But what is China?

Photo: Time for tea in laid-back Chengdu, China - 06/11/10

Perhaps there is no answer to the question what China actually is. Or maybe there are a million different answers and opinions. And just as you think you understand it, you find out that the opposite is true. Perhaps it is impossible to understand into detail, this very interesting country.

There is a lot of contradiction for example in the habits. In one way the people are very polite, but at the same time the most elegant people dressed up clear their throat at least two times with a sound that can be heard at the end of the road. And always after wards comes the spitting. Whether you are on the streets, in the bus, on the train, in a shop etc, they will spit. Even on the carpet! Though to be polite, with the toe of the shoe they rub the spit into the carpet so it won't disturb you. Even shopkeepers while customers are in the shop. It seems nothing stops them from spitting. Apart from a few 'no spitting' signs you can find in some places.

Their are many efficient inventions. Such as the trousers of little children. These trousers don't have an 'ass' so there is a big cut in the back of the trousers and when they need to go to the toilet, they only have to sit down :)
It made me laugh many times seeing these kids running around on the streets with naked butts! Even at a temperature of 5 degrees.
My second day in China, while walking through the modern and well paved shopping street, a little boy, who apparently did not have on of these trousers, stood in the middle of the street with house trousers at 'socks-level' and with his jacket and shirts pulled up completely he stood their smiling and naked doing his pee, wild turning from left to right to make sure the streets got watered everywhere :)

There are many police walking over the streets checking and keeping order. Whenever a policeman see someone doing things not permitted, he will blow his whistle and keep blowing his whistle until he get attention from the particular person so he can wave to make this person stop, such as sitting on somewhere not on a bench, entering the grass, etc. When the policeman don't get the attention from the particular person, they keep blowing the whistle.
Also at the train station, whenever a train is approaching the platform, an attendant will blow the whistle to make everyone stand behind the yellow line. Whenever someone crosses the line, immediately they will blow the whistle again.

But they have many good things too!
I love for breakfast to eat a pao, a steamed bum with pork or beef inside! Or the tasty and huge dumpling soup in Shanghai! A good way to start your day.
Trains are incredibly cheap! A night train with a bed, 500 kilometers, 8 hours cost about 20 to 30 Euros.
A 30 minute trip with the high-speed train with 330 km/h cost you 6 Euros. On the day trains, one of the tasks of the train personnel is to put order all bags in the over-head space, and make sure nothing is hanging out such as the ropes and straps from backpacks etc.
A big bottle of beer is 56 cents.

Many things are very well organized such as in the metro and at the train stations as I explained in one of my topics. There is logic thinking, and the result is an efficient flow of people for example.
At the ticket offices of many train stations there are the fences to keep people in one line and queue to not form a crowd in front of the ticket window, with an entrance and an exit. But still multiple people can stand in front of the window, so just in front of the window, they made a rotating wheel with in both sides a gap in which a person fits. So when one person leaves the ticket office, the next person steps into the line, and at the same time the wheel turns, blocking the passage for the next person! A genius who invented this system as I hated all the crowd in front of ticket offices and border controls or check-in desks at airports where flight attendees are checking-in 4 persons at the same time in Morocco and Tunisia and Turkey and many other southern countries.

But at the same time the people driving cars don't use any rule and traffic streams goes crisscross. As it looks, but when you observe the streams there is some logic, so you know where cars are coming from, and that you simply have to slow down at every crossing as cars will drive anyway. And at traffic lights when turning green, oncoming traffic will go first to turn and pass in front of you, so instead of waiting for the oncoming traffic to pass, you pass them on the left side of the oncoming cars, basically driving on the 'turn left lane' of the oncoming traffic. Luckily I like to pay attention to the road, as I drove myself to the airport with the car of a friend, allowing me to drive and allowing herself to fall asleep in the passenger seat. I loved the drive! Passing and driving anywhere where is space. There are no lanes on many roads so three or four cars next to each other, just use all the space. Overtaking on the hard shoulder, no problem. Overtaking with oncoming traffic, they will make space for you....

The people were very curious to see me. Especially the girls. They describe a tall guy, blond/red curly hair, blue/grey eyes, a big nose and very big teeth as handsome.
When I sat in the park on a bench, within one hour about 10 girls approached me asking to take a photo with me and left again. In the mountains many people wanted to get their photo shot with us, both female and male. And when I came back to the hostel after a long day walking and many photos with Chinese tourists, I got back in my room, alone, rest....Until, 5 minutes later, the door went open and two Chinese girls and a guy came in and obviously they both wanted to get their photo taken with me...

Photo: Tourist who was happy to meet me - Hangzhou, China - 11/11/10

The people are very curious! Whether you are in a small town or a big city, sometimes I felt like being in the smallest village, so curious they can be.
I already spoke in one of my stories about the accident in Nanjing, with the many police cars and many people.
In Xi'an again something happened. A truck had hit an iron fence around a tree to protect. The fence got bend a little and torn apart. But many people stood around it looking at it, touching the iron that was bent as if being surprised that the Iron could bend. Interesting habit differences.

Photo: Street vendor with megaphone - Pingyao, China - 22/11/10

Everything talks in China!
Calculators: when pressing numbers, it says the number and the result of your calculation.
Coffee machines: when you press a button it will probably say which coffee you just ordered.
All the toys are talking and making sounds.
Pretty much every shop has a megaphone with a recorder connected, speaking the whole day with their offers and discounts.
Street sellers on bicycles and markets, each has a similar megaphone. And when they don't ha e one, then they will be shouting by themselves.
Even the trucks to clean the roads with water play music tunes like an ice-cream van!

Photo: Toy shop - Shanghai, China - 13/11/10

Hmmm I can't wait to return to this lovely country! (no sarcasm!)