Journal Entry 4

The final journal entry of our two week travel seminar.

One of the reasons I wanted to come to China was to see if all the rumors about China's economy and growth were true. After seeing the rapid building for the Olympics in Beijing and the new buildings in Shanghai I would say that everything I've heard about China's quick building is true. Just by looking at my China guidebook you can see examples of this growth. Written in 2005, the Shanghai section of the book warns that so much is changing so quickly in Shanghai that everything written in the book might be outdated by the time you read it. The book is right. For instance, it says that there are only two metro lines in Shanghai, but there are almost five times as many metro lines now.

I find myself wondering though, how beneficial is all of this rapid construction? For one, it appears like they're knocking down old buildings with historical significance to make room for the new buildings. For instance, hutongs are being knocked down in Beijing, and the old colonial districts are disappearing from Shanghai. I understand that China wants to modernize, but at what cost to its history? Moreover, if these buildings are being built so quickly, I can't help but question the integrity of the buildings. Though I'm not an architect or construction worker I don't think that buildings that are built very quickly sound very safe. Perhaps in China it is different though.

Lastly, I'm a bit concerned about the futures of the buildings being built for the Olympics in Beijing. What will happen after the Olympics come and go? Will these buildings still be put to use? I think this is a common concern for all cities that host the Olympics. I know Chicago is arguing about this concern in its debate about whether or not it wants to try to host the Olympics in 2016. I'm interested to find out more about these Olympic buildings and what China is planning on doing after the Olympics are over. Right now, Olympic hype is huge and the country seems abuzz with excitement. Will it remain this way? I'll try to find out.

China isn't only growing in terms of new buildings. The economy is also booming. However, as I've learned in the last two weeks, there are many myths about China's economy. For instance, I didn't realize that many products with the "Made in China" sticker aren't necessarily made entirely in China. In fact, most products with that sticker only had the final assembly done in China. Moreover, most of the products made in China are sold in China. Only a small portion of them are sent back to the U.S. These are facts I was surprised to learn upon arrival to China. I blame the U.S. media for this. I feel that the media in the U.S. has only hit the surface of news items such as the environment and China's economy. No one seems to want to delve past the basic truths and understand the deeper meanings of why things are the way they are. Throughout the next five months, I intend to continue reading the U.S. news on China and then search for a more in-depth story story using my personal experiences in China. I hope that when I return home I can educate other people in the U.S. about how things really are in China so they too can understand more than what the U.S. media offers.

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