Reflections on China

Let's see if I can put this together coherently:

Backpacking in China for the past three months has definitely made me understand the Chinese to an extent. I do not claim to know them for that would take a lifetime but here's my two pence worth anyway.

Let's start with the 2007 Beijing Olympic Games because it's a good place to start and links up nicely to other points I'd like to make. Not to mention that fact that China is proclaiming it to the entire world at the top of her voice and its effects can be seen at every Chinese city.

Cities are being cleared and tidied up. Streets are being swept clean. Buildings renovated and given a shiny new coat of paint. City squares sport countdown timers to the opening night of the Olympic Games where grand extravagant celebrations are certainly being planned. And all around, television screens preview past Olympic Games events and current achievements by Chinese athletes whilst large posters of sponsored athletes hang from walls.

Public transportation is being smartened up to facilitate the expected millions of tourists in getting around. If it's one thing that's reliable and efficient in this country, it's their public transportation system - save the purchasing of train tickets considering how they don't seem to grasp the concept of a queue or buying tickets from other train stations.

The government seems to be putting in some effort in reeducating the Chinese on swearing, spitting and littering. I think it all boils down to egocentricity really. Being such a large country, it's not hard to imagine that All Under Heaven belong to them and they're still the centre of civilization surrounded by barbarians. Thus, they don't see the need to wait in line and the streets naturally belong to them. They just don't have that sense of civic mindedness.

To be fair though, it only happens in certain places: more so in less affluent cities, less so in Beijing (although it still does happen - bloody Chinese tried to cut the queue at the subway station ticket counter). I think this is a reflection of the wide gap between the rich and poor which is also a reflection on education opportunities since only the first ten years of education are free. And when I say there's a wide difference, I do mean wide. That said, China is way to large and it will definitely take some time before it resolves this.

All in all, you can find just about anyone in China, with its own terrorists and queue-cutters, you also find friendly and kind people. It's all a matter of breaking through that barrier they seem to have built around themselves like some sort of protective mechanism. They are just simply an exasperating bunch.