The U.S. media and government loves to paint China as an egregious suppressor of human rights that is home to sweatshop factories, copyright violators, and gross polluters; a country that is dangerous to American interests. The real China, then, was a big surprise when I visited it in 2002. The country is beautiful, cities are modern, people are peace-loving and welcoming — and one is free to criticize the government as long as you aren’t talking about overthrowing the commies.
Aug 7th, 2007 (Tue) -
China
My friend John just sent me this photo he took on the Daning River in China in 2002. He wrote in his email, “I can’t believe it’s already been five years,” and I certainly agree. How time flies!
A lot can happen in five years, as underscored by China’s massive construction projects. Here’s an MSNBC article describing the enhancements underway in preparation for the 2008 Olympics, and it is evident that Beijing already looks a whole lot different than when I was visiting. I think the world will be very impressed at the next Summer Games.
Jun 7th, 2002 (Fri) -
China
Alas, most good things come to an end sometime. And so our China tour ended in the ultra-modern city of Shanghai, featuring hundreds of skyscrapers, George Jetsonian towers, and new construction projects sprouting up by the day.
In fact, the city was changing so much that Sam — our tour guide who had left Shanghai only a couple of weeks ago to lead this tour — did not recognize one of the neighborhoods he lived by anymore. This city is prosperous, as evidenced by even the highways being lined by manicured flowers! Continue reading »
Jun 6th, 2002 (Thu) -
China
Chinese is a very difficult language to learn. There are up to 9 different tones a spoken sound can have, resulting in 9 words with completely different meaning. For example, depending on what tone you say the sound “mah”, the resultant word could be either “mother” or “horse” (or another meaning). There is a reason Chinese sounds so musical (often cacophonous)… Continue reading »
Jun 6th, 2002 (Thu) -
China
“Suzhou,” our tour guide Sam informed us, “is where the most beautiful women in China live. That is where men in Shanghai go to find a wife.”
Okay! Add that to the list of things to look forward to seeing, then. In addition to observing the local populace we also went to a silk factory that Bill Clinton had visited and walked around some gardens. Continue reading »
Jun 5th, 2002 (Wed) -
China
Xian was the endpoint of our Yangtze River Cruise and is remarkable for being the site of where the Terracotta Army was buried. Discovered by a farmer digging up the land in 1974, this “army” was comprised of statues of the emperor’s soldiers, buried with the emperor when he died. Originally the emperor wanted to be buried with his alive, real soldiers to protect him in the afterlife, but one of his generals advised him that a terracotta army would be longer lasting and hence protect him better. (Logic back then as it was.) Continue reading »
 ice cream at the Bund, a district in Shanghai.&title=Shanghai, China "Karen and Martrese eating mint (or was it coffee?) ice cream at the Bund, a district in Shanghai.")
