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Published: August 20th 2008
Shanghai is perhaps not the best place to start out a trip to China. Polluted, crowded, and chaotic, it can be quite the reality shock for the unprepared. Especially if you have just spent a year living in Japan, the land of ultra-politeness, ultra-cleanliness, and ultra-efficientcy. I think I was too concerned with pondering what kind of culture shock I would experience when I am to go home to the States next month that I did not even consider how China would effect me. In addition, knowing that so many aspects of Japanese culture were influenced by China, I really thought I was going to find more similarities here between the two nations. But other than the use of kanji characters, China really could not be more different. In fact, what I have witnessed in Shanghai was always something I imagined Bangkok or Bombay to be like.
In terms of behavior, the Chinese are pretty much the exact opposite of the Japanese, so if you were paying attention in my past emails I think you can picture the scenerio: men walk around in sweaty tshirts pulled up to expose their plump bellies to the stench filled air, coughing up flem from
their congested lungs onto the sidewalk, women are stocky and agressive, not the long-haired delicate waifs of japan, beggers line the sides of buildings sitting amoungst the broken tiles and dusty bikes while hustlers jump out at you shoving fake rolexes and gucci bags in your face. Waiting in line is a shoving contest, everyone carelessly throws their garbage into the streets, there apparently are no traffic laws, and no, they don't bow.
One of the biggest surprises came my first day on the train. I looked over to find a bare-assed toddler squatting to shit into a plastic dust pan her mother was mindfully holding out as a toothless old man laughed in encouragement. Apparently this is the method used instead of diapers. My initial reaction was to be appauled. I've never seen behavior like this before, it was new to me. But then I began to think, what does it really mean to be civilized? What makes me anything more than a well-trained monkey? And who decided to begin with what the terms are for offensiveness. We are all organic beings who take shits, so why is it offensive when someone does it publicly? I'm not defending this
behavior, I'm just saying the terms to being civilized depend on the collective society, and should not be imposed by an outsider.
In order to improve China's image during the Olympics, televisions sets on trains and in public squares run looped comercials on public behavior. They include messages like
don't shove an old person down when you are getting on the train, put a piece of newspaper under you feet if you are going to stand on a park bench, and don't talk loudly next to sleeping babies. Why they chose these scenerios as their top priorities I am not quite sure.
But the behaviorisms of the Chinese are not all negative. It is very refreshing after a year spent amongst the shy, quiet Japanese to walk down streets brimming with emotion, echoing with tones of anger and laughter, children running with toys and old men crouching to gamble in the alleys. The Chinese are loud, outgoing, friendly and they like to joke around. What perhaps is most interesting is that the modern Chinese seem to be a completely different breed of people from the traditional Chinese of so many books and movies. Generations of war, famine, and communist purges
(most infamously Mao's Cultural Revolution, where artists, monks, and intellectuals were killed or sent to work camps) has severed the vital arteries of culture and custom. Millions and millions of Chinese were still suffering horribly just a mere 50 years ago, so it is amazing that they have even come this far by now.
China is often toted as a booming economy, a leading superpower. But the strange paradox about Shanghai is that although the skyline resembles this image of a rapidly developing manhattan with new highrises going up every day(no new building is less than 20 floors), at street level, the Chinese live in a third world country.
Apart from a few trendy tourist areas that have been cleaned up for the Olympics, there is poverty and squalor everywhere. After 3 days of wandering Shanghai, I determined that there is a very small upper class, a small middle class, a massive poor. Every year, thousands of impoversized peasants pour into Shanghai and Beijing in hopes of opportunity. These peasants, whom have been treated for decades like animals, behave like animals, which is part of the reason so much lack of civility is displayed.
The largest contradiction in society is
surely China's communist regime. On one hand, the communist party opened the doorways to capitalism in order to prevent its own collapse, going against the whole point of marxism in the first place (ahem, a classless society) and on the other hand, it censors, preaches, and restricts like a communist regime. The worst of both worlds with none of the benefits. Hopefully in time, China will experience a growing middle class, but for now, it is still a place where many suffer without a voice to represent them.
After just three days in Shanghai, I would have to say that I can feel the effects of the pollution. My throat is sore, gray stuff is coming out of my nose, and I am even starting to spit in the streets a little too. But I have noticed two positive qualities to all the smog; 1- It filters out most of the sunlight so I don't have to wear any sunscreen, 2- In the evening, the neon illuminated buildings shine through the smog, making the night sky beautiful shades of pink, blue, and green.
Shanghai doesn't have any historical sites to boast other than the remnants of its old french quarter,
but it does have a thriving contemporary art scene. Chinese artists are granted the freedom of expression more than other art and media forms in China. It is very easy to censor literature, but visual art is a lot harder for the communist regime to interpret. I went with my friend Ana from the Check Repulic, who had come with me on the boat from Japan, to explore the vast gallery area. I am very lucky to have met her, as it has been immensly interesting to listen to her impressions of China. Having grown up herself in a communist country, she feels akin to the messages we saw expressed in the wildly expressive paintings and photography. All of the artwork was strongly Chinese, either drawing from elements, historical events, or artistic technics of the past to express the emotions of present, or portraits of everyday life. What was striking was that almost every gallery had at least some form of Maoist or communist artwork. I was leaning to interpret them as activist pieces, but she did not think they were statements of anti-Maoism. She thought they were a requirement, that perhaps each gallery had to offer a certain amount
of communist artwork in order to not come under suspicion. Whichever is true, you are free to interpret through my photos. Artwork in China is really unlike anything I have seen before in my travels. Whether you go to see art in Paris or Tokyo, London or LA, everything is following the same trends, the art has the same sharp, cutting edge, international feel. But in China, the art in very introverted in its inspiration. It follows its own path as if unaware of what is going on in the rest of the world.
It was equally interesting to see who else was exploring these galleries. There was a Chinese university student, wandering in and out with her camera, an old communist general in uniform, strolling the galleries with his mistress looking to buy, and a rich looking blond woman with a buff younger man who stepped out of their hired car, probably looking to snatch up a little something for their second condo in New York. I wished this art could be for the public they represent, but instead they are still a commodity for the elite of China and bargain hunting Westerners.
On my third day, I decided
to give my lungs a break and take a day trip to one of the water towns which line the rivers flowing outside Shanghai. Many of these towns are over one thousand years old, and once housed various arisocracts, artisans, and wealthy merchants, whom built elaborate private gardens and pagodas along its canals. Nowadays, toursim is the only thing that keeps these towns spared from the wreching ball of government construction projects, which have claimed the lives of several other cultural sites across China, such as Beijing's city walls, which are being destroyed for road widening projects. As a result, all of these towns require 'entrance fees' of around 15 dollars, which doesn't seem to go toward restoration or to benefit those livng within the city walls. But, it is a donation that gives these cultural places worth, so that their beauty and history can be spared. The gardens were remarkably beautiful, their red facades, woodcarvings, and strategectly placed windows a refreshing difference to the styles of Japan. The town was a maze of old once-whitewashed buildings with tiled roofs, and the streets were filled with the hardworn faces of souvinier shopkeepers, eager to bargain just to bring a few
yuan to the table.
There are far less foreigners here than in Japan. That, combined with the fact that the Chinese are not shy, means that me and my blonde hair are the object of even more stares and conversations. In Tongli, I was a bigger tourist attraction than the gardens. Dozens of Chinese tourists approached me asking to pose in photos. There was even one tour group of 10 people who each made me take a seperate photo with them. The extra attention is always a novelty, but in China it also proves to be an annoyance, one that often makes me wish I had some sort of Asian disguise I could slip on to deter the calls of 'hello', which really mean, let me sell you something, you rich foreigner. I have been able to dodge many attempts so far to be sold artwork, rip-off taxis, expensive lunches, and even someone who tried to charge me for hitting a drum in one of the gardens, but the biggest disadvantage is not being able to know when someone is being sincere. I happened to get drawn in by some very friendly locals when I was wandering Tongli. The big
guy in the photo with me apparently thought I was quite lovely, and had his friend who spoke English come and call me over to see if I wanted a Chinese husband. Soon, people heard the commotion and were popping out of buildings with a chair for me and a hot mug of tea. One woman even came out to fan me. I had to politely turn down all their offers for lunch, a ride in their Qing dynasty themed marriage cart, and their offer to marry off their friend to me with it. I still had a lot of fun talking with them, but at the same time, it made me feel sad that I couldn't trust them, and that this is a feeling that perhaps will follow me in the next 30 days.
Lisa
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funkymonky
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as a chinese,I thought this is the most insightful view of china. i luv the pic of carp,it is really sad