Reflections on China

Maya's Goods and Bads:
Goods:
The Great Wall because of the scenery - it was the best view we had in China, and how because of how long it was - it went as far as we could see, it seemed to go on forever.
The Terracotta Warriors because of the history behind them - I was amazed by how much work it must have been to make them, and that the workers who built them destroyed a lot of them once the Emperor died because they didn't like being his slaves.

Bads:
The food wasn't my type - except for few dishes in Beijing.
I didn't like how they had no idea what personal space is, and they were usually talking so loud.  It was very different from home!

Lucas' Summary:
The Great Wall was my favourite because there was fresh air and it was so cool to see in person after hearing about it for so long.  
Zhanjiejie was astounding!  The massive natural rock sandstone pillars and the incredible, awesome, scary glass bridges blew my mind!  The height of the bridges and the sheer number of tall pillars impressed me so much.
I didn't really like the food there except for Kung Pow chicken which was the best Chinese food I've ever tasted.

Chris' Memories:
For me it is hard to separate the good and the bad because together they WERE the experience.  I feel we chose a good selection and variety of sites in order to explore China a little deeper than the average tourist, but because of the size of the county and our short time there, it was a rushed trip.  Experiencing the culture, history, and nature of the places we visited really opened my eyes to what is China or what it is to be Chinese.  Thinking back now (2 1/2 months later), I'll always remember the sheer number of people everywhere we went.  Zhanjiejie was incredibly unique and visually stunning.  Stepping into Pingyao ancient city was a little like being in a time warp (except for the cheap trinket shops and virtual reality rides lol).   Walking the Great Wall felt surreal - over the years I'd seen so many photos and didn't think I'd ever stand on it; so it was hard to believe that I was actually there, and in the sunshine to boot!
The poor air quality, the huge crowds, and the cigarette smoke everywhere we went made the experience less enjoyable.  Walking the Great Wall was a welcome relief from the crowds and pollution we experienced everywhere else.  One day I hope to get to Western China, Tibet and Mongolia.

Kim's Rant
China left me a little cold, both literally and figuratively.  It may have been the time of year, it was early spring in China, it was pretty cold, and nothing was greening up yet.  There was a lot of drab, grey landscape punctuated by huge cities.  There was a lot of drab, grey air too - the smog was like a dull blanket over the country, thicker in some parts than others.  I developed a sore throat and cough in the first week which never went away until after we left, I'm sure it was from the pollution.

The culture and history of China was incredible though, and while we only scratched the surface of it, it was truly amazing to stand in front of the Terra Cotta Warriors, the Forbidden City, and the Great Wall and think about all of the effort and resources that went into them.  Thinking about the human cost of such effort and resources was a natural progression from there, knowing that many suffered or died to build these elaborate treasures for their Emperors.  Learning about the different Emperors and dynasties was overwhelming and confusing at times, but also completely fascinating, China has such a long and varied timeline, I'm sure it has the richest and most complex history of all of the countries we will visit.

In China I noticed a general theme that challenged me, maybe it was related to communism, it was a theme of telling their preferred version of a story, or underplaying the harsh truth of a story.   For example, in Tiananmen Square, there is no memorial, no plaque, not a single indication of the massacre that happened there in 1989.  Apparently the Chinese refer to the massacre as the "June Fourth Incident" - that seems like quite an understatement for "that time when our government killed hundreds of our country's student activists with tanks and guns".  There is, to my knowledge, no official count of the number of people who died there,  it seems that it isn't a story they want told. 

The few times we found an English Channel on a TV, the content felt very prescribed and Chino-centric.  There was also the great firewall of China which attempts to prevent anyone in China from accessing certain websites that aren't government approved.  Coming from a western, democratic society this level of government control is disturbing and foreign to me, but I have to say that the Chinese people seemed pretty happy and spirited so I would guess that they are pretty ok with it.  It just seems that a lot can be learned from mistakes of the past, maybe it is helpful to acknowledge them.

Living in Chinese cities is a noisy, busy affair. There are so many people and to be heard you have to talk quite loudly, even if it is right in someone else's space.  And to get where you need to be sometimes have to push, sometimes kind of forcefully.  These things challenged me too, although as time went on I did start to see them as adaptive strategies and could find some humour in them, when I wasn't too annoyed, that is.

To me, China has so many riches - over a billion and a half loyal and hardworking people, a huge amount of land that is varied and interesting, the incredible history that is so unique, and a culture that seems fairly well preserved.  To me it seems that there is great wealth in those things.   Why build so many factories that the country is covered in smog, putting the health of the people at risk?  Especially when those factories are often to provide products to the same Western world that China is trying to keep at bay?  It has to be for money, but what good is money when the air is toxic?  We learned that they shut down all of the factories for a few weeks leading up to international events hosted there, such as the Olympics.  Clearly they know the air quality is a problem but it seems they are willing to sacrifice it for profit. It makes me wonder where it all will end, if the air pollution isn't an indicator of "too much" what will be?

So, was China comfortable for me?  No!  Was it interesting and thought provoking?  Heck yes.  I'm glad to have experienced China, and I was also ready to leave it.

I should note that we have met some travellers who LOVED China, saying it was their favorite country.  While we were there we also met people from a few countries at a hostel who were all attending job fair to try to get jobs and stay in China for a year or so, and they could have gone anywhere they wanted to.  So, while China wasn't for me, my opinion is certainly not shared by all.