Travel China and Beyond

What is the “real China”

Earlier today, I was on the CityWeekend web site, where I encountered an article written by Japhet Weeks. The article went on and on about the notion of how expats search for the meaning of the “real China”…..Needless to say, the overall tone of the article got me going so here are some of my thoughts on the subject of what makes the Real China:

Having read through this article I would like to point out to the author / Japhet Weeks that China has been changing every year. The notion of a “Real China” is a notion that is tough to pin point to one point in time. When I arrived for my first stint in China I did see the Mao suits and flods bicycles…. That was in the Fall of 1987. By the time I left, at the end of December 1990, Beijing, Shanghai, China were completely different places - Shanghai’s Nanjing street was exploding with consumerism, the Portman Ritz Carlton was operating, bars were everywhere on the streets around the Hilton….Was that the real China then? Yes, and No. It depends… It is all a point of view. Tourists were coming in larger numbers and discovering luxury hotels like the Portman, the brand new Garden Hotel (Hotel Okura chain)….Then I was back in late 1990s — I remember staying in Tianjin and wondering what was different….Also tough to say. Then I came back to Beijing in 2004, started another assignment and started re-discovering the city and China again. I spend many weekends driving around Beijing, the countryside, driving to Chengde, to other smaller cities… It is all the REAL CHINA. Like any other place on Earth, China is constantly changing, and that change is REAL. So if you are looking for the real China, I believe there is one thing to do — get to know the Chinese people and the foreigners living in China. They make the place real. They define it and make it change. It does not matter whether those people are in Beijing, Shanghai, rural Sichuan province, or any other place…