In closing..

China is a wierd place. I think knowing that almost a quarter of the world's population lives here was enough of a reason to make me want to visit. I am glad I did. One frustration was always feeling like a tourist and always being treated like one. Without knowing the language, you exist in a sort of bubble not always sure what is going on. I know that the Chinese are remarkably friendly to foreigners, but I still dont have a good sense of how they treat each other.

I have heard for example that the urban folk dislike the rural peasants (who are two thirds of the population), and that people are classist in general, but the Chinese people I spoke to didn't give that impression and both groups seemed to sit next to one another just fine at the train stations. Men are still comfortable giving warm embraces to each other and even walking arm over shoulder, but my guess is that is likely to fade a bit once homosexuality is more accepted and there becomes the fear that someone might "get the wrong idea"(as in western countries). Couples show very little affection in public though, and rarely even hold hands.

Manners:People often think the Chinese are impolite because of the spitting, staring, pushing, not standing in line, looking over your shoulder (as the people to my right and left are doing right now),food slurping, not covering their mouths when they sneeze, or even subtle things like saying nothing like "god bless you" after a sneeze. Maybe they are, but you don't really think about it much after being here a while (except for the spitting, I don't think you ever get used to that). Oh, the classic I have heard about but not personally experienced is the verification that western men are "generously proportioned". When using a urinal, you will feel a pair of eyes checking you out.

Censorship:I learned that this seems to work surprisingly well. All the Chinese I have spoken to think things are going great for their country and are psyched for the future. They have some sense of the issue of pollution, but little idea of the scale of China's human rights violations. For example, they have very little concept of what really went down and continues in Tibet. No one seems too concerned either that all the newspapers,tv,radio etc are govt monitored and western news websites are blocked (the Chinese versions that is). I think it is part of the Chinese mentality since it has always been this way. The very visible signs of rapid economic progress are all around them.

2008 Olympics in Beijing: This country is going nuts about this. Every time you turn on the news its about progress on choosing the theme song, volunteer recruitment, or torch bearer selection. Everything from seat covers in taxis to light fixtures in hotels have the new Olympic logo and say "Beijing 2008". And if you haven't seen them yet, there are four dorky vaguely Asian animal characters used as mascots. Beijing is demolishing the classic hutongs and relocating tens of thousands of residents who get no say in the matter. Oh, and this is my favorite: the govt is well aware that westerners find the Chinese inability to stand in a line, throat clearing and spitting, littering, and general lack of manners "offputting". So they instituted "politeness days" once a month in preparation for the olympics which will be politeness days throughout. You see commercials on tv of people being really nice to each other and there are flyers in apartments etc. And in a country where people are used to listening to govt propaganda, it works! I wasn't there the one day a month, but I have heard people stand in single-file lines and are more courteous.

Superstition: Its kind of nuts how even the most modern Chinese are still very superstitious. My friend went to buy a cell phone here and he was offered a choice of numbers for his new phone. One of the numbers was 50% cheaper than the other numbers. When he asked why, they explained that the number ends in a four so noone would want it (the word for 4 sounds like the word for death and so is bad luck). Maternity wards are flooded this year because everyone timed to have their child born in the year of the pig. At the temples, Chinese tourists do a lot of bowing and offering to gods I'm told they often don't even recognize. One god I see over and over is this really fierce, pissed off looking god who is stuck on in poster form to most front doors in the countryside.

Faves: I think my favorite thing about the Chinese though has to be their recreational spirit and use of the outdoors. In parks, you often hear people singing together in chorus, or competing karaoke outfits. All over you see Chinese chess, mahjong, go and other card games. In the morning is Tai chi, and in the evening is ballroom dancing. Even throughout the day, people eat on the sidewalks on little plastic tables and stools.

The food here was probably the best I have had in any country. At first I was daunted by all the weird stuff I didn't recognize, but once I learned a little Chinese and got better at just pointing at things, I really looked forward to meals. A typical vegetable dish is about $1-2 and a meat dish is $2-3. I usually ate just vegetable dishes and would order a couple to sample cause it was so cheap (extra food usually goes to beggars or animals).So when eating with friends, you can really have a feast for a few bucks each, its fantastic.

The future for China: This provides for interesting debate. The Chinese will say they are moving towards democracy but that it cant happen overnight. Some westerners don't see the progress. Capitalism is obviously thriving, but the crackdown on dissent is as brutal as ever, and allowing another party other than the Communist party is still inconceivable. Not everyone is sure they will be the next superpower. One opinion is that they are following a similar path as other modern countries except they are doing it in 30yrs instead of 200, and eventually the workers wont allow themselves to be exploited anymore and will organize and demand a living wage, safety standards, health care etc. And that of course would mean an end to the dirt cheap stuff. Or maybe they are growing too fast and this place could implode. A couple months ago president Hu Jintao surprised many by saying that a diversity of opinion was welcome. Since then the govt has allowed some articles published that would normally have been seen as threatening. If this will be a new trend or temporary and just for show remains to be seen.

A common way to see the country is one that has had sudden and dramatic economic expansion but whose people and govt till have the older mindsets and habits. Ya know how sometimes you see a 14 or 15yr old boy who is tall,lanky and awkward, and his mom or older sister will say that he hasn't grown into his new body yet? Thats a little like China.

Anyway, thats a quick some up of a few observations. Like most trips, the thing that made it most enjoyable was the people I met and hungout with along the way. BTW, how many of you do Facebook? It seems to be all the rage now.

Sunrise on the plane ride home (symbolic eh?):

Yak yak yak

I am home now and waited to post this to be safe:

07-01-2007
Lhasa is not the distant, exotic, city on top of the world that it once was. I guess it stopped being that when China took it over in 1949, but since the Han Chinese have been relocated here in droves, and the tourists come in by the trainload now that there is a train here, its well on the circuit. But that said, its still an intense and very holy place.

Flying over the Himalayas on the flight in was spectacular



When I first arrived, I was especially moved because I didnt realize that my hotel was in the heart of the "old city", and that the other 80% of Lhasa looks like any other big chinese city. This area, called Barkhor centers around the holiest temple for Tibetans. Pilgrims from allover Tibet (along with a smattering of mostly chinese tourists) walk in a clockwise direction through the busy markets around the temple, spinning their prayer wheels and muttering mantras. I still love watching it all although occasionally you have to go against the flow of traffic and feel like a jerk for it.

Aside from the police posts every block or so, it isnt obvious what is going on here. Most of what I know, I have read or been told by people who know Tibetans. Their lives are obviousely much better now than when the genocide was going on, but there is litle doubt that they are still occupied and not happy about it. Tibetans are regularly thrown in jail for everything from being drunk to mentioning the Dalai Lama. I heard a story once of a Tibetan guide being beaten up by a policemen for being a guide (not officially allowed) and my friend having to shovel quite a bit of money at the officer to make him stop. But again, you dont see that every day around here. Not surprisingly, Chinese tourists seem to be totally clueless about it all. The reason is simply because they only know what their govt tells them. I had an interesting interaction with a shoe seller about this recently.

I had my guide book sitting next to me as I tried on an ill fitting pair of sandals. In an uncommonly gutsy move for a Tibetan, she told me that what my book said about Tibet was not the truth. I questioned her about what she meant, but she was afraid to say any more. After a little discussion we figured out that she thought I had the common guidebook to Tibet that all the Chinese have. When she realized that my book was for/by westerners she said it was probably the truth then. I reiterated to her that we know what has happened here.

Its hard to talk about Lhasa and not mention the Potala palace. Its a 400yr old monolithic building that stands perched on a hill at the centerof the city. I think it looks like a mix of an ancient apartment complex, fortress, and palace. Dalai Lamas used to live there, it was an administrative center, a monastery, and a fortress of sorts. The challenge of just getting tickets to get inside is a common discussion amond travelers here. Inside you are allotted an hour where you are pushed along from shrine to library to gold plated stupa. Only a handful of the thousand or so rooms are viewable now.
Outside the palace


The palace itself




What I enjoyed more was visiting some of the nearby monsateries outside of the city. Less touristy and fun to explore. They are like small neighborhoods with endless alleyways. The monks are always friendly and occasioanlly speak some English. When I ask why they say they like America so much I get everything from, "America help all the world", to "Basketball, Michael Jordan!"(all these monasteries seem to have TV).



At the last monastery I visited, I followed the sounds of animated commotion and found the "debating courtyard". This is really something to see. In each "debate", one or two monks stands up and schools the few sitting. Every 30seconds, the standing monk winds up as if to pitch a baseball, and aggressively slaps his hands together yelling something I wish I knew what they are debating, but I guess I can imagine too;
Sitting monk: "..maybe, but what about the lowly cockroach?"
Standing monk:"you forget that the 8th Dalai lama said that all creatures are sacred! Waaacho! ("Get some of that!" or perhaps "How ya like me now!?")
Checkout the video!


The last thing I did here was visit a nearby lake for a couple days. I went with a group of 4 others and despite accimatiing in Lhasa, the 4700m elevation kicked everyone's butts at various times. A couple of the women I was with had found that tickling the children living in the area was a sort of international language. Even kids in the city performing their money begging scripts, easily break down and become children again.
A bunch of Tibetans live up there (brrr!)

In case you've never seen a yack up close