Reflections on China

After three weeks in China, I feel I have finally begun to get to grips with the country, at least a little. It is very apparent that this is a country struggling to keep up with the rapid economic development it is undergoing, and it's enormous population makes this all the more complex. While politically and ideologically it is a country that still wants to keep itself separate from the rest of the world, in terms of trade and financial development it is becoming increasingly western, and the balance between these two sides of China, old and new, is very clear wherever you go. 

Highlights of China 

1. Walking the Great Wall near Beijing

2. Seeing Giant Pandas in Chengdu

3. Relaxing on a bamboo raft in Yangshuo

The Only Rule in China is That There are No Rules in China 

When I first arrived I spent a lot of time trying to figure out how China works. Particularly as an English person (who had just come from the extraordinarily polite Japan; the Britain of Asia), I found myself frequently thinking "is this rude?", "am I allowed to do this?", "is that against the rules"?". What I have come to realise is that the answer to those questions is always "No", "Yes" and "No" respectively. There seems to be nothing you can do here that will gross anybody out, nothing you can serve as food that people will turn their noses up at, no bodily function that you cannot acceptably perform in public. There is certainly no sense here of personal space or of embarrassment (or not towards anything we might feel embarrassed about in the Western world, such as nudity, for example). Even where there are apparently rules, they are readily broken, apparently to little consequence.

Want to drive the wrong way down this street? No problem! Just beep your horn to let people know you're breaking the 'rules'. Want to smoke directly under that no smoking sign? Go for it! Want to ride your motorbike down the street with a load of live ducks strapped to it? You'll fit right in.
 

Once I began to come to terms with all of this, it was actually quite liberating. Every time I found myself worrying about whether what I wanted to do was OK, I just remembered that there are no rules, so of course it was OK. Whatever I felt like doing, I could do. Wherever I wanted to go, I could go. The only caveat being that wherever I did go I knew I would be stared at relentlessly, and hassled into buying some cheap tat I didn't want.

As a lone white female traveller with a lip piercing, I think I received more than my fair share of stares from the Chinese. When I was out with other people, even they noticed that I attracted more attention than normal. Perhaps the only exception was the day I spent hanging out with a 6"5 guy in Chengdu - he was truly a giant in these parts. 

The Industrialisation and Pollution of China 

What particularly strikes you in China (or rather, clogs your lungs and sinuses) is the horrendous pollution. It is easy as a western tourist to react very negatively towards this. I have overheard many conversations between fellow tourists, and admittedly been a part of a few, discussing how awful the pollution is, how this is now negatively impacting on neighbouring countries, and how China really needs to do something about it. I've heard the common rumour, although I have no idea whether it is true or not, but it certainly seems likely, that the life expectancy of a person living in Beijing is reduced by 5 years because of the smog. However, what we all have to accept is that it is we in the west who are driving the demand for the continued industrialisation of China and the inevitable destruction of it's environment that comes with that. Our constant need to consume, particularly electrical products (when was the last time you bought a new iPhone, camera or television?!) that is the major driver of this situation. While we abandoned our industry (particularly in the UK) a long time ago, China has taken over responsibility for producing the ever-growing selection of 'things' we think we need. How many of your belongings carry the all-too-familiar phrase "made in China"? This is not their pollution. It is our pollution.

China is a unstoppable force. It's sheer size and population density is daunting. The direction this country takes over the coming decades will determine the direction we take as a planet. Our future is truly in their hands.