To say that I enjoyed the China trip is a huge understatement, simply it was awesome. Since it was the first time I am visiting the country and meeting Maggie’s family, we decided early that we would spend most of our time in Changchun. During the lunar festival, family is suppose to stay together so what better way to get to know the in laws right? 😉
On the other side of the world China is very different from Canada and I wouldn’t say it’s better or worse, just different. I guess I’ll summarize what I enjoyed and what I was appalled at…
The family structure in China is much stronger/better than in North America. Here brothers and sisters are realistically no closer than good friends. In China not only is the immediate family close, the extended family also sticks together like glue. Maggie’s cousins spend a ton of time together (and with the elder generation) doing various activities (from Mahjong to playing cards, dinners and just “hanging out”). I don’t know about you but I can count the number of times I spent with my cousins in the past year on one hand.
Despite being well off even by North American standards, Maggie’s parents are very modest! Most other Chinese in the same situation would flaunt their money to others and it was nice to see that her parents have a bit more class.
Her whole family was very open and supportive of Maggie marrying a Westerner. Yes I’m of Chinese origin but truth be told, I’m pretty much as “White” as you can get. I know that they realistically have to welcome me since Maggie and I are already married but the feeling was very sincere. That was something I really worried about on the flight over. 🙂
Heh, Maggie will tell you that I’m not a shopper but I have to admit, shopping in China was a lot of fun! A designer pair of pants that cost $80 Canadian here would cost $80 RMB over there. With the exchange rate right now at around 1:7, that means you can buy a lot more stuff! =D The grungy counterfeit malls (yes I know it’s wrong) were also a lot of fun to shop at. It was an adventures to walk through those halls because I really did not know what to expect. The quality of the wares varied greatly, the really cheap stuff was very poor, most of the stuff looked like it would fall apart within a month and I found the spelling mistakes very humorous. The higher quality counterfeit clothing were more expensive but surprisingly quality of the goods was also very high.
Like clothing food is also very cheap in China and even Western restaurants. At McDonalds, a combo would run around $21-25 RMB which after the conversion rate is around the $3 CDN mark! The same food is half price, I guess when the market is so large, prices can be lower. Also Fast Food joints are visited mostly by the upper class since the food is still relatively expensive compared to traditional Chinese restaurants.
As for the bad, well there are quite a few points…
First China is very dirty and as a quasi environmentalist I was sad to see all the garbage and pollution. When I got out of the airport in Beijing the smell of smog and soot was very apparent. Littering is a big problem in China and the amount of trash that is on the streets was sad to see. Many of the lower class would collect garbage since recyclers pay for goods. It was almost disgusting to see how the trash piles up in the poorer areas of China but I guess it’s a way to provide for one’s self.
The driving in China is absolutely crazy. At first I thought everyone was lousy but then changed my opinion to Chinese drivers are actually very good. In North America, the space between cars tends to be 30-60 cm but in China where people are super aggressive, cars can be within 5 cm of each other! China is also road rage hell with people flashing lights and honking horns all the time. Also, cars have the right of way and pedestrians better watch out when crossing the street! Oh btw no one in China wears seat belts and I got odd stares when I buckled up.
China is under major redevelopment and it is sad to see how the government is tearing down all the old buildings. For instance in Beijing 500-700 year old court yard houses are being demolished for high rise condos. Walking through these ancient areas, I could not help but feel a sense of loss that these beautiful buildings are being torn down. Urban sprawl is a major problem in virtually every Chinese city, and we think we have it bad in Toronto.
Public transit is not very well developed overall in China which I guess should not be much of a surprise. That meant that rush hour is pretty much from 7AM in the morning till 10PM. 🙁 Maggie’s home town of Changchun does have a small light rail service but it is no where large enough to be a viable alternative to a car.
There is more to China than what I have written obviously and I found it difficult to write down my thoughts. I guess I’m still upset at the Canadian Embassy for screwing up Maggie’s visa. This should also say a lot, I enjoyed China so much that Maggie and I are seriously considering moving there in the future.
Anyway if I can think of more you can bet I will post my thoughts. 😉
