Pensive Post - Thoughts on China

There exists, perhaps, no account of "China" that is complete. No explorer, no writer, photographer travel-loguer, film maker, anthropologist, documentary maker, or sociologist can sum up this great country in terms broad or specific enough to create a picture that would fairly or rightly portray "The Middle Kingdom." Despite the pervasive image projected through the Chinese government's 1970's and '80s propaganda machine (that somehow still lives on in many Westerners' minds today), China is an outrageously diverse place - mind blowingly so - and, I dare say, always has been.

Let me offer a few points to ponder from my, albeit, limited travels in China (Shanghai, Hubei and Guizhou Provinces). The first idea I would proffer is that China is surprisingly comfortable culture-wise to Western and, in particular, American, visitors. Already, some friends have written me in response to my posts saying, "I never would have guessed China would be like that, I am fascinated..." and have said it is now on their top places to visit. Don't get me wrong, the hole-in-ground toilets, pervasive spitting, shoving, food (for some, no doubt), and other common elements to a developing country take some getting used to (especially if you are totally new to them). But the culture is, in a way, comfortable.

What do I mean by that? Well, the Chinese (that I have encountered) are totally and unassumingly individuals. Their bizarre and unique cellphone rings typify this, in a way (I have heard no repeats, yet). Whether they adhere to the culture norms of their ancestors, break custom, wear flashy colors and short shorts, spike their hair, bleach their hair, don the newest fashion (sparkles), dress like a baby doll, rock a military style, play the stay at home mom, cry at a love song (we're talking men here), shout at the top of their lungs in a cave to hear an echo, or decide to move to a city to pursue a new career and forsake their country life - everyone is marching to their own beat.Journalist James Fallows describes the Chinese as each doing their own thing until they "get caught," which is, also, a very Latin behavior and one that I am quite familiar with given my previous travels. And the individualism comes out in all kinds of ways. The implications of this culturally mean that we Americans feel a bit at home when we come to visit.. The implications of this economically mean that our American companies and entrepreneurs feel right at home when they come to stay.

This leads me to my second point. Since I am here for an internship I have had the pleasure of watching my Chinese friends work and learning from them. After a few short weeks here, I am convinced that great opportunities lie ahead for China and anyone willing to build stronger relationships here (on every level). Of course, I have met people who fit the description of the "non-creative" stereotype I have read about in books and articles - vertical thinkers, etc. The people who blow me away are those working on a shoe-string budget, factories that seemingly would produce nothing producing a stellar product, factories run like American or German factories in the hinterlands, or engineers trained in computer science who understand the whole linear and lateral workings of a dynamic, multi-layer, international corporation and their role in it. China maybe a "socialist market economy" but whatever is happening here is making things happen in a big way, beating the proverbial capitalist *butt* (so to speak, or at least getting there), as the bustling cities will testify.

The cities really, truly hum with activity. Everywhere you look, bikes zoom by, motos dangerously zigzag intersections, cars honk, pedestrians wander about, vendors peddle their wares. Everyone seems to be buying and selling. If there's an economic depression its obvious in the countrysides and present in peoples conversations - but not so in the streets of the cities. Construction is everywhere, too. When asked, people have said that only in the last year did much of the construction I see begin. Stimulus plan in action! Here's a kudos to the Chinese government for turning to a domestic need in a time when the global market slowed. If you know something about the Chinese economy, you know that dollars spent investing abroad have been dollars neglected on domestic spending (the Chinese need more roads, better roads, more bridges, etc. etc.), so this is a great and wonderful thing to see. But some will ask, who is the future for?
The one-child policy still maintains that Chinese families can only have one child (unless both parents are only children, one parent has a doctorate, or heavy fines are doled out, in which case the parents may have 2 children). It was implemented when population growth was out of control in the 1970's. But now it means that China's cities grow older, year by year. In the countryside, things are less regulated, but for cities, aging populations is a major problem. And the Chinese really do seem to want to have more kids. From speaking to my friends here, qualities I have noticed across the board are strong family values and a desire to have more children. I have heard "you are lucky in the States, that you can have such big families."

In addition to the widespread (it seems) Chinese emphasis on family and family values, another widespread phenomenon - one which is shared, in my opinion, with Italy, is a deep sense of identity with the cultural heritage of one's province, people and region's customs and food-type. This, to me, is one of the most important factors in China and makes the notion of a centrally controlled Middle Kingdom almost laughable. It also makes China a spectacular, mysterious, marvelous and intriguing place.

First of all, when you travel from place to place, people will proudly tell you why their city/province/region is important. They will tell you which of the 50+ minority groups live their. They will take you to eat the local food and hope, even if they are too polite to show they care, that you love it and will be ecstatic if you do -- telling you, maybe, that you have given them "big face." They might take you to the local tourist sights, which are frequented by hundreds of Chinese from all over the province (in my experience) who have come to learn more about their history. And the differences between the regions from North, South, East and West cannot be contained here in this tiny paragraph. The breadth and depth available for discovery lead one's imagination to wander and one's lust for discovery wild. It would be possible to spend a lifetime here and still find another magic stone with unimaginable treasures beneath it.

Lastly, I would like to point out that, from my personal experience here, I have noted that chivalry not dead. It is alive and well and in China. Women are served first. Women walk in a room first. I have been helped and assisted by men to the point of hitting my head and almost falling off a curb and inflicting other bodily harms to myself or others (one can get hurt if one isn't used to these sorts of niceties). But the manifestations of this chivalry can be quite something, too: Some stories about girlfriends go something like "well, I can't go to the river bank, that's where my first love broke my heart..."

My favorite, though, is watching men, dotted throughout a night club, break into passionate sing-along when the love songs come on. Eyes closed. Heads thrust back. Tears practically rolling down their cheeks. They are totally into every word. The girls, on the other hand, sway with slight smiles on their faces and enjoy the music. Chivalry, nor romance, my friends, is not dead in China.

And neither is the spirit of growth, learning and entrepreneurship. China marches on an interesting path. Building complexes called "Bright Future," and the like, testify to the vision many Chinese have, I think, for their country. There is a great wave rising from within this country (I don't think we have seen it yet) and the wise will ride it, in some way or another.