China!

Most of us may think we know a little about China, or we at least have an impression. When thinking of China, maybe the phrase, “Made in China,” pops into our thoughts, or how about the scolding our parents used to give us when we would not eat our breakfast, “Eat your food, children in China are starving.”  There are so many scenarios that our imaginations, old stories, social media, or even bad TV and movies might impart, but today’s China, the New China, is nothing of that sort anymore.

Two weeks as tourists certainly don’t qualify us as experts, but here are a few of our impressions.

China’s city streets, sidewalks, and green spaces are squeaky clean and professionally landscaped with trees, shrubs, and flowers. Its vast network of roads, streets, highways, and boulevards is first-class and immaculately maintained; its roads are of the quality any country might envy. That’s a good thing because people in China love their cars, the bigger and newer, the better. There are millions of them on the road every day.  Many vehicles are electric, but most are still gas-powered. But cars are not the only way to get around. China has ultra-modern airports and high-speed bullet trains; we took a train that traveled well over 200 mph from Guilin to Chengdu, making 4 momentary stops in cities along the way, covering 658 miles in less than 5 hours.  A drive for that route requires 12-13 hours.  We looked forward to the scenery we would pass, but much of the fast trip was through miles of tunnels.  When we did get a glimpse of sunlight, the serene hillside farms of flowering rape seed, vegetables, and rice paddies looked as if painted in watercolor. 

Security in Chinese airports is super strict. Travelers must show their passports and visas multiple times, pass facial identification, and sometimes record fingerprints too. No alcohol, even liquid alcohol hand sanitizer, is allowed, and only phone power banks must be made in China and carry a CCC (China Compulsory Certification) logo designation. All others are confiscated. We lost Stan’s favorite hand sanitizer and 3 power banks.

China cities these days are modern and very high-tech.  Many young graduates make their living working with AI, working in huge chip manufacturing companies or in other high-tech companies like Samsung Display or BOE Technology, designing and producing LCDs, OLEDs, and flexible screens for products like Apple iPhone and TV screens for autos.  Tourism and agriculture still play a big part in China’s economy, plus while roughly the same geographic size of the US, its population is nearly 4 times that of the US.  Even without exports, their market size is enormous.

While China seems to be rocking and rolling, its people, with government support, work hard to preserve their ancient heritage.  Ancestors are revered; temples, both Buddhist and Tao, are preserved, honored, and frequently visited for prayer and meditation.  Emperors and engineers are celebrated for their contributions to society’s well-being.  For example, Li Bing of the Qin dynasty is honored because he made artificial diversions to the Minjiang River over 2200 years ago that are still effective in providing seasonal flood control and supplying water for nearly 2 million acres of Chinese farmland today.

I know many won’t believe it, but people here are living a good life in China.  While life remains simple for rural farming families, city folk, and there are literally millions of them, are making money, buying houses, and living in a manner very similar to those of us in the West.   It’s a good time to be Chinese in China.  Yes, the government still has great control over almost everything.  The government owns all the land, but “property owners” are given land-use rights typically for 70 years. There are no foreign TV channels, no Facebook, and to use Google, a VPN must be engaged.  But they have apps for everything!  And their Internet is fast; that is, it is fast for Chinese phones and computers, but not so much for ours.  AI is well-intrenched here.  A young lady wanted a selfie with me a few days ago.  As I watched the video she was making with me, she had made me up in red lipstick and caused me to look Chinese.  I was floored, but I liked the look.

Chinese food here is delicious; vegetables, rice noodles, and rice rule the day, but a Chinese Hot Pot is to die for!  It will leave your lips smoking hot!  Ask for an eggroll or Moo Goo Gai Pan, and they have no idea what that is.  Is that strictly American-Chinese??

Stan and I are exhausted.  Since leaving Atlanta on February 22, we have had only about 5 days of downtime.  Otherwise, our days have been spent non-stop exploring, touring, hiking, climbing, traveling, and learning about ancient Buddhist, Hindu, and Tao religions or philosophies.  Religion plays an overwhelmingly important role in lives here, and while the main philosophies are considered different, like many religions, there is much similarity.  Some believe in reincarnation, or the next life; some do not.  All, however, are rooted in the importance of living a simple, kind, sharing, peaceful life that is also keenly respectful of our earthly environment.  I like that.

From Xi’an, to Guilin, to Yangshuo, and finally to Chengdu, our experiences in China have been completely amazing.  Xi’an is a great big city (13 million people). It was the capital of China for more than 1000 years until the fall of the Tang Dynasty.  Chengdu marks the eastern end of the Silk Road, which during the 15^th century ran some 4,000 miles from Xi’an to Cairo and Constantinople.  Today, the city is most famous for the vast, recently discovered (1974) tomb of China’s first Emperor in 210 BC. This enormous mausoleum, mostly unexcavated, covers 22 to 38 square miles and contains items for the emperor’s next life. The most astounding unearthed artifacts are the emperor’s army, the Terracotta Warriors. What a sight to see!  Lined up in colums in squads of four, each soldier is exquisitely detailed, life-sized, and no two are alike.  While the entire dig is not complete, over 6,000 warriors, officers, chariots, and horses have been unearthed and restored so far. Wow, just wow!

By the time we reached the Reed Flute Cave in Guilin, Stan wasn’t feeling 100%.  He urged me to proceed with the cave visit while he waited and rested outside.  I am not enthusiastic about caves, but this was the most beautiful one I have ever seen!  I was so sorry Stan could not see it because he enjoys cave exploration much more than I do.  This was no ordinary cave; it opened immediately into a vast cavern, like a grand performance theater.  Its curtains and majestic towers of eons-old stalactite and stalagmite were gorgeous.  And our guide and I followed the path, we found cavern after magnificent cavern.

 In Yanshuo, we took a four-hour boat ride on the Li River, famous as one of the 15 most beautiful rivers on earth.  It was indeed.  We took photograph after photograph, but none reflected the awesome beauty of the limestone mountains with caves, jagged towers, and streams, often depicted in Chinese art.  That evening, we almost said no to the chance to see a musical performed on the waters of the Li River.  Hmm, we thought, do we really want to do this after a day full of tours???  We did, and what a spectacular, one-of-a-kind, large-scale production!  Over 600 local costumed actors and performers sang, danced, and canoed along the giant river stage with lighted natural peaks, trees, and water as backdrops.

Pandas! Chengdu (another humongous city with 10 million people) is known for giant pandas, lots of them.  While there are several panda research sites, we visited the Chengdu Panda Research and Breeding Center.  Here, pandas are bred to increase the once-endangered population, and live freely in vast natural habitats.  They can be seen sleeping in a fork of a tree, lounging spread-eagled over a rock, or happily seated snapping and eating bamboo.  Young siblings do what young siblings do: frolic, chase, and wrestle.  During their period in captivity, the creatures are moved from center to center, not only giving them a change in environment but also preparing them for their eventual release back into the wild.  While the huge pandas are adorable, the red pandas we saw were the showstopper. These red, furry, long-bushy-tailed animals are just dang cute and are much more active than their cousins, the giant pandas.  They put on a show just doing what they do naturally. 

I am only hitting the highlights of this China visit.  There is so much more to be shared . . . maybe over dinner or a glass of wine, sometime, somewhere. But I cannot close without passing along a few random but important notes: 

Children here are the cutest; I could not help being captivated by each one. Between 1979 and 2015, China had a one-child-per-family rule.  Now, as in many other parts of the world, even though the restriction is gone, Chinese people are still having fewer children.  This means most children are “only-children,” and they are treated like royalty.  Naturally, among crowds of Asian people, with our light-colored faces and eyes, Stan and I stand out.  We were a source of curiosity to many kids.  They stared. When we said hello, many simply burst into smiles and waved.  Some ran to their parents, smiling and pointing us out.  We all, adults and children, then shared smiles and greetings.  And it wasn’t just kids who were intrigued by our visit; many adults said hello and welcome.  A few wanted photos with us. Over the years, through many countries, we never fail to see that people all over the world are good; we are all very much the same.  They touch our hearts.

One more item, I never do promos for anyone or anything in my blog posts, but I must give applause to guides and drivers in China: Daniel and Sally, and our driver, David. David was the icing on the cake, though. Still just learning English, this man was a match to Stan’s wit, and he could carry on endlessly–even while using a Suri-like app to translate!   If we were in the car, we would be laughing.

But here is the million-dollar tip: Luki with Yellowbird Tours arranged this 32-day Asian tour for us.  Her responsiveness and attention to detail were completely unmatched!  Since our first conversation on November 19, she and I chatted on WhatsApp, sometimes several times a day, working out details for this intense tour.  Once the tour began, she regularly kept up with us, passing on necessary logistical information and just making sure all was good.  We talked so many times that we became friends.  Guess who came to our hotel last night to meet us in person . . . Luki! She is as beautiful, intelligent, and personable in person as she was during all our conversations.  Again, I never make recommendations, but in this case, I highly, highly recommend Luki and Yellowbird Tours for your next trip to China or any country in this part of the world.

We are going to miss all our newly found friends, Daniel, Sally, David, and Luki. We are going to miss China as well.  However, Stan and I look forward to returning to our kind of travels . . . in an Airbnb, fewer alarm clocks, and a more relaxed pace.

See us next in Taiwan, as we enjoy a six-week stay . . . and a visit from Tessa!