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Conclusion
Highlights
- Lhasa for the mountain and people views
- The Li River including Yangshuo
- The Terrocotta Warriors
- The Pandas
- The Great Wall
- Shanghai river between the Bund and Pudong
On the down side
- the vendors and their constant sales pitches
- Dreary smoggy dirty cities
Back to Basics: Many public bathrooms (W/C) have a common set of shared sinks that connect to separate rooms of toilet for each sex. You can see westerners walk into a wash area and wonder if they walked in the wrong door.
You would hope that a new economy would learn from older ones and build their infrastructure with the best technology. Unfortunately even thought northern China is dry and consistently short on water they don't use the water saving Australian style toilets. Yet they were in use in wetter southern city of Chengdu.
Exophobia: There were westerners in the major cities and tourist spots and I always saw some but not many on the streets when I ventured out. Beijing and Shanghai felt like being in New York very cosmopolitan. In Chengdu and Xian I felt more conspicuous, the people were shorter than in the major cities and there were less westerners. I hadn't experienced both sticking out in the crowds race wise and unable to understand signs or words at the same time before, I hope I remember the feeling when I meet visitors. However - outside of the street vendors - the people were non threatening and I never felt unsafe.
Culture Shock: I found out that our tour guide had never heard of Brad and Angelina - this was when they had just adopted a child and were at the top of the headlines.
She is so cultured and intelligent but yet so ignorant of the focus of American media - it made me jealous. :)
One final view and soundclip of China from our last stop Shanghai .
As the sun sets over Shanghai a busker signals the changing nature of China by skipping the traditional music and instruments in favor of a western guitar and song.
Shanghai Subway Stretto
Some books and links that I found useful
Books
River Town - Peter Hessler. Recollections of a young writer living and teaching in a river town as China began to re-emerge into the world.
Death of a Red Heroine - Qiu Xiaolong. a mystery in 1990 Shanghai that opens up the culture as well as telling a good story
Sounds of the River - Da Chen. Country boy goes to Beijing University as China begins to open up - highlights the cultural shock of going from the country to the city to the world
Wild Grass - Ian Johnson. Three stories of conflict and change in modern China revealing some of the hidden issues and conflicts that still exist
Culture Shock - Kevin Sinclair, Iris Wong Po-Yee. A guide book to visiting and living in China including customs, much more forgiving of the Chinese government that most
Sons of Heaven - Terrence Cheng. Novel about two brothers on different sides of the events at Tian'an Men Square in 89.
Links
List of world heritage sites in China
China tourism site
Anti government site
General news feed
Another government news source
Blog that collects anti government articles
Government news site
Radio Free Asia news on China
China Blog list
About China
General news feed
Government television CCTV 9 is in the English channel available in some hotels and in the US on the Dsatellitelite Network.
Conversational Mandarin Chinese Online
Travel site with forum
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