Well. I know, I know, English teachers say never to begin with “well”, but I will. “Well” has a nice feeling to it, like you’re about to begin a tale of sorts.

Before I start my story/semi-rant, I’d like to point out that I do speak in generalisations. Not all of what I say will be applicable everywhere in mainland China. Really, you will be pleasantly surprised sometimes. :-)

Travel in China: The Bad

Most (mainland) Chinese tourists are very unpleasant, but sometimes quite amusing. For instance, every large tourist attraction has a rock (with the name of the place carved into it, usually in red letters) or a “traditional” style gate out the front. Generally you see people (usually groups with their uniform hats, who are led around by a guide with a flag and a megaphone) posing (and I really mean that in a “poser” sort of way) with the usual V-signs and strained cheesy expressions in front of the aforementioned edifice. Next, is the actual antics of these amusing people… The bus drives into carpark. Disembark. Pose in front of rock. Hop on minibus/chairlift/etc to “main viewing point”. Take photos. More posing. Get back on minibus. Go home. All of the aforementioned happens in the space of about half an hour. It’s really quite scary. And really common.

Most (mainland) Chinese men are chain smoking (you can smoke anywhere — smokers paradise, really!), constantly spitting (quite vocally), cocky (to an extent) and unfit. Really. It was really suprising to me, in a country with few overweight people (though it’s increasing), that people are actually very unfit (or just lazy when it comes to travel?). I’ve walked up quite a few Chinese mountains (Huang Shan, Lu shan, Jiuhua Shan, Kongtong Shan, Song Shan, and Wudang Shan… all… with… steps!) and observed. Usually they need to stop every 5-10 minutes for a rest. And then a smoke every 30 or so. All of the aforementioned mountains had chairlifts, too. The tourist mobs use the lifts.

Most (mainland) Chinese know next to nothing about the outside world (esp. Geography — they’re like the America of Asia). While this is in part to due to the nature of the government (ie: totalitarian fascist state — it’s definitely not Communist anymore) and the nature of the schools, it also extends to the national psyche. Curiosity and creativity is repressed (or at least there is limited opportunity in the education system) and perhaps because of this, suppressed by the individual. Time and time again, I’ve had to re-iterate that not everyone from overseas (the view is literally you are “Han Chinese” or “foreign”) has lots of money and a great job, and the reason why it’s easy for us (ie: “foreigners”) to travel in China is due to the very good exchange rate for us (not for Chinese who wish to travel overseas though). Also student backpackers have to be frugal. Despite being very fiscally responsible normally, when it comes to travel, (most) Chinese forget all that (and assume we are the same — ie: we are “rich Americans”).

The ticketing systems for many areas are very convoluted and incredibly mean. First a ticket to get into the area (usually between 30Y and 150Y). Then another to see place X (+10 to 20Y). Another for place Y. Then another to cross a bridge (+5 to 10Y), etc. This really leaves one with a bad taste in the mouth… and all these prices add up. I won’t go on about the toilets.

All (mainland) Chinese yell. Almost all of China is noisy. There isn’t much of a thought about noise pollution. People yell into phones. Yell at each other (and they’re not angry — it’s just the norm). Play their music openly, and loudly (really Chinese pop music is utter crap, eclipsing Western pop in idiocy… There are 10 [really terrible] mixes of the Numa-Numa song… I heard the same pop songs all year…). Cars, busses honk by default. It all accumulates into a sometimes unbearable white-noise, for those used to something different.

Travel in China: The Good

It’s not all bad however. If you can accept the fact that most parts of China are 2nd world, the odd place 3rd world, and a few otherworldly expensive places are 1st world, then it’s actually okay. It’s actually more than okay. China is an interesting and vibrant place, teeming with life and that constant rapid pace of “development”. There are even places to be found which offer moments of solitude. It also has excellent food (especially since different places have interesting local cuisine and your standard bowl of noodles is never the same wherever you go). The people really are friendly and helpful (when they don’t want your money), even if their habits/manners do sometimes seem a little lacking, different, strange, antisocial or just plain disgusting. I’ve had people offer me a bed/couch at their home, shout/cook me meals, and take me to meet their family and friends. Granted, if you know at least some Mandarin (beyond “Hello”, “Thank you” and “Good-bye”), this makes things so incredibly easy for getting along with people, and people’s respect for you will increase greatly!

Eating in China is very uncomplicated and easy affair (food is very important, and I agree!). Scraps are put on the table. You can slurp your soup, your tea and your noodles, and bring the bowl to your mouth to eat. Just remember to always bring your bowl to the serving bowls/plates/etc and not the other way around. The other big faux pas is to leave you chopsticks stuck vertically into your food (it looks like incense sticks, which are used to remember the dead).

Nice places to visit

• Tibet — it’s not China (though nearly all mainlanders will disagree, the rest being under house arrest :-S). It’s amazing. And a little sad, because of the repression. But still truly amazing and beautiful…
• Xinjiang (”East Turkestan”) — again, not China (people aren’t Han and speak a completely unrelated language). It’s a central asian state. They really like foreigners (and really, really dislike the Chinese). Avoid “Kanas” and the tourist stuff close to Urumqi (just another Chinese city), as it’s overrun with mainland Chinese tourists. Visit Kashgar! Kashgar! Also, Karakul Lake (there’s a nice guy offering a yurt and a few meals with his family). Good stuff.
• Northern parts of Guangxi province and southern parts of Guizhou province — not too many people travel to these places… There are numerous small Dong/Miao/etc (they’re not Han Chinese) villages. I could only visit Zhaoxing [Guizhou] and Chengyang [Guangxi], but they were both great.
• Southern Gansu province — beautiful place generally (and not very touristy)… Maiji Shan Grottoes (near Tianshui) are good.
• Suzhou, Jiangsu — numerous beautiful gardens, and an great museum by China’s only decent modern architect, I.M. Pei.
• Shanghai — enough said. It’s the best big city on the mainland.

In general, try and avoid all medium-large sizes towns and cities as they all look the same. Really. And it’s not particularly pretty. Try and escape to the countryside, and a few villages/towns which are “undeveloped” (or “developed” only to a lesser extent)… It’s worth it.

So…

If you stay in any country long enough, you’ll definitely see both the good and the bad (of the country, the country’s people, and of people in general). This is a double edged sword — your preconceived ideas of the place will most definitely be shattered, but on the other hand, you actually know something about the place, it’s people and even possibly more about yourself (such as how you react to certain situations, different environments, customs, cultures, etc).

Lastly, in order to get the most of your experience backpacking, you need to be prepared to get your feet dirty and really go out on a limb! Try and have a conversation with your 100 words of mandarin, take up that offer to have dinner with someone’s grandma, let someone practice their English on you, etc, etc. :-)

This entry was posted on Tuesday, March 11th, 2008 at 1:08 pm and is filed under Humanity & Society, Personal. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.