What I Will Miss About China

I am finally back in the states - and it does feel really good to be here. Maybe I still was not completely adjusted to China during my two months, but I cannot see myself ever permanently living there. That being said, there are certain aspects of China and life there that I will really miss here in the United States.

Things I will miss:

Family

I have always grown up without an extended family nearby, and without knowing what I missed, it did not seem like such a big deal. Yes, we celebrated holidays with close friends instead of relatives, but I thought it just made our nuclear family closer. However, upon going back to China I realized that I really enjoyed being around my grandparents, aunts and uncles, and cousins. I feel like your own flesh-and-blood relatives, like parents, will always love you unconditionally. In China, a lot of importance is placed on family ties. During major holidays such as the New Year, everyone, no matter where he/she currently live, tries to journey back "home" - the childhood home where he/she grew up and where the grandparents live. As my grandparents talked about the celebration in their home, I realized that my own nuclear family has been the missing piece of the united extended family for many years.

Though we do try to visit every few years, we miss a lot of important family events such as marriages, college graduations, or the birth of a child. Each time we visit, it seems as if their lives have been fast-forwarded into the future and we are only viewing snapshots in time. I have no idea when I will see them again.

Public Transportation

No one needs a car in China. There are all kinds of buses, taxis, subways for extremely low prices. I found that most buses only charged 1-2 Yuan (about 15-30 cents). Subways were around 2 Yuan. Additionally, usually schools and stores are easily within walking distance. If you are skillful and can navigate through a sea of pedestrians and cars, you can also ride a bike or motorcycle. It was so convenient and affordable to get anywhere in any city I visited.

Food

There is so much good food in China that sadly cannot be replicated here in the states. For example, right-out-of-the-ground fresh Chinese greens, fluffy white steamed bread, or salted duck eggs. Maybe I can try replicating some of the recipes? However, without the fresh ingredients, it probably will not taste the same.

Shopping

It's no secret that most everything is cheaper in China (with the exception of western brands, cars, and housing). I estimate that everyday goods are around 5 times cheaper there. It was really fun to buy things knowing that I was spending basically spare change. However, there is a hidden cost to the low prices. Who knows under what conditions and pressures laborers work under to produce massive amounts of goods?

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So those are some things I miss. Next I will write about what I do not miss about China.

Beijing, Part III

Today I experienced all the downsides of being a single, unprepared traveler in a large, unfamiliar city. In the morning I decided to visit the 798 Art District. It is a lesser known attraction located on the fringes of Beijing. There are many cool and edgy art galleries, cafes, and shops in renovated buildings that used to be Soviet-style military factories.

I did not know where it was located but decided to just wing it. I headed to the nearest subway stop by our hotel and asked a person working there. He told me to go to this certain subway stop. After riding the subway train for 40 minutes, I stepped out at that station. Nothing looked like an art district. On the contrary, the subway stop was located in the middle of a street surrounded by tall office buildings undergoing renovation.

I asked a lady selling beverages out of a cart. She told me to go to the bus stop down the street and take bus #401. However, as I looked at the list of stops the bus made, I didn’t see a 798 District. Then I asked several people how to reach the area and they all did not know. I went back near the subway stop and asked another street vendor. He told me to take #403. I went back to the bus stop and looked at the list of stops. In between the fourth and fifth stops, someone had scratched in “798.”

At this point I decided to just get on the bus. On the bus, I asked a passenger which stop to get off at. She told me to get off at the stop after hers. However, the area looked rather deserted under the bright morning sun. There was a dusty street surrounded by little shops and mechanics stores.

I decided to trust the passenger and got off. After asking several more pedestrians, I finally turned into this quiet street that had industrial buildings.

I saw a man with a large tourist camera walking down this way. There were a few galleries but they seemed closed. I was really confused – several tourist sites on the Internet had recommended this art district, but it seemed mostly abandoned. I saw a few sculptures in front of some buildings but nothing more. Maybe I came at the wrong time of day?



There was this really cool robot sculpture though.


I walked all the way to the end of the street and came out onto a busy road. This did not seem right. I asked a nearby security guard. He said I had just walked out of the district, but it was actually the 751 district. 751 was an artsy industrial district, but to reach 798 I had to walk even further in.

So I had just walked for an hour and passed the street I had to turn into to reach 798! Finally, after asking a few more people, I turned into the bustling cute little neighborhood of 798. Sadly I only had an hour and a half to explore since I wasted so much time being lost.


There were so many little art galleries filled with work by up-and-coming young Beijing artists. Most of the artwork was very edgy and modern. I was really fascinated by the subject matter and presentation style of most of the galleries. Sadly all of the galleries prohibited photography. I was only able to see a portion of the district so the next time I visit I definitely will come back!
Getting back also presented a problem. The subway station was pretty far away and I had no idea where the bus station was, so I had to call a cab. However, most of the cabs were already occupied. Finally I chased down a cab and paid 15 Yuan (a little more than $2) to take me to the nearest station.

In the afternoon I went to visit another Yale friend who lived in a district full of universities. It took 16 subway stops to get there! Then it started raining – and by raining, I mean pouring down buckets. Luckily I had an umbrella but even it could not shield me from the elements. The streets were full of water up to my knees.

Needless to say, after getting soaked and then riding the crowded subway for a hour (including 15 minutes in the wrong direction) with other soaked people, I was ready to call it a night.

Beijing!

On Wednesday night, I took the train from Changsha to Beijing with my mother's college classmate. Chinese trains are so fun because instead of seats they have beds in little compartments.

This is known as the "soft sleeper," as opposed to the "hard sleeper" which has three cots, one on top of the other instead of two. We left Changsha around 6 on Sunday night and arrived bright and early in Beijing at 7 am.

After settling down in our hotel, I immediately went exploring with Carol, a friend from Yale. We met at her university and then walked to the Olympic Park. It took a long time as we wandered around the perimeter, trying to find the Bird's Nest, but we eventually achieved our goal.

I was really surprised at how expensive it was to get into the Bird's Nest comparatively. There was no charge to enter the Olympic Park, but it cost 60 yuan just to enter the stadium.

There were few visitors on this Wednesday afternoon. I was disappointed that tourists were not allowed on the actual field of the stadium, only the seating areas.

We also saw the Aquatics Center, known as the Water Cube.

Here's an overall look at the park area, with many vendors selling kites.

Later I visited a famous Beijing bookstore. It had probably five or six floors and basically any type of book you could think of. Additionally, there was artwork and DVDs and CDs.

At night I went to eat a Beijing specialty with another friend Wendy. We ate huoguo or hotpot. It is the same concept as fondue, except you cook raw foods such as meat and vegetables in a various types of broth. You also have your own sauce to dip the foods into after they are cooked. We chose a spicy broth on one side of the pot and a clear mushroom broth on the other. The pot was in the shape of a yin-yang symbol.

The foods we chose out of an extensive booklet included lamb, beef, spinach, mushrooms, and noodles. There were also interesting foods that we did not pick, such as tongue and tripe. Then after some shopping in a higher-end, modern district of the city, it was time for me to journey back to the hotel.

Environment

Though China produces so much pollution each year, each individual citizen actually only consumes a very small amount of energy. People have always been very conservative with their energy usage. There simply would be no way for every person here to have the same lifestyle as the average American. Below are some examples I have observed of energy conservation:

Plastic bags are not free at most grocery stores. They usually cost a Yuan each. Therefore many people bring reusable bags.

People usually line-dry their clothes. Nobody owns dryers. Some people do not own washers either and hand-wash everything. It is rare to see an apartment without clothes hanging out of the window or balcony. Usually if there are no clothes It means the apartment is unoccupied at the moment.


In my uncle’s home, hot water has to be turned on by a switch in the bathroom. At my grandparents’, the hot water heater is powered by solar panels from the roof.
There is usually no central air conditioning system. Many people use electric fans. My uncle is lucky to have individual ac units in each room. This system still saves energy because it does not waste power heating or cooling unnecessary areas of the home.

Public transportation is accessible and affordable. There are various types of buses, subway systems, and trains. Other people ride bikes or walk. Sometimes in cities it simply isn’t practical to own a car. In spite of this, air pollution is prevalent in most cities simply because of large population.


Recycling is becoming more popular now. However, most people seem to have no qualms about tossing a plastic bottle into the trash. Likewise, I have seen people just throw trash onto ground in public areas and spit onto the sidewalk without a second glance.


This leads me to believe that the environmentally-friendly ways of most Chinese citizens is not caused mainly by a concern for nature, but out of necessity and habit. There is not enough energy to go around for everyone to have washers and dryers. There is not enough space on the roads for everyone to own a car. There have been enough hard times in the past for my grandparents to still not want to waste a drop of water or a bit of food.

Still, as more and more people discover and demand a higher, western-style standard of living (personal cars, washing machines), China will experience a huge environmental strain and energy crisis. Therefore it is imperative that the country’s leaders figure out a solution that recognizes both citizens’ legitimate wishes and the environmental ramifications of a new age of economic prosperity.