Paul Grau
china
Impressions on China from my trip in summer 2012.
China was very interesting. I was surprised by the level of development in the big eastern cities and brought back down to earth in the middle of the country.
I expected Shanghai to be a huge, modern, international city, which it is, but I didn't expect that even cities like Suzhou or Nanjing are bigger and more advanced than Berlin. To build the hugest train stations takes 2 years here, while Berlin doesn't manage to open one mediocre airport in 6.
Speaking of airports: The Hong Kong International Airport is the best airport I visited in my life. Great connections, huge but easily manageable, calm and relaxing athmosphere, good waiting areas, large choice of restaurants...
Though of course, strictly speaking, this is not the "real China", it adds to the impression that on all ends much money is invested in infrastructure.
I really liked HK, Shanghai, Suzhou and Nanjing: convenient cities with lots of charm.
Then I came to Zhengzhou to see the other China: bustling streets, traffic jams, countless people. You definitely don't want to live here. But still, there are nice areas, good duck restaurants and a lot of construction work going on; I wouldn't be surprised if this became a totally different city by ten years.
A city that probably won't see much change is Nanjiecun. It is the last Maoist communist commune - deserted, clean streets, propaganda blaring from speakers, factories manufacturing combs and noodles... a very special, desolate athmosphere. It has long been a showcase for "look how well communism works in small communities", but it seems that it only kept up with enormous loans from the Agricultural Bank... That's it with the communist dream, again. I wonder how long this town will stay this way.
The old China is not dead though, and I mean really old. The ancient city of Pingyao is just how you imagine 1000 year old China: city walls, old houses with beautiful courtyards, temples...
The last stop of my trip was Beijing: What a hip city! Lots of streets with cool shops, bars and people, massive monuments, parks etc. but you never feel lost. I understand why so many students like to go there to study abroad.
China is a special country and you should come as soon as possible, because with every year passing by it will change significantly. Hopefully for the better.
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