Chilling in China

146 - Change

China, as I’ve said on countless occasions, is a country of contrast. Rapidly developing cities and poverty stricken people. Since I’ve lived here I’ve seen buildings knocked down, shops and restaurants built on there place, workshops gutted and renovated into the office of an insurance firm and there has been an entire block of flats under continual renovation just next door to us.

Not a lot stays the same in China, even the traditions are forced into a new context with China’s lust for progress and growth. If there is one noticeable constant in this country it’s change.

The buildings go up quickly. People get left behind. Left to live in shops, on floors, in loft spaces and cubby holes. Ironic when these buildings are being built to house the population.

Relationships

When human beings come together they create, for want of a better word, ‘Drama’.

In dramatic circles we call it conflict. Good performances always need it. Tension, anticipation, stimulation, provocation, insinuation, realisation, condemnation, isolation…..a whole bunch of ‘tions’ basically.

Life is pretty similar. Without these mutations and emotions our time on this big blue and green ball would be boring as hell. It is from these feelings and experiences that we distinguish ourselves, take our reason and our humanity. They make us better people.

This post is not without incitement. When you put a bunch of people together, who have never even seen one another before, and ask them to live and work with one another for 6 months it’s obviously going to create some…..conflict.

I am not going to unload my bad feelings into this blog. That’s not what it’s for. What I will say is that there have been many trials and tribulations in China. It’s what I came here for. But some came from unexpected places.

I just deleted 3 paragraphs of blabble, so let me end with this single sentiment:

Everyone needs to be cared for.

145 - Shenzhen & Guanzhou

The two largest, most significant cities in Guangdong province. The most progressive and the most westernised. I have now visited both.

They are not typical Chinese cities. They are incredibly modern in comparison to the rest of China. The streets are clean (mostly), the buildings are tall, people obey the traffic signals, they have fully functioning subway systems and western people in abundance; I saw at least 15 yesterday.

Shenzhen is the one of the seaside resorts of China. I had an amazing time on the beach and an equally indulgent time at the clubs in the evening. It was like being in down cornwall or something.

Guanzhou, in my opinion, was not as pleasant. A landlocked city, the smells were riper, the streets less swept. It reminded me so much of London, with the pearl river running through the center and the mountains of high rise apartments.

Both cities look dazzling in the evening. Skyscrapers lit up like 200ft christmas trees, neon signs ablaze.

It was nice to visit them both and see what China has to offer on an international level.

But I feel as if my trip to China is slightly unbalanced. I’d like to see some more rural places. I guess that can be my target for this month, which is shockingly already 3 days old.

Daniel's Photoblog

144 - June

My last full month in China began today.

Time is a human invention. Built as a practicality, as a tool to measure our own lives and our actions within them. It is manufactured.

Perhaps that’s why it is so pliable. So stretchy and squishy and unfathomable. I am yet to hear a good explanation as to why four months can pass in what feels like days, and a good conversation can last for a lifetime.

I am sure the Chinese have an expression which succinctly captures this feeling. I will research it. If you happen to know one please email it to me.

The past four months have been extraordinary. Eye opening and mind boggling. The experiences I’ve had here are exceptional and stand outside of time - they will stay with me until the end. Somethings you cannot make. You cannot control.

You could even say these moments are deifacted. 

143 - Exploiting the Colonial Plunger

One of the great and constant joys of living in China is the Chinglish you see anywhere and everywhere you go.

The world is full of incomplete sentences, spelling mistakes and some incredibly beautiful yet crazy sayings. From translations of poetry, to road signs, to communicating in class, to  wet floor signs, to searching for an address, to food labelling - every one seems to be an opportunity to explode the English language and then glue the pieces back together in the order they land.

You can see a couple of examples taken from the Humen Opium War museum above. The description of queen victoria is one of personal favourites.

But if I had to choose a winner through out my time in China so far, If I had to award a prize to the most entangled, bewildering and wonderful statement I’ve seen it would have to be…..

The keep off the grass signs:

“The grass is small and we are big. Lets help each other to grow”

“Look. How beautiful the grass be. Don’t kill it”

“The grass is precious. Please don’t murder them”