China (The People)

The crowning jewel of my trip in China apart from some of the most flavorful food I have eaten in my life was the amazing people. Once again nothing in China is, as it seems. I was anticipating a feeling of oppression and control. But, the Chinese people have many more freedoms than we would ever imagine. Outside of all the Asian people and architecture things felt mostly like anywhere here in the states. Conversation was similar to that here, although as a foreigner we were told to avoid the 3 Ts Tibet, Taiwan, and the Tiananmen Square incident. There is a major since that change is in the air and the country is becoming more modern and western.

The Chinese people are exceedingly sweet. I didn’t see one unfriendly face as I endeavored to get out amongst the people. I had the opportunity to visit street markets and by the street food (okay I am trying not to talk about the food), I went through the subway, I spent time on a college campus, and I visited 3 churches. I had an authentic Chinese experience, but all things were consistent, the people are the highlight of the country.

I visited two schools while there. One was the 4th ranked college in China and the other was a smaller less prestigious one. The top ranked school was much larger and you could tell that this was some of the best students the country had to offer. The students were really smart and their English was as good as mine. They were the future of the country and they felt the pressure from both their families and their nation. The second group of students really grabbed my heart, as they were most likely ones who didn’t test as well and they didn’t carry the same sense of confidence. Both sets of students were very knowledgeable about the world and they seemed to not necessarily embrace the leading parties philosophy.

The reality is that since China has gone to the population controlled 1 child per family rule all of their families hopes were resting on their shoulders. Although, some people are happy to pay the fines to have another child most are too poor to do so. As you can imagine that creates a spoiled child. Chinese people fawn over their children. Every body stops to look at the baby in the room. Interestingly, many young children don’t have pampers, they have cut outs in their pants and can squat pretty anywhere to relieve themselves. It’s a bit disconcerting at first to western eyes, but it just works with the rhythm of the country. There is also a great amount of respect given to the elderly, and in this regard we could learn much.

There are some major problems that I was glad to have seen. I say that because I didn’t want to have a view that was different than the reality. One issue is a high abortion rate. Another is the strong desire of the young to embrace all that the western culture has to offer. The problem is they have no idea of how to handle the pitfalls of a “free-er” society. There are more males because people were aborting girls in order to have boys that would support them later. With the population having more males than females the rate of prostitution is rising, along with rape, and homosexuality. There is also a lack of care and accommodations for the disabled. So China is by no means perfect, and there are some serious social ills.

Like in most places the good outweighed the bad and I was left with a true desire to see this countries people flourish. I appreciate the contrasts. Students for instance may be pigeonholed into a category, but I met a girl who walked away from a career to be a tour guide. Men may be desired, but women seemed to be allowed to excel and compete head to head with their male counterparts. Children are kept in school long hours with rigorous requirements, but once they hit the streets they are like kids anywhere else.

With all of this the Chinese people are full of smiles and affection for others. They are a people with a wonderful since of and self-depreciative humor. I caught myself doing the open mouth full-bodied Chinese laugh. I can’t help but think my life has become much richer as I have spent time in their midst. If you have the opportunity to visit China, abandon what you think you know for the people will exceed your expectations.