I won't lie. I loved it. Absolutely loved it. The people were incredible and wonderful, as I could only say "thank you", "too expensive", and the numbers 1-10 in Mandarin.
I did study anthropology and US/China relations, with professors, assignments, and all. Through this, I think that I gained a greater appreciation and understanding of the culture and the country.
One thing that I did notice: "Real" women dress differently than "commercial" women (ie actresses, popstars, etc.). In my "western" view, the actresses styles' exude sexuality. There's cleavage and tight clothes. However, "real" women don't dress like this. There is no cleavage, no tight clothes. There seems to be a complete separation - a definite line drawn.
In terms of the economy, I think that China is considered to be capitalistic communism. Economically, it's becoming more capitalistic. Free markets, private ownership, etc. - it brings the money in. Labor is cheap and the environmental and safety standards are low - hence, the boom of foreign companies.
Politically, well, it's still Communist. Big brother, lack of rights and freedoms, human right abuses, etc. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think that many Communist states are officially atheist. And with Tibet being the center of a worldwide religion - it may be seen as a threat and must be controlled. It also sends a message saying that we are in control - do not mess with us. I've also heard that the only way to get into Tibet was with a group. Solitary travelers had to "join" a group before entering the country.
The people - there were poor (and I mean poor) people and there were your middle income people. My group stayed at universities, so we mostly saw people who could afford a college education.
Price wise - well, everything was really inexpensive. Except for Wal-mart. Can you believe it? There was Wal-mart in Kunming (capital of Yunnan province). I went strictly for comparison purposes. (Sadly, that is actually the reason I went.) About the rules? Yeah, I don't think that some of them are strictly enforced. Buddhism is one of the major religions in China and we visited several incredibly beautiful temples, as well as one mosque in Xian. They can't force the people not to practice religion. It simply cannot be done.
Have I said that I loved China? Our last stop was in Beijing (for a week). We visited Mao's mausoleum, where you can pay your respects to Mao's plastic filled body. Really, you can walk by his dead body. When you leave the building, there are 20 different vendors selling Mao memorabilia - his picture on watches, cigarettes, lighters, pens, stationary. It was too funny. Ironic as well. Mao's rolling in his grave as we speak.
A quick overview of the trip: Hong Kong -> Kunming -> Dali -> Li Jiang -> Xian -> Beijing
I would recommend reading The United States and China in the Twentieth Century by Michael Schaller. It gives an interesting and, for me, a rather enlightening look at this rather tense relationship. I've studied anthropology and economics, never Asian studies. As I hate to admit it, before the trip, I did not know much about Asian history or culture.
Aack. I loved it. This concludes a very long post.
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branchandroot
no subject
Date: 2004-04-28 07:48 pm (UTC)I did study anthropology and US/China relations, with professors, assignments, and all. Through this, I think that I gained a greater appreciation and understanding of the culture and the country.
One thing that I did notice: "Real" women dress differently than "commercial" women (ie actresses, popstars, etc.). In my "western" view, the actresses styles' exude sexuality. There's cleavage and tight clothes. However, "real" women don't dress like this. There is no cleavage, no tight clothes. There seems to be a complete separation - a definite line drawn.
In terms of the economy, I think that China is considered to be capitalistic communism. Economically, it's becoming more capitalistic. Free markets, private ownership, etc. - it brings the money in. Labor is cheap and the environmental and safety standards are low - hence, the boom of foreign companies.
Politically, well, it's still Communist. Big brother, lack of rights and freedoms, human right abuses, etc. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think that many Communist states are officially atheist. And with Tibet being the center of a worldwide religion - it may be seen as a threat and must be controlled. It also sends a message saying that we are in control - do not mess with us. I've also heard that the only way to get into Tibet was with a group. Solitary travelers had to "join" a group before entering the country.
The people - there were poor (and I mean poor) people and there were your middle income people. My group stayed at universities, so we mostly saw people who could afford a college education.
Price wise - well, everything was really inexpensive. Except for Wal-mart. Can you believe it? There was Wal-mart in Kunming (capital of Yunnan province). I went strictly for comparison purposes. (Sadly, that is actually the reason I went.) About the rules? Yeah, I don't think that some of them are strictly enforced. Buddhism is one of the major religions in China and we visited several incredibly beautiful temples, as well as one mosque in Xian. They can't force the people not to practice religion. It simply cannot be done.
Have I said that I loved China? Our last stop was in Beijing (for a week). We visited Mao's mausoleum, where you can pay your respects to Mao's plastic filled body. Really, you can walk by his dead body. When you leave the building, there are 20 different vendors selling Mao memorabilia - his picture on watches, cigarettes, lighters, pens, stationary. It was too funny. Ironic as well. Mao's rolling in his grave as we speak.
A quick overview of the trip: Hong Kong -> Kunming -> Dali -> Li Jiang -> Xian -> Beijing
I would recommend reading The United States and China in the Twentieth Century by Michael Schaller. It gives an interesting and, for me, a rather enlightening look at this rather tense relationship. I've studied anthropology and economics, never Asian studies. As I hate to admit it, before the trip, I did not know much about Asian history or culture.
Aack. I loved it. This concludes a very long post.