Thoughts on China

........in no particular order:


Scale - you quickly get used to people saying, "this is a small city.....only 4 million people";

Open - i have been to other Communist countries such as Vietnam and Cuba over recent years, and with both of them you felt more state influence everywhere;

Closed - having said that, the state clearly have control. I can publish this blog but i cant read it, there seem to be a number of websites which suddenly don't work when you are in China;

Sometimes uncouth - the first time someone spits on the ground, not at you but without really checking they
will miss you, comes as a surprise. It not a regular but not an unusual sound/sight. However I think its a generation/class thing, you see it mostly from men (but not exclusively) and mostly from middle age + so it will probably die out over time;

Sophisticated - i have only really just come to understand how advanced China was in ancient times, and they have managed in most areas, despite the odd revolution or two, to maintain some wonderful historical sites;

Powerful - ok so i thought that China was emerging as a super power, but no they are emerged and have the potential to dominate world economy and therefore politics in a way that the US could never have imagined. Make sure you remain friends or its going to get tough;

Still learning about tourism - they are nearly there. They are naturally polite, languages are taught in school and university and they have so many attractions to offer. There is less begging than in London, travel is easy and so they have a lot going for them. They are still learning about the finer art of customer service and are in places too tip reliant/expectant but this will come very quickly;

Pollution - for the sake of China, and probably for the world, they need to cope with pollution issue. The level of smog in some areas is very significant and reflects a wider problem. They are not alone, i have not spent much time in LA but no doubt the position is still bad there. We will see how successful their plans are, such as plans for more dams, its probably important for everyone that they get it right;

High rise - everywhere you go, they are going up. Not one or two tower blocks, but 10/20 at a go. This is all state development, and is encouraging the growth of cities, and presumably the movement of people from smaller locations. Lets hope they make a better job of high density housing than we have and don't follow us in knocking it down 20 years later.

Religion - probably more powerful than i expected, for all the guides i met religion was important to them. Perhaps the tolerance behind the main religion - Buddhism - is the main aspect that allows such a diverse and large population to survive together.

Len Goodman would be a god here - every evening as you walk around you find groups of retired ladies
& gents dancing what appears to be Chinese ballroom. I have had to stop myself from shouting " 7" and running away.


.........and all the time fascinating



ps this post was drafted in China but published in Abu Dhabi, did not want to risk the chance that big brother really is watching.