The Final Chapter

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Observations, Musings and Final Comments



When I came up with the idea of going to China it was with some trepidation. First, I was concerned with taking a trip to a communist country, especially with what we hear every day on the news. Second, I was concerned with terrorism, although I really do not recall any events in the Far East concerning this issue, but you never know. I had some preconceived notions like: The people will be hostile or at least standoffish. The cost will be high on everything. The food will be terrible, even though I like Chinese food at home, I expected the food to be way different. I was concerned about crime, we hear at home about Chinese gangs and what a dangerous place China is for travelers, especially Americans. I was concerned about getting ripped off on buying something valuable, that turned our to be junk. Now the truth.



The People's Republic of China is a beautiful place. It is clean, people sweep the streets all night to make sure it is clean. The buildings are old but beautiful. The newer skyscrapers from the 1990's looked brand new, not like in the US, where our building are left to decay. The new skyscrapers are huge. they soar over 100 stories and take on fanciful shapes that can only come from the most imaginative architecture school. They light everything. Every building, most trees, all the parks are well lit, decorated with light and movement and color. The evening is a cocophany of lights, sights, sounds and smells. they love to sing and perform. every day in every pars, someone ( or many someones) are singing. Most songs are in English, but there is some traditional music.



The people love to dance. In many parts of the city, especially in the mornings, you can find a group of senior citizens dancing to music from a boom box. They are doing ball room type dance moves, elegant and graceful . It is part of their exercise routine. Next to them, will be a group doing Tai Chi, or playing a form of badminton or other sport like hack sac, designed to provide movement and hand to eye coordination while getting the blood flowing . They are not in the gym, sweating over some mechanical device contrived more as form of torture. They are outside, with friends, enjoying the company of others, while still getting exercise.



The people are open, friendly and very very helpful . Countless times, we were stuck behind the language barrier and someone just stepped up and helped us through. It was amazing how people would just stop and help. One strange thing we came across is their love to be photographed with Americans. John, from Philadelphia, must have been photographed a hundred times a day. Sometimes, it was a sneaky photo, but most of the time a perfect stranger would walk up to him, put his or her arm around him, snap a selfie, smile and walk away. It happened to all of us day after day.



It is true, that in a communist country you do not say anything bad about the government. I did ask one person, the manager of a jade store, about the government and he had an interesting slant. "The government is the government. You leave them alone and they will leave you alone. We have nothing unless we work for it. If we work we can have almost anything. If you want to be happy, you can be. If you do not, that is your choice." A very Zen philosophy.



The government owns almost everything, especially the land. No one owns any property of any kind . the government rents you the land, rents you a house and rents you land if you want to farm. If the government wants you to move, you move. This can be upsetting to life and family, but the locals told us that when you have to move, it is usually to a better location and a better way of life. If you are a disident, you disappear, period. So basically don't complain too loudly, work hard and you can have a good life.



I expected to see PRC soldiers out and about keeping watch over the locals and especially the Americans. I did not. There were police everywhere, but they were keeping the peace, making sure the roads were moving, and generally doing their job. We felt safe because of their presence.



People here are very satisfied with less. They do not live in private homes. They live in large condominium complexes. They have about 1000 square feet of living space which can cost upwards of 750,000 CYN (about $125,000). They own a small car or no car, only the wealthy have the big BMW or Peugeot. The rest ride a bike, electric scooter or take the local bus or underground. Gasoline is about $4 a gallon so it is better not to drive too far or too often.



Speaking of the underground, aka Subway, it is amazing. First it is spotless and smells like fresh flowers, NY please take note, if you spend time and money you too can have a beautiful subway system. The stations are bright, safe and packed. The trains are modern, clean, fast, on time and arrive in the station every 2 minutes. Yes, at rush hour, they are impossibly packed, the pushers make sure each car is full to 110% of capacity, but with 23 million people in a city what can you expect? The cost of a subway ticket is predicated on distance you travel but is very cheap. We took the subway once across town in Shanghai, changed lines three times and were only charged 4 CYN (about $0.66). The subway is government subsidized.



The food is very delecious. All meals are served family style, unless you are eating for two or less. They serve many offerings at each meal and the offerings are shared among all. The Chinese food we had was westernized, meaning it was not too spicy. They do eat some strange things, various mystery meats on a stick, fish with the head still attached, various fried foods that no self righteous American would ever try (only kidding). They eat a great deal of rice, noodles and Tofu (stinky Tofu is the worst). They do not eat much beef and keep other meats to a minimum. Perhaps, because of this diet, they are fit, do not have wrinkles and never look their age. I spoke with people in their 70's and 80's who looked and behaved as if they were 50. They do not get gray hair, suffer from ulcers or die young of stress related disease. They exercise daily, (walk or ride a bike), eat moderately and generally live a holistic lifestyle. They do however, smoke and drink some strange brews especially with dead animals such as snakes and bats, but they believe these are medicinal and will help provide a long life. Whatever they are doing, it works. I even tried all the medicinal drinks, but I still did not get the one with the bat.



The cost of things was determined on your negotiating style and prowess. If you drove hard bargin, you got a good deal. If you did not, you got taken, your fault not theirs. Some of the things that were purchased as the real deal, did turn out to be junk. The silver coins some folks bought, were a scam. Caveat Emptore rules the day. if you are not savy about your purchase do not buy it. They are masters of making a knockoff and do prey on the unsuspecting . For me it was fun and a challenge. I had no intention of buying a valuable item on the street, so I believe I was not taken for a ride. So just be careful.



Now let's take about smog. We all heard that the air in some cities is polluted. This is true. In Beijing and Shanghai and some smaller cities you could actually "Taste" the air. It tasted like wet cement. When we were sightseeing in one cities and we went up into a tower or on the Great Wall, you could indeed see the haze. It was think, gray and wide spread. Yes it was bad. Many travelers and more locals used a mask. if you did not you could feel the back of your throat get caked with dust and eventually you spend the rest of the day coughing. It was less than I expected but worse that I liked. The smog comes from a population density that can be as high a 6 people per square yard. With cars and busses riding the roads, the smog just hung there. When it did rain is pushed the dirt onto the cars and streets, better for breathing but unsightly. That is why the sweepers worked all night to keep the surfaces clean. I would not like to live in such a smog dense environment. That was the only really bad think we came across in all of China.



A word about China Spree, also known as World Spree. If our guide Jo is any indication of the quality of the guides working for China Spree, then China Spree is the best tour company for this part of the world. The staff in Washington was helpful, competent and knew what they were doing. The trip was low cost but was not a budget trip in any sense of the word. The hotels were American 5 star properties. The food was enjoyed in local restaurants and exemplified what the locals were eating. The busses were clean, porters prompt and courteous and the bus drivers were highly skilled. The chinglish spoken by all was enough to be understood, and there was always someone willing to step in if you were struggling behind the language barrier. Our national guide Jo, kept us in line, ontime, provided an educational and cultural experience and was just an all around wonderful person. If you do go to China, you owe it to yourself to consider China Spree and do ask for Jo, you will not regret it.



So that is my final chapter of this wonderful trip. I hope those of you who read the journey and those of you who took the trip felts I gave an accurate representation of our vacation. I enjoyed every minute of every day and look forward to my next trip, this time with my wife, to Italy. Until then, as Rick Steve's says, "keep on traveling." see you then.

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