China Part 1
Written on Oct 9, 2009
A week ago I got back from my first trip to China...Southern China to be exact. Nanning, BaMa, Beihai, WuMing and PingGuo (the apple city)
The weather was perfect. I packed two light jackets and never even thought about wearing them...lightweight T-shirts were all that was needed even late at night.
I expected China to be an adventure. American perceptions of China are more iconic than real...we imagine bucolic scenes and pagodas....instead of an adventure I got an education. China has transformed itself and fast. I looked for ancient China and saw glimpses, but modern China prevails...modern China is everywhere. China may have assumed possession of Hong Kong in name, but Hong Kong has taken control of China in spirit. Highrises abound both businesses and residences...giant neon signs and zillions of scooters...zillions. Anthills of scooters. Bee swarms of scooters.
The thing about China that struck me the most was the industriousness of the people: China may wait but China never stops...the Chinese people dont stop working, they dont stop for street lights, they dont stop for other traffic, they dont stop passing traffic in front of them even when there are oncoming trucks. They don't close their shops...China moves at a slower speed than the US, but we in the US start and stop...China doesnt stop. They don't stop learning, they don't stop negotiating, they dont stop trying to excel.....THEY DON'T STOP!!!
A week ago I got back from my first trip to China...Southern China to be exact. Nanning, BaMa, Beihai, WuMing and PingGuo (the apple city)
The weather was perfect. I packed two light jackets and never even thought about wearing them...lightweight T-shirts were all that was needed even late at night.
I expected China to be an adventure. American perceptions of China are more iconic than real...we imagine bucolic scenes and pagodas....instead of an adventure I got an education. China has transformed itself and fast. I looked for ancient China and saw glimpses, but modern China prevails...modern China is everywhere. China may have assumed possession of Hong Kong in name, but Hong Kong has taken control of China in spirit. Highrises abound both businesses and residences...giant neon signs and zillions of scooters...zillions. Anthills of scooters. Bee swarms of scooters.
The thing about China that struck me the most was the industriousness of the people: China may wait but China never stops...the Chinese people dont stop working, they dont stop for street lights, they dont stop for other traffic, they dont stop passing traffic in front of them even when there are oncoming trucks. They don't close their shops...China moves at a slower speed than the US, but we in the US start and stop...China doesnt stop. They don't stop learning, they don't stop negotiating, they dont stop trying to excel.....THEY DON'T STOP!!!
posted by Sonoma Blue at 5:05 PM
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