai


SHANGHAI

I have been living in China just short a year now. Most of my travels have been in the Yunnan Province. I just returned from a few weeks on the other side of China. So I think it best to break up my blog into two parts. First Shanghai and then Beijing.
When foreigners travel to the US, they mostly go directly to NYC, then to LA and Las Vegas. When they return home, they have seen “America” and many end up with a bit distorted view of the USA. Well I kind of did the same thing… only in reverse. My experiences in rural China have been my first introduction to China. This contrast to American culture can be quite different to Chinese lifestyle. Kunming is a small city of about 3 million people. But out of the 55 minority cultures found in China, Kunming is very unique in that it has 25 of these minorities living here. Needless to say it makes this city very culturally diverse environment. So whereas Kunming is a small sized city, it is mostly made up of very traditional people with a very old cultural heritage. In short, arriving in Shanghai was a real eye opener for me. You could compare it to growing up in Little Rock, then going to NYC for this first time. *pic Shanghai Day, Nite
Speaking of NYC, you New Yorkers would feel right at home in Shanghai. The pace of the city, people’s attitudes and prices compare to that of NYC. So in a nutshell, Shanghai people possess that “New York state of mind”. People here operate on overdrive 24/7. Always in a hurry even if they aren’t going anywhere specific. They take this pace to the extreme. It is not unusual to see people actually running from place to place. I used the subway quite a lot here. It is a new system, very efficient and clean. It is easy to use and for 3 yuan you can travel and transfer all you like. Shanghai has done a great job building this system. Now enter the Chinese……. Talk about your Chinese fire drill! It is truly as if there is a fire going on. People are operating in panic mode down there. Pushing, running amok, running from car to car is the order of the day. When the train pulls up and the doors open, you literally fight your way into and out of the door. All at the same time. There is no order to the mayhem. As a result while 10 people are trying to get out, 10 are hellbound to get in. So everyone takes longer to transfer because people start a shoving match at the door. This always happens, even if the train is not busy! It is like some kind of a game. You can imagine the confusion when it is real crowded. Also there is no distinction between young and old. You push and block all people. Once you are on this train it’s everyman for himself. Old people will have to stand while a couple of teenagers remain seated. I got looks of confusion when I would let elderly people have my seat on the rare occasion I even had a seat. Once inside you are presented with the cell phone syndrome culture. This is a very curious activity amongst the Chinese. There is not a person in China without a cell phone. Old and young, rich and poor… no matter. This has to be the highest consumer market in the world by far. Hell, after 2 days here I went out and bought a new one! Well actually it was for my wife, her’s was on it’s last legs. Anyway this activity is not exclusive to Shanghai, but here it is very noticeable. First you have the “user”. In this mode people talk on their phone by actually yelling very loudly. At first you think they are just very angry, but quickly you realize this is the normal way you talk on a phone here. It think they believe they are talking through an invisible string phone. Someone 20 feet away can be heard very clearly. Now at any given time maybe 10 people in the train car is on the phone…. Yelling! Then there is the “puncher”. If you are not talking on your phone, you must otherwise be punching it at lightening speeds. The thumb is the preferred digit. It moves easily at 300 punches a minute. Never stopping long enough for the user to actually read whatever information is flying across the screen. I cannot read the Chinese script on the phones, but I carefully observed this up close. The screens were changing so fast I could not focus on the first word. I have no idea what this is all about. I like to believe they are actually executing some function, but I cannot imagine what that could be. I remember reading a news story that in China many people have carpal tunnel syndrome in their thumbs. It is actually a chronic disease in China. I can certainly understand why. I also noticed that there were a fair number of people that had a phone for each hand. These must be the “master punchers”. These people (mostly girls) were able to punch both cells at the same time, shifting their heads as if watching a tennis tournament. I was awestruck to see them at work. And finally there is the “my phone is NOT a phone” person. These people sit quietly, connected by headphones to their cells, watching movies, playing games, or MP3’s, tuning out all the chaos around them. I saw one guy that had a small joystick wired to his phone as he played games. The cell phone is always carried in your hand. Rarely is it in a pocket or purse. It also is adorned with decorations like strings of beads, key chained stuffed animals, jewelry hanging down and jingling as they use their phones.
The Shanghai people are great dressers. They have good fashion sense here. I might add that I found that many Shanghai women were beautiful. I think the highest number than anywhere I have been in China. The city by contrast to many in China was very clean and it’s architecture amazing.*pic The Bund The JinMao tower stands as the tallest building in China. I think also in Asia. *pic Jinmao Tower. This is a real shopping city. Fantastic department stores everywhere. Silks and tailored suits are the real bargins here. Nan Jing Rd *pic Shangahi shopping, Xigahui, Meile, Atlantic Shopping Center are must stops for shopping. The Yuan market is also worth a look. Prices in Shanghai are comparable to travel in the US…….expensive for China standards. Starbucks, western restaurants, American fast food are everywhere. Most Chinese speak English here as well so no problems in this department. The people here are basically not very helpful to you. They almost border on rude which was a surprise to me. The nightlife is quite lively in Shanghai. Many bars and nightclubs of all descriptions can be found here. Acrobatic shows, theater and opera are some of the best in the world.
I broke up my travel to Shanghai by going to Hangzhou for a few days. 1.5 hours by train and you arrive in this small city that sits on a beautiful lake (Westlake). This picturesque city is full of Chinese history. The Leifeng Pagoda is beautiful overlooking Westlake. I think if you go to Shanghai you should plan a few days here. You won’t be disappointed.
Returning to Shanghai I also took a day trip to Shizhou. It is like a small Venice. Very old buildings built of carved wood sit along a central canal. Interesting to see but I would categorize this attraction as strictly optional. It is 1.5 hours by bus from Shanghai.
Shanghai is the financial center of China. In hindsight I wish I planned a few more days than I spent there, but I wanted to move on the Beijing where I earmarked a week’s stay. All in all just remember that visiting Shanghai is unique to China and do not come away thinking you’ve just seen China by your experience in Shanghai.

Yuan Yang


YAN YANG

I traveled about 350 km SW of Kunming to Yuan Yang. Located next to the border of Viet Nam, this mountain city is over 1000 years old. The surrounding mountains have been terra formed into “terrace farming” fields where you can see the “8th wonder of the world” before your eyes. These terraces are about 6′ high and rise thousands of feet straight up the sheer faces of the mountains here. See “Terrra 7” pic to get an idea of the size of these terraces. Now you can see the other pics and realize just how extensive these fields are. They go on for hundreds of km where everything is farmed by hand (and buffalo). The villages dot the countryside where for over 1000 years, farmers grow mainly rice and corn. The local minority people, Hani and the Yie, are interesting and quite colorful in their native clothes.The city of Yan Ying is built clinging to the mountainside several thousand feet in altitude. Many villages are spread throughout the mountains here to service the farming fields. Pics “Terra 8,9,10″ I shot at sunrise which reflects the water filled fields. Terra 6 shows a field ready for planting the rice. I hope these pics give some idea of the immense undertaking of these people to create this amazing landscape. It goes on for as far as the eye can see. And everything is farmed by hand. The walls are about 12” wide and allow the buffalo to navigate to the different fields for plowing. China continues to be a land of amazing sights and experiences.
Stay tuned……… I’m planning my next outing as you read this.

Road Trip to Baoshan, Tenchong, Dali, Lijiang


BAOSHAN, TENCHONG,DALI, LIJIANG

I set out this month to travel a bit around China. This trip took me to Baoshan, Tenchong, Dali, and Lijiang. My first “road trip” in my little car which did nicely. The whole trip was 1200 km and I was traveling 1 week.

First stop was Tenchong by way of Baoshan. If you know your history, China fought the Japanese for control of the Burma Highway and Stillween River. This was a key point for the Japanese to move supplies into Burma and Thailand during their invasion on WWII. The US “Flying Tiger” squadron was key to the Chinese success in the battle which led to the Japanese defeat. The Chinese have strong feelings of gratitude to the American forces who helped them here.

The travel from Baoshan to Tenchong (Burmese border) is nothing short of amazing. It took 5 hours to drive 150km through the mountains. A very crude 2 lane road winds it way along the mountains. In most places I am 4000′ from the valley floor. You can see villages dotted all along these mountains for miles. The scenery is quite dramatic and you move along at about 25 mph. In a few places the road opens up where you can go the posted 50 mph. But of course I jammed it up to 80 mph and soon found myself caught in a radar trap. The police were not amused, nor did they care that I could not speak Chinese. I was getting my first ticket for speeding. Three policemen were at hand to “process” my ticket. As they were doing the paperwork, Rong was talking to one policeman. Quickly he tore up my ticket, and we were on our way to Tenchong! Rong later explained to me that she simply made the policemen understand that she not happy with them giving me a ticket and she would have to call her good friend Mr. Li to discuss this with them. Mr. Li happens to be the division commander for the Chinese Army that controls all of eastern China. The police want no problems with the army!
After spending a few days in Tenchong, we headed back over to Baoshan and into Dali. Going back this same route, we had to stop at the military checkpoint for inspection. This is the key transport route from Burma, and a major source for coccaine traffic from Burma into China. As we were being “inspected” with great interest because I am a “non- chinese” guy, Rong explains to the military man she is a good friend to Mr. Li. Instantly we are directed to the command post off the road and invited to wait inside. 10 minutes pass and a man enters who immediately gives us a warm welcome. It is Mr. Li who by luck was in the area and once learning Rong was at this checkpoint, drove to meet us there. So now we all go to lunch together. There was about 7 officers and Rong and me all having a great visit. The army people were waiting on us hand and foot, taking pics of me with Mr. Li. After lunch, Mr. Li took us to the army base where he showed me all the drugs they confiscated at this checkpoint. It was quite an experience to see behind the scenes of the Army business here. I took a pic of me with Mr. Li (in the green uniform) and the other two people are the post commanders.
I spent the next several days in Dali and Lijiang. A lot of beautiful sights and things to do in these cities. Lijiang is home to the Naxi minority people. I visited the “Old Town” which is over 1000 years old. While there I found hand made solid copper cookware. One pan alone takes 1 week to make. I bought several pots and pans the set me back about $90. Just one of these items would be over $150 in the USA! Now I’m ready to do some gourmet cooking………
Ok, so it is my custom to report my expenses. 1 week of travel, 7 nights in 4 star hotels, meals, fuel, tolls, and everything including all the stuff I bought………….. $450.00.
Next month…………. going to Thailand!

Kunming peds


KUNMING PEDS

For those who do not believe me……. here it is! Trees in full bloom all over the city. Notice, if you will, all flowers and NO leaves. How DO they do it? Just another bit of magic here in China. Also please mark your calendars. It is Feburary! I have been seeing these trees for about 3 weeks now. I went to this park nearby and shot the pics (see Blooms). Check out the Chinese squirrel. That ones for you Doug.
Now about my writing……… OK my spelling is horrible. My proofreading is even worse. But in my defense, I got to point a finger at this Yahoo blog site. There is a delay when I am typing and sometimes letters get dropped out. SO it is not ALL me. But this leads me to thinking about moving my blog. I’ll keep you all posted.
I have just been informed that my household goods have arrived in China and is clearing customs (or not) as I speak. Then it will go by truck from Tianjan to Kunming. That will take several days. I am looking forward to getting my bicycle. I can’t wait to join in on the bicycle crush going on here daily. I’m going to be the only lauwai on a bicycle. That should greatly add to the chaos in the the bike lanes around here!
I am totally over the uneasy feeling one gets being “center stage” every where you go. It is still an oddity for a westerner to be here, and the Chinese can’t take their eyes off of you as you walk around. At first it is a little creepy, especially if you have to pick your nose or something. But now I don’t pay attention to it. I realize this is part of the Chinese nature and now I have learned to enjoy it. Example….. you all know how traffic slows down because of the idiot lookie lews needing to check out the accident? Well, in China, people stop their cars on the freeway, get out of their cars and actually stand around in a big crowd. Right on the freeway! Traffic is a complete standstill. Me?………I amuse myself by laying on the horn and plowing right through the crowds. Remember, here in China, the car is king. Once you are on foot, you have lost all rights. So people scramble in all directions. This is especially fun if the accident happens to be on an overpass. They really have limited space to run! Hey, what can I say…..payback is a bitch!