There were so many eye-opening things in China that I saw, or heard about from locals, so I wanted to just share a few! (*Disclaimer- this is only from my ignorant tourist perspective and not based on researched facts or industrious studies.)
First of all...let's talk about the toilets.
As you can see, this does not look like our "western" style toilet. You literally have to squat down as low as you can, and try not to pee on your foot. Also, there is no toilet paper in the stall. Some bathrooms didn't even provide toilet paper, so you have to bring your own- or I guess the unprepared just have to go without. When you're done with your toilet paper, you put it in the nice basket over there, that I'm sure smells awesome. Let's just say- the Chinese think that this is more sanitary than our toilet seats, but I'm going to have to disagree.
Second...let's talk about the people.
(at the Great Wall)
Often, Chinese people have never seen a "big nose." The term "big nose" refers to, more or less, anyone not Chinese, whose ethnicity lends them to have a bigger nose than that of a Chinese person. The girls in this photo wanted to take a picture of me- and that was pretty much the case anywhere I went. Being a "big nose" is like being a celebrity, because they will take your picture all the time, no matter where you are, and I guess...show the picture to their friends?
There are two places Chinese people live:
the city
(Shanghai)
or the farm.
(Tea Leaf farm in Hangzou)
If you are from a farming family, then you have many siblings. If you are from the city, you are the only child. The Chinese are not really upset about the only-child rule because they understand that the population needs to be controlled. However, they have commented on how the new generation of Chinese city people are becoming selfish and spoiled. Can you imagine living in a world of all "only children?"
Although times are changing and modernizing in "the" China, gender equality is still lagging behind. (but let's be real- it's still lagging everywhere). If you have a son, you are considered lucky. Our tour guide in Shanghai has a daughter, therefore, he is considered unlucky by his family. His brother, however, has a boy. The eldest man of the family has decided the family should send this boy to America for university training. Thus, everyone in the family must put money towards his education. Even though my tour guide would like to save money for his daughter's education, he cannot do so because she is a woman and he cannot go against his family's wishes.
Third...let's talk about silk worms.
Think back to 10th grade world history when you were supposed to read books about the Silk Road and how important it was for the world economy... yeah, so if you're like me, you don't know anything about that and never read that book. Well, silk is still a big part of Chinese culture and I got to go to a silk worm factory. What astounded me was that it seems like they are still using ancient techniques to create the silk fabric. For instance: they wear shirts with pockets, where they put the cocoons of the worms against their breasts for 24 hours until they hatch. Don't you think there's a more up-to-date way of doing these things?
(Silk worm cocoons)
(Silk worms out of the cocoon)
Our Chinese guide in Beijing said, "We can eat anything with 4 legs except the table." This also applies to worms because I got to taste some "snack" silk worms that were being sold at a rest area. Next time I'll probably go for the potato chips.
Lastly...let's talk about Communism.
Long story short, the Communist party took over China in 1949, overthrowing the Kuomintang. The head of this party was Chairman Mao.
(Chairman Mao's portrait is center of this building in Tiananmen Square in Beijing)
I knew that China was a communist country, but I didn't really realize the affect it had on its people.
Knowledge is power. The Chinese government controls all the knowledge.
In China, all internet browsing is hooked up through a huge parental controls panel in Beijing. (that's just what I'm calling it). They control everyone's access to anything in the web. There is no facebook. There is no twitter. You want news? It goes through the government first.
Remember this stirring photo? The Chinese know very little about it and our guides were not allowed to talk about it.
Remember that time hundreds of people in China were dying from SARS and everyone in the world knew except....Chinese people?
A local from Shanghai told us about a meeting in Beijing with all the Chinese government authorities. The Governor of Shanghai disagreed with something the Chinese President said, the Chinese President accused the Governor of Shanghai of something ludicrous and locked him away. Apparently disagreeing is not allowed.
The local also said, "We don't care who the the President of China is because we don't get a vote. We care who the President of the USA is because we want to stick near the police, and we need good police."
Definitely something to think about during this next election. Who do we want representing our country globally?
Obviously this post only covers a few things I saw and experienced, but I hope it was at least interesting and somewhat informative...if you made it this far :)
If you care to see more pictures- I will be putting them up on facebook probably this week. Stay tuned for the next blog about everything I've been up to in Nashville- pretty exciting stuff happening, can't wait to share!
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