CHINA. MADE BY CHINESE.

A textile manufacturer decided to register the label “Made by Chinese” instead of the -according to him- ‘not so welcome’ Made in China. I believe this is an excellent example of how China is changing. Likewise this businessman, China is turning from undeveloped to up-developing country. Everywhere you go you can see proofs of modern infrastructure. Buildings, roads, stadiums, parks are done at a huge scale all around. New technology gets now to any single corner. University and college campus are simply massive. And the main points of tourist interest receive rivers of mainly inner visitors but also more and more overseas and worldwide backpackers.

Indeed getting to Beijing was exciting. From the plane you see how large it is. There are many Chinese tourists and some foreigners all over. Tian’an men square is, once more, immense. So is the Forbidden City, however I was not so impressed there as at the Great Wall. You can go to several gates. Despite it took me hours to arrive there (using local public transport is both madness and funny), I followed Carol and Lole’s suggestion and went to Mutianyu. The fact that I was a bit far and the misty day, provoked we were just a very few visitors which was wonderfully weir. The wall it is amazing. I even took a toboggan ride on the way down. Then Summer Palace became a star on the trip due to the place itself and the company of Hongyan (my friend Liu,’s friend) who told me so many good things about this challenging China. After Beijing, I took the night train to Xian. I was the only foreigner in the train so I became the attraction there. A bit of English there, a bit of Chinese there (Graci luckily gifted me a conversation guide book) and smiles and mimic&gestures brought along a memorable night with many jokes, nice comments and even gift exchange.

Xian, a forgotten city before a field worker found some terracotta soldiers while looking for a water well, is also a nice and cosy city. Besides, the Terracota Soldiers Camp is breathtaking. Soooooo many and well preserved despite they are 18 centuries old. Despite it was no my first idea, I afterwards travelled to Shanghai (or was it Manhattan?) where I had the honor to stay in Lole, David, Enrique & Spiderman’s home. So well treated by this Jaen-Málaga family who decided to work abroad three years ago. Many thanks, once more. Next stop was Shenzhen. Many people asked me why to go there as there is nothing to see. But I knew there was a lot to meet. And I was not wrong. Neither were them. Not many sites to see but I had the chance of playing basketball with university students, I shared  a day tour with another guy called Juan, I enjoyed living for four days with Liang and met his wife and I had a lovely day also with Liu. All of it organized by my friend Liu Qiong, professor at the Shenzhen Universtity who did ease my way in China a lot. Millions of Xié xie, Liu. The last days I stayed in my first (of many oncoming) youth hostel, in Kunming. From there I have been to the stunning Stone Forest in Shilin and two peaceful days in Dali where I, by mistake, joined a family meeting celebrating a girl birth. I could not leave until I ate and drank a lot, despite they did not speak a single word of English… Really great.

Fast China goes, fast Chinese people go. Coming from quiet and supra-respectful Japan, when you arrive to China you really need to get to it. China runs its economy (inflation, growth, rates, employment, exchange rate…) beyond the rest of capitalist economies’ rules. Pollution world agreements, human rights, currency exchange policies are looked after but only after nation economy goals and government targets are achieved. First China, later we will see. Fair enough. This is somehow manifested in the people. Regulation at subways tell you “disembarking precedes embarking” but this will never happen. You better get off quickly; otherwise you will be pushed in again. In the street, green or red is same color for drivers. It will depend on the size, preferences for lorries and buses, then cars, then motorbikes and bikes and pedestrians better find their way. In the bus, people run to grab a seat, people talks loud on public spaces or means of transport, lining up is only for tourists… You may like or not, but it seems there is no other way. More than 1.300.000.000 citizens (add some illegal 50 millions) is a big lot and competition is around every corner whether the matter is insignificant like getting a bus seat and a restaurant table or crucial such as accessing a good job or getting a grant to study abroad. Indeed, when you are in China you have to add two more variables to your equation: distance (from subway station to station easily 1-2 kilometers; trains city to city may last 1-2 days) and population density (may have to wait two or three metro trains to get in at peak hours; have to book transports in advance to be on the safe side; popular restaurants will mostly take reservations only). This is China and this is why China nowadays speeds up. They are active, energetic, curious, ready to action, brave, hard workers (Sunday off, what is it?), tricky (naughty sometimes) and…. Millions!!. So that, who will stop this car now?

China goes really fast

But it also leaves somethings behind on the way to the top

Needless to say, this was my impression after only 3 weeks. By no mean, this could be taken very seriously as there is no time to know a country in such a short time. Furthermore a country so extended in so many ways.    

  Tips:

*I saw? = Beijing (Great Wall, Forbidden City, Summer Palace), Xian (Terra-Cota Warriors), Shanghai, Shenzhen, Kunming, Shilin (Stone forest), Dali

*I slept? = 7 daysinn hotels, night train hard sleepers, Lole & David’s apartment (xié xie), Liang Jiang’s (xié xie as well), youth hostel.

*I ate? = Sheep meat on fondue, pork meat, yangrou pomo (soup with lamp, onion, transparent tallarins, bread and more), hala tang soup, dumplings, you tiao (churros!!) and quadszo (¡pipas!) Beijing duck, sharp wing soup, flowers, pink eggs.

*Troubles? = Getting lost as lack of language understanding. Almost been robbed.

*I met? = Hongyan (Liu’s friend/cousin at Beijing) helped me a lot the first days. Also Ji Quin was a good asset in terms of hotel bookings. Lole & David kindly hosted me for two days (and paid for my drinks whenever I used to throw out my money on the street) Jiang Liang so friendly shared his apartment with me for some days. I even met someone called Juan like me. And Liu has looked after me the whole time spending a lot of time on the phone, on the web and praying for me. I am so glad we finally met 16 years later!! The family who invited me to lunch at their birth party.

*Like most? = There are many millions of Chinese people so all kind of. Most of them friendly, though. I had really good time and chats with some of them. The Great Wall and the Terra-cota Warriors. Summer palace chat and misty walkabout. Night train from Beijing to Xian. Xian Hui neighborhood. Stone forest. Chinese food. Peaceful stay in Dali.

*Disliked most? = Again many people and several of them trying to get money from you and will not help when looking for directions or assistance.

*Transport means? = Train, metro, taxi, bus, plane, tuc-tuc and walking.

*Side they drive? = Theoretically on the right despite the whole road is fine to go. Traffic lights are just decoration items; no mind which color.

*Bric-a-brac? = Many many people asked me to take pictures of me or with me. Look like western and there hardly bald people here so I was kind of attraction. I was led to a tea house and they tried to hugely overcharge me but did not eat the bone. Took the magnetic train to Shanghai Pudong airport that reaches 431 km/hour. Also, it is funny about the names. Juan is also a Chinese name so they get weir when I introduce myself. Also people here has an “English name” to make it easier for foreigner. It is not a phonetic or official translation but rather randomize name. I have met men called Jackie.

*My Prices? = Hotel room: 20 € (last days managed one for 6 a night). 1.000 km hard sleeper night train ticket: 37 €. Food: 3-5 €. Bottle of water: 0,3 €. Taxi /10 minutes): 2 €. Metro: 25-50 €. Petrol: 87 cents/l. 

HONG KONG. TWO FLOORS CITY.

Hello there. I do owe you an apology for not writing in English earlier. I try to enjoy the trip all day long and go to bed really tired. I wrote somewhat about Dubai in the plane from the UAE to Hong Kong and now, on the flight from HK to Kathmandu I am drawing these letters that I hope I can upload soon whenever I have Internet access.

May I explain you in few words the previous Spanish text about the United Arab Emirates. At first, most things really catch your attention. First on the list, it is terribly hot despite the summer is ending. The temperature reached 32-34º C but you felt like 42º due to the humidity. Secondly, everything is designed, built and promoted at its extreme. There are roads of 6 lines in each directions, the skyline is outstanding, the unique 7 stars hotel at Burj Al Arab, the tallest building in the world Burj Khalifa, the massive mosque at Dubai, the large Ferrari Center… You can see some pictures at the right hand side of this blog.

Nevertheless, everything looks quite superficial. You can easily notice the rich Emiratis citizens and the poor Indian and middle-east “invited workers” dealing with cleaning, receptionists, waiters and so. Less salaries and fewer rights too. It is fair to say they are legally registered, they go there as they wish and earn more money than in their own countries but they will hardly be promoted at their jobs and will never obtain the Emiratis citizenship. Neither will their children in spite they will be born there. Bizarre puzzle all together.

Anyway, this side tends to talk about Hong Kong. I do not know why (I had not read much about HK, I admit), I figured HK in my mind as a chaotic crowed city. Even kind of dirty and dangerous. Man, how wrong I was (in fact, this is the aim of this trip; getting to know this unknown side of the globe)!! I have enjoyed my three days there a lot. A friend of mine put me in contact with another friend and he kindly offered a sofa at his apartment for these days. I could not refuse it. He works for a German firm as a Marketing Manager for Asia Region. He did not only got me a place to lay my bald head off but also chatted about HK. A foreigner who has been working in several countries usually brings an interesting point of view. He foresees an ongoing economy leadership for China rather soon. Chinese people appear to be clever in business. Brilliantly or madly, they focused in copying all the Innovation from Western countries. Patterns are not longer safe and the “know how” it reaches a precious value. To that, you can add that Chinese people are really effective, motivated and profit-aimed. They can open an enterprise in 5 minutes. HK also promotes this business mentality with taxes exemptions and a very active assistance. Literally, “down here there is more money that you can even think about”.

And that thinking seems to be right when you walk across the city. The development is enormous. You see hundreds of high buildings all over the islands (Greater Hong Kong is settled in several islands), long bridges, modern means of transport, real optical internet network, businessmen all over, shops, locals, shopping centers, banks, enterprises offices… Besides, all the panels are both in Chinese and English, the city is pretty safe and clean, prices are not out of this planet (not cheap, though), people speak English correctly and I did not get the impression of much pollution. There is some as many lights on, a generous numbers of ships at the sea and 6 million inhabitants, but they also use metro, bikes and ferries, so it goes fine so far. All in all, the city is cosy to visit and offers many points of interests for business. They are in the core of Asia (as an example, an independent city as HK is the headquarter for two of the largest air companies in the world, Cathay Pacific and Dragonair).

On the other hand, the title of this page comes from the funny fact that the city is designed to become easy for millions of people. I mean, first of all there are several hundreds of meters of pedestrian passages above the main avenues and crossroads. That means traffic goes its own way, while you can easily non-stop walk through (over, I rather say) crossroads, streets and it also squeezes throughout some buildings. Moreover, from the piers (breathtaking skyline sight at night, I spent more than an hour there) to Victor’s flat in Hollywood Road (eldest street in the city), you can walk for 8-10 minutes along these passages or upper tunnels and like another 8 minutes you just stand on the moving mechanic stairs and belt like those at the airport or shopping centers. Outside in the middle of the city!! But it is also the two floors city because all the urban busses and trams are double floor (like the famous London red buses). Furthermore, you can access some islands both by ferry and by metro under the water channel and on the bridges. In a parallel metaphoric meaning, the city is attractive for the rich business elite (I have seen reporters staring at the financial indexes boards at the banks and taking pictures of alarming stock market rates) and comfortable for the modest bagpackers like me…  I do not pretend to draw this as the city of the future, but the feeling is that progress is at the service of the people.

I also jumped into a ferry and a bus to visit Tai O, an old fishingmen village in Lantau Island. Nowadays, there is not much trade there but it turned into a very picturesque little town. A local 50aged man approached me and offered to join me and chat for a while. Lucky me. For two hours we have a very nice conversation while he showed me the traditional canton side of the site with old wooden and newer aluminum houses over the water. They are provided of light, tv, internet and toilets. The kitchen and living room are very close to the entrance and you can see some fruits in some closer tables. It is a way to say welcome to people and, mainly, to the good spirits. They also have some icons and goods stamps and legends at the entrance of their houses. He says local people are very superstitious and he adds –guess what- “it works...” Then we entered a couple of small Buddhist chapels. Needless to say, he afterwards showed me what he sells (icons, dolls, stamps, fans….) and (needless to say too) I bought some as a thankyou for all this time with me. He really deserved it. Imagine staying in a quiet village after sunset, peacefully walking over the wooden bridges and paths, funnily learning some words in Cantonese and nicely talking about everything with an instructed local inhabitant. Rather than taking photo-postcards of every building and churches, this is what I enjoy most when I travel. And we just got started…

I stop, I promise. Feel free to leave comments and questions. It will be a nice way to get in touch.

Tips:

I saw? = Hong Kong Downtown, the HK Peak and the 360º terrace, the Piers, Tai O

I slept? = Bed and sofa at Victor’s place. Hollywood Road, 108. (Thanks)

I ate? = Thai rice, vegetable and chicken plate, honey desert, San Miguel beer, some kind of fish balls with unknown vegetable cooked at Chinese style.

I talked to? = This Tai O inhabitant who wrote me his name but in Chinese

Troubles? = Non.

Like most? = Cosy city to walk around. Clean, safe, generously signedposted. The Skyline. The chat.

Disliked most? = Nothing in particular.

Transport means? = Ferry (20 km aprox), train (40 km aprox), bus (35 km aprox), metro (13 km aprox).

Side they drive? = Left