Thank you China
By Sergio Dabdoub
1 Jul 2009
I like to think that I'm a very realistic person and enjoy soaking up knowledge of different cultures. Being a Latino, Egyptian, Lebanese, Spanish etc. mixture of nationalities has made me wonder how things are in other parts of the world. There are always those times in our lives when we experience something that alters how we see or do things and China was a lesson I'm still learning.
I was only there for nine days and it certainly wasn't long enough. The trip was a whirlwind through Beijing, Hangzhou, Souzhou and Shanghai. After a fourteen hour flight I was unprepared to go straight to the Forbidden City without even showering and brushing my teeth, however that's exactly how it started. Our guide quickly told us the rules and game plan while on the bus making our way to the site. There was no option, possibility of change or diverting from the set plan. As an American of course the first thing we want to do is "whatever we want" but alas it was not the way of China.
We practically ran through the Forbidden City starting at the exit and going in reverse so we wouldn't get caught in the crowds. Exiting the main doors and at a brisk pace we walked through Tian An Men Square where not a word of the college riots was uttered by our guide. It's now a bit different having added some buildings and the death of Chairman Mao. The line to see the body of the Chairman truly had no end in sight. There were literally thousands of people waiting in a line we were certainly not going to join.
As we got back on the bus our guide "Wally" proceeded to talk at Mach III and constantly. It was soon evident that we were going to get a few days of party line information. The people were all very happy and had all they needed is what we were told. The city is modern and clean looking very 21st Century. There were many cars in the streets and the skyline was the biggest I've ever seen. The newest architecture was creative and groundbreaking as I saw on Olympic coverage not long ago.
The side streets told us a different story, as you saw people walking around pushing bicycles with piles of recycling ten feet high. While there was no way of conversing with anyone besides other tourists and our guide it was clear to all that there is a lot of fast change that hasn't made it to everyone. Certainly not as perfect as Wally was told to make us believe. Soon I didn't even listen as I stuck my lens out the window and tried to get a better view of thing outside the bus.
We saw the Ming Tombs, The Temple of Heaven Compound and by the end of day two we were atop the Great Wall a good hour outside of Beijing. The time between those locations were filled with factory visits. This was a truly unique and interesting way of making money. We realized it was a way for the factories to get visitors in and buy directly from them while our guide was clearly getting paid to make certain that he prepped us and made everything sound fun and interesting so we could stay and buy a lot of things. Needless to say I still wasn't listening and preferred my photographs as souvenirs instead of trinquets.
After leaving Beijing our guide for the rest of the trip Lee had a completely different view of the world. He decided to tell us what he thought and how he believed things to be. It was a stark about-turn from Wally. As we drove down the highway we passed gigantic buildings that could hold enough people to make a city. As the sun set you could see that they were shells and not functional buildings. Nobody lived in them and they were just there in that state indefinitely.
Lee explained to us how the people can't possibly afford to live in such places and that the "Big City" is really the only place for such things. They would have to be wealthy to live in a high-rise and the masses cannot afford it. So there they sit empty and see to be strictly decorative. Where the people really lived were the old buildings, shacks and all the other places they always had. I saw one guy living on the worksite that is the highway being built. He had his clothes hanging and had made a leanto from scraps that were clearly found. There were clothes hung up on the scaffold along the worksite and people in all directions.
We did see Hangzhou and had the opportunity to take a water-taxi down the canal. The canal was being fished in, dishes and laundry being washed and was also their sewer system from all we could see. Yes we did see it being a sewer system too so that was not a guess.
The people were all incredible. No matter where we went everyone was working hard and either very curious about this large group of foreigners or smiling and trying their best to sell us something. They have the tour routes figured out because no matter where we went, there they were. People were buying things all around since it wasn't expensive and the people really were nice. Spouting learned phrases like, "Oh mister... you killing me!" when someone tried to haggle the price down. Haggling was not something I enjoyed but it was expected. It was a fun game for the locals with their foreign customers. By the end of the trip I did enjoy it a bit more because it was about the only way we could interact with such a large language barrier.
The list of sites we saw went on and on. We visited the Lingering Gardens, The Canals, Tiger Hill, Lingyin Temple, Yu Gardens Bazaar and many more. I got sick of the food and midway through the trip I just got sick. With about 40lbs of camera equipment strapped to me I tried to keep taking photos. The photos are just my memories of China to look back and piece together what it was we saw in such a short time. This was a trip in overdrive as we practically ran through some of the sites trying to make it by some magical time set for us in the next location. Needless to say it was quite an exhausting trip and all but two people seemed to get sick by the time we were heading home.
I have gone through my photos and have many thoughts about it. I think it was too fast and wish there had been more time to take it in and really explore. I would love to have had time to set up one shot along the way instead of shooting while marching and out of breath. Which part of the trip would I cut out and what would I change? I have my personal favorites, but it was all so spectacular and unlike anything I'd ever seen. There was a lot of poverty but to them it was just life. They smiled and worked hard to make things work. Sometimes when I feel like things aren't working, or I don't have things quite like I want them... I look at my pictures and realize that it's just not so bad. Visiting China has been a real eye opener. That isn't going to stop me from wanting more and most likely I'll want it easy if possible. What I do hope it does for me is help me put things into perspective when I'm talking inside my head. It's nearly a year now and as I go through the photos it's been the most exotic and different place in all my travels. I wonder if I'll ever go back or if I want to go back. Back to my old ways I think to myself that I would only go back if I had a lot of time and money to do it right. This was possibly a once in a lifetime trip, but it felt like more of an appetizer. The different me sits here feeling pretty lucky that I have the option of speaking my mind, having electricity and a variety of food options. China changed something in me but I'm not certain it's done quite yet.
3 responses
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Mei Teng Wong said (1 Jul 2009):
That first photo of the Great Wall is beautiful. I like the curvature aspect (of the wall) in the composition.
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Jason Pepe gave props (15 Jul 2009):
Enjoyed your excellent article and photographs.
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Sergio Dabdoub said (16 Jul 2009):
Thank you. It was a really amazing trip with thousands of photos taken as we walked through. The people were really amazing and friendly. Living lives that we would all most likely find unacceptable. Most of it wasn't as advanced as the Olympic coverage let me to believe. I felt the most beautiful thing was the kind and lovely spirit within the people we met. What a learning experience.
