We had been reading and become familiar with China’s troubled past and their current economic success before arriving. This made us very interested to experience China ourselves and form our own opinions. Here’s a quick summary of our observations, opinions and reviews of what we did.
Troubled past and censorship: Outside of China it’s very well-known that this exists. We knew before arriving that Facebook, blogspot, YouTube, and other sites would be blocked. We also knew that political censorship exists - certain historical events are not discussed and opinions about the government are to remain positive, in fact, Chairman Mao is very well respected and the Chinese are very loyal to him.
A developing country: China may have the second largest economy in the world right now but they are still very much a developing country. While China is densely populated, it lacks basic government regulations for sanitation, the environment or even traffic laws. Babies and children don’t use toilets, in fact they don’t wear diapers or pants. Even in Beijing, a large city, in the middle of a historical monument, children were urinating and defecating anywhere they wanted. The Chinese smoke a lot, arguably more than Europeans, and the air pollution was pervasive.
Infrastructure: While China may not have the development we have come to know and expect in the United States, the evidence of their economic growth and prosperity is everywhere. Brand new gleaming highways provide routes between cities, construction cranes are omnipresent and new buildings spring up from otherwise undeveloped land. Piles of unused bricks for new construction lay around the country either the result of planned construction, ongoing construction or completed construction (and the workers simply didn’t have time to pick them up before moving onto their next job). China has definitely been the beneficiary of globalization and world trade.
Shanghai is the most modern and advanced city we've ever seen. Having been effectively built in the last 25 years it is a model of technological innovation, modern construction techniques and advanced infrastructure. Chris believes this is what cities of the future will look like and the kinds of places China hopes to build more of.
Rolex, Gucci, Prada, lady massage: This is what you hear through the streets of Shanghai. NY’s Chinatown prepared us a little for this but in China selling fake, imitation items seems to be legal. In fact, selling fake Rolexes was happening right in front of the Rolex store. Lady massages are something else that were offered on the streets, particularly to men walking around alone, we didn’t find out what a “lady massage” is.
The food: We really enjoyed every lunch and dinner we had in China. Food is cheap and absolutely delicious. Like Japan, Chinese breakfast is terrible. Alcoholic drinks include bad wine, low-quality liquor or beer (which was actually pretty decent).
The people: At first we were unsure of the Chinese. They push their way through lines, don’t understand “personal space” and they stare. Many Chinese have never left their hometowns or country, so they’ve only see people of different colored skin/hair/eyes in the movies. This made us and our tour group mini-celebrities. The Chinese stared, pointed and took pictures of us. We did find that once you talk with the Chinese, they were quite nice people.
Traveling and touring: We booked a group tour through GAP for the full 9 days we were in China and would highly recommend anyone else traveling to China to do this as well. (And our tour company GAP is a great one to use.) Besides the obvious benefits of having a tour guide explain what you’re looking at and driving you around; it was great to have someone recommend restaurants, select clean hotels and answer any other questions. English is generally printed in menus or signs but many Chinese don’t speak it. Even those working at hotels don’t always speak English.
All in all, we would recommend anyone with an interest to visit China to do so. However, it would be best to use a private or group tour to help you get along and adjust to the culture.
Troubled past and censorship: Outside of China it’s very well-known that this exists. We knew before arriving that Facebook, blogspot, YouTube, and other sites would be blocked. We also knew that political censorship exists - certain historical events are not discussed and opinions about the government are to remain positive, in fact, Chairman Mao is very well respected and the Chinese are very loyal to him.
A developing country: China may have the second largest economy in the world right now but they are still very much a developing country. While China is densely populated, it lacks basic government regulations for sanitation, the environment or even traffic laws. Babies and children don’t use toilets, in fact they don’t wear diapers or pants. Even in Beijing, a large city, in the middle of a historical monument, children were urinating and defecating anywhere they wanted. The Chinese smoke a lot, arguably more than Europeans, and the air pollution was pervasive.
Infrastructure: While China may not have the development we have come to know and expect in the United States, the evidence of their economic growth and prosperity is everywhere. Brand new gleaming highways provide routes between cities, construction cranes are omnipresent and new buildings spring up from otherwise undeveloped land. Piles of unused bricks for new construction lay around the country either the result of planned construction, ongoing construction or completed construction (and the workers simply didn’t have time to pick them up before moving onto their next job). China has definitely been the beneficiary of globalization and world trade.
Shanghai is the most modern and advanced city we've ever seen. Having been effectively built in the last 25 years it is a model of technological innovation, modern construction techniques and advanced infrastructure. Chris believes this is what cities of the future will look like and the kinds of places China hopes to build more of.
Rolex, Gucci, Prada, lady massage: This is what you hear through the streets of Shanghai. NY’s Chinatown prepared us a little for this but in China selling fake, imitation items seems to be legal. In fact, selling fake Rolexes was happening right in front of the Rolex store. Lady massages are something else that were offered on the streets, particularly to men walking around alone, we didn’t find out what a “lady massage” is.
The food: We really enjoyed every lunch and dinner we had in China. Food is cheap and absolutely delicious. Like Japan, Chinese breakfast is terrible. Alcoholic drinks include bad wine, low-quality liquor or beer (which was actually pretty decent).
The people: At first we were unsure of the Chinese. They push their way through lines, don’t understand “personal space” and they stare. Many Chinese have never left their hometowns or country, so they’ve only see people of different colored skin/hair/eyes in the movies. This made us and our tour group mini-celebrities. The Chinese stared, pointed and took pictures of us. We did find that once you talk with the Chinese, they were quite nice people.
Traveling and touring: We booked a group tour through GAP for the full 9 days we were in China and would highly recommend anyone else traveling to China to do this as well. (And our tour company GAP is a great one to use.) Besides the obvious benefits of having a tour guide explain what you’re looking at and driving you around; it was great to have someone recommend restaurants, select clean hotels and answer any other questions. English is generally printed in menus or signs but many Chinese don’t speak it. Even those working at hotels don’t always speak English.
All in all, we would recommend anyone with an interest to visit China to do so. However, it would be best to use a private or group tour to help you get along and adjust to the culture.
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