What I didn't expect to see in China:
-Pink as the "in" color.
-That babies are bundled colorfully, and are carried (strollers are seldomly used.)
I see babies at construction sights, on the streets, in the fields...
-Instead of diapers (I do see them, but mainly) the baby's clothing has a slit between the legs. When diapers are worn they are easy to put on and take off because you do not have to take off all their clothes.
- Note: The little girl's sleeves on her coat. Often "protective" gloves or aprons shirts are worn to protect clothing from being soiled.
-I didn't expect to see the fattest, most photogenic poultry.
-A man was riding his electric motorcycle (The majority of motorcycles are electric in China, makes for quieter, less polluted streets.) down a busy street. On the backseat he had a five foot, meshed, caged box which held thirty or more chickens. On his handle bars he had twelve or more un-plucked, dead chickens tied by their feet.
It was a rare sight that I wasn't quick enough to photography. Many moments are like that in China .. I am memersized by the oddity or beauty of a moment, that I forget to take a photo.
- China is booming with construction. Old buildings, houses, store fronts, temples... are torn down without much thought of restroing. New is more evident than old. Neon lights replace lanterns. Often China feels like Las Vegas in the 70s instead of a quaint village.
It is cheaper to build something new than to restore something old.
-Finding an old building is a rarity.
-Justin Bieber like hairstyles. Puff balls are what I call the young Chinese guy's hair style because often their hair is teased ten miles high.
-Incense burners attached outside the family's front door.
-Red firecrackers, by the thousands are lite and tossed in front of a coffin as it is carried on the shoulders of men, as they proceed down the street to the burial ground. The coffin is covered with brightly covered cutout paper, the kind seen the USA that is used for a children's party or shower. The first time I saw this I thought it was a prelude to a party... often the firecracker procession happens in the early morning.
-The color of the water. Especially that of the Li River.
- Chinese people asking to take our photo.
Especially French Husband's. We have had our photo taken with couples, while eating, and with their children.
-I realize that my blond hair, plumpness, not so little nose, is an oddity.... and that French Husband's long grey hair, handsomeness is attractive.
- French Husband was the Piped Piper.
- A child sits calmly in a pink chair in a cart pedaled by his mother.
-Children are everywhere...
-A guide we used in Yangshuo told us that her parents died during the Culture Revolution when she was six years old. Because of that she lived in the mountains alone with her brother and sister. Later she would add that she had five daughters of her own but gave two away as her husband didn't appreciate five daughters. I thought a one child rule was enforced....
-In most the hotels we have stayed condoms, are available on the bedside table.
-Straw hats. Hand made. Still worn.
China is the land of old ways sitting on top of major change. It is the land of tradition mixed tightly with booming newness.
I find myself starring at the two worlds playing out side by side incredibly peacefully, though the two worlds are drastically different: An older man stood in a rice paddy, his pant legs rolled up to his knees, a straw hat protected him from the sun, a water buffalo grazed as the man used a handmade shovel to dig an eternity of land. The rugged countryside's stark beauty made the scene appear out of a movie set....
A young couple in their twenties on an electric motorcycle, dressed immaculate in the latest fashion...was that a Chanel bag on her arm? Was the driver texting on his I-Phone? Certainly the young woman was gracefully eating a bowl of noodles while she sat side saddle on back.
A group of women carrying trees four times their size up the side of a mountain to be planted... meanwhile a group of young people inside a salon are having their hair done, eyelashes added to go out that night... every night is a party in China's city centers.
- Big screen TVs in rural homes without a comfortable place to sit.
- No matter where we have gone: In the middle of nowhere or in the city's center, or on the highway, or a backroad, or in the hills, or down an alley there are people. Most the time they are working. Hard labor without modern equipment. Often with children by their side. I haven't seen a tractor in any of the fields, mostly just shovels. People hard working, people.
-Terrible maps of the countryside.
-Fireworks and firecrackers all times of the day.
- The street vendors with the most amazing food.
- Steamed buns for 10 cents.
- Inexpensive meals, even at the chicest restaurants. Though tea, even Lipton Yellow Label is ridiculously expensive.
-Chocolate?
"Coffee takes forever and a day to make, though it is far superior to any coffee had." French Husband utters with each coffee he drinks.
-At a family style restaurant it is not uncommon to put that which you don't eat on the table..... fish bones come to mind.
-Spitting is common.
-So are squat toilets, which are a trick to master with a bruised foot.
- We all know that most products for the Western world are made in China. Though when in China those products are hard to find. Most of the shops in China cater to their market, understandably. If you want to find a brand name: Rolex, Gucci, Prada, Chanel, and or a "western" perfume, makeup, camera, wine.... you will pay more in China than you you will in the States or in Europe.
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I realize that China is a gigantic country and that I have witness less than a microscopic speck of it... nevertheless these are some of my first impressions.
If you want to ask or see something, I will try to answer it or show you a photo.
