To some, China it is a place where human rights are violated and freedom of speech is non-existent. To others, it is a bustling economic epicentre where capitalists run the show. One thing I can say with confidence; however, is that China has infiltrated almost every nation, country, or state on this earth, in some way or another. Just take a look at the tag on your clothes, the label on your mobile phone, or the sticker on your child's toys. Chances are that at least one of those things, if not all, will have in some way come from China.
I have met a few people who refuse to go to China because of what they hear on the news, see on TV. However, I think that it is necessary to visit somewhere and see for yourself before forming and opinion and judging, and I can guarantee you that if you take the time to talk to a Chinese person in China they will have opinions about just about anything and everything. And with all of the technologies today it is quite easy to get around the "Great Firewall" that is so famously blocking large amounts of information found on the internet in most other countries.
So before judging a book by it's cover, or in this case a country by it's head of state or political affiliations why not jump on a plane, or a boat, or in a car or on the train, and get a first hand look!
My first trip to China was in 2004 during the time I was studying abroad in Japan and I would have to say my first impression wasn't what most people would hope it to be. I was met by a grumpy immigration officer who clearly wasn't in the mood to deal with the hundreds of foreigners lined up in front of him. I made the mistake of not filling out my immigration card properly leading the officer to bark at me in Chinese. I am still not sure what was wrong, as he ended up waiving me through after I stood there for a few minutes with a puzzled look on my face but in the end I was successful in entering the country and making it to my final destination (a youth hostel in central Shanghai where I met one of my dearest Canadian friends).
My second impression or impressions of China was "There is so much chaos, noise, and pollution...."
Not that I am trying to paint a bad picture of China or that say that I dislike the place, because I really enjoyed visiting China, but I can say that it is like no other place that I have visited.
Five years later, in 2009 I had the opportunity to visit China for a second time and I would have to say that it has changed dramatically, or at least Shanghai has. Here is a picture from 2004 and a picture from 2009 taken in the same location in Shanghai.
It's hard to believe that a cityscape can change that much in the spend of five years. I was also amazed by how much the city had been cleaned up and pollution had disappeared. Though, this may have been a result of the wold expo that was taking place at the time of my second visit. I am told by a friend who was living in Shanghai that much of the pollution returned soon after the expo finished and Shanghai disappeared from the international spotlight.
I also had the pleasure of visiting both Hangzhou and Nanjing while in China as well. Hangzhou is famous for it's beauty and West Lake which is located within the city. Though it was still winter and the weather wasn't great, that didn't stop the masses of people taking walks along the lake and hiring a canoe or rowboat to paddle out into the lake.
Nanjing, as most people are aware is most famous for the atrocities that took place during World War II with the "Rape of Nanjing." But because I am not a historian and embarrassingly have to admit that I don't know a whole lot about the incident, I am not going to go into any detail but will instead show a few pictures of what Nanjing looks like today.
The above picture is of the hike up to Dr. Sun Yat-Sen's Mausoleum. Dr. Sun Yat-Sen was a revolutionary who was the founder of what is not the Republic of China, or Taiwan. Though I don't recommend hiking up to the top when it's 30 degrees, like I did, I do highly recommend it for anyone visiting at cooler times. With some 300 stairs (if my memory is correct) it has quite a view from the top.
This photo above was taken in the southern section of Nanjing near the Confucius temple. It is extremely popular as people can hop on one of the boats and take a cruise down the river. This isn't just any trip, but one filled with neon lights that brighten up the surroundings almost to be point of being a bit tacky!
I am afraid I will need to cut my self off here but note that I will re-visit China in the near future. This is not only because I have left so much out, but also because my next trip to China is already booked and if all goes as planned, I will be on the plane bound for Beijing on May 30th.
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