Ten Things One Must Experience in China…My Take
This is not a travel guide, per say….has more of a cultural
bent of sorts.
KTV….yeah, Family Fun is fine….but it’s all about the
other side my friend. The awkwardness
and sheer embarrassment is at a level that cannot be attained in America. Having a complete stranger putting her hand
on your thigh within 5 minutes of walking in, and her within 30 seconds of
sitting down….but if you actually know how to sing, than I’d recommend family
fun….your gf will get a lot of face if her laowai knows how to belt out tunes….better
if you understand Chinese characters.
Clubbing….this is great fun. Watch the men dancing with each other. See the fellow get drunk at the bar my 9pm. Watching women realize they are “somebody”
in a club. Watching the MAN spend $1000
on a group of gals and not get laid. Watching
laowai that don’t speak Chinese get just “thrilled” when they meet a girl who
speaks English, until he realizes she’s not free. Best way to observe Chinese culture and
mingle on their terms is in a club.
Because alcohol takes away all inhibitions.
Clubbing is a microcosm of Chinese society on many different
levels. It’s one of the few last places
where all social classes can mingle.
Great Wall
Truly massive….the trick is to meander away from the crowds. Gives a great early look into the Chinese “closed”
mentality. The Wall turned out to be a
great waste of money. The Manchu
barbarians were simply let in by the Han, which led to the establishment of the
Qing.
Sub category….Beijing! Everyone going to China for at least
a year needs to stop by Beijing, and spend a week. Take the 3 wheeled cycle through the hutong,
to Song Qing Lings house.
Shanghai…the Bund…..yes, the remnants of Imperialism
reside here. These great facades now
have restaurants, etc, and actually have lost a bit of charm. I’d argue it’s more fun directly across the
river on the other side….less people, and less touristy.
Still…if you are up for it, one can actually walk all day
from the Bund to the People’s Square, up Nanjing Lu, and back to Huaihai Lu as
well. Shanghai in this area is quite
walkable.
Hangzhou/Suzhou:
The nice thing abt Shanghai is one can take a train to
various cities and spend a long weekend.
The bad thing about Shenzhen is one cannot do this, unless you count
Guangzhou and Zhuhai. The latter simply
cannot compare to the former, however.
The bridges in Suzhou…the causeway in Hangzhou. Rent a bike in Hangzhou and get some damn
exercise!
My inlaws complain there are too many outsiders in Hangzhou
nowadays….that Hangzhou has lost it’s charm.
One must now speak Mandarin to get around(!) Agreed. But that’s the price of progress.
Hangzhou has always had a lot of tourists, and some of the
nicer houses belong to overseas Chinese(or corrupt construction Managers, such
as we know). One needs to spend at least
a couple of days just pedaling, or walking around the lake area. They have living green grass! Lots of it.
The temples of Hangzhou are on my list….One must go early to
avoid the CRUSH though.
The Heat….
I found the Heat of Beijing, with all it’s concrete and CO2
oppressive. It was 44 Celsius when I was
there. I think that’s 110 F…? All the same, the heat of China is something
to experience, simply because there is no central AC in the apartments. It’s something I was never quite prepared
for. Water itself is the most valuable
thing in China, and in Summer I never leave without it. Avoid soft drinks. No, there isn’t much ice, unless you know
where to go.
The heat in China is a great way to lose weight, but alas,
your body readjusts, and you put it back on again.
The upside to the heat is one’s clothes dry quickly, after
being washed. I know of no one who
actually has a dryer.
I can give another spiel for Winter as well, but you get the
point. In ref to above, washing one’s
laundry in Winter is terrible. Even in
the South it takes days for your laundry to dry, and I have no idea how the
Northern Laowai get along.
Riding a bicycle with the Masses
Not as popular, or required as it used to be, but still
common in a lot of the smaller cities yet to be taken up with cars. Whilst in Hangzhou, I found getting along on
a bike a huge upgrade from my previous existence in Guangzhou. I really felt like I was in China when I
rode a bike. My bike was in such poor shape it was the
last bike in the designated laowai parking area to get stolen. My last semester I even kept it
unlocked. It didn’t get stolen until the
last week of school.
The only downside to riding a bike is in the Winter. Enough said.
Teaching English
We’ve all taught English in China, hopefully only for a year
and moved on. Teaching a year in China for
most of us should be a cultural experience only, and not a career move. Don’t fool yourselves. Pay is still low, and even if one has nothing
to go back to in your native country, there is always Japan. I’ll def recommend to my daughters to try out
Japan for a year. Not so much
China.
But Teaching English is a great way to meet….Chinese. One can learn a lot abt how they think, and
live their lives. I taught Chinese over
20 years ago, when I was a student. They
came knocking on my door at University.
I think I was paid around 500 rmb a month for maybe 3 hrs of work a week…..? I used the money for travelling and train
tickets. As I was a student, I had a
discount for everything.
Taking the bus in China…probably my most intimidating
experience.
If you’ve read my “China
1990 series”, I think I mentioned my first bus ride in China.
I’ve never been more uncomfortable in China except when
taking the bus. It’s slow, super
crowded, and a tremendous waste of time.
It’s hard to know the fare, when to get off etc. Harder to know which bus to take. When living in Guangzhou in the 90’s…pre
subway…believe it or not I got good at it. People complain abt pickpockets as well,
though I think I was only picked once. Now
they have the electronic payment option, it’s infinitely easier….but hell, take
the subway!
Take the train!
(Yes, I left out a lot of travel….Guilin,
Xian, etc. Those are all great. Pls feel free to give your own
recommendations. )
Added Bonus…I will try and put
this to a different post…..get a girlfriend!!
Good list!
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