DIARY OF CHINA

It’s been a minute! - I hope you've got a drink ready, because we've got a lot to cover...

Things have been different around here...I’ve spent more time in the air at 30-40,000ft this month and  have pretty much seen more cities than Henry VIII had wives. 

After an 11 & a half hour flight I landed in Hong Kong to connect to my further 3 hour flight to China’s capital, Beijing. Once there I took to the Hilton & crashed, before later heading out to explore the local grounds & embark on what was already looking to be an incredible adventure.

That it was! I reserved the month of May to explore seven of some of China’s towns and biggest cities, which consisted of Beijing, Luoyang, Xi’an, Guillin, Yangshuo, Shanghai and Hong Kong. Each site had something new and spectacular to offer, carrying through the same qualities and culture, yet each portraying there own unique story.

Why China?

Of course China isn’t your typical holiday destination. I first grew attentive to the country through my dad’s collection of old martial arts films, interest in the culture, Tai Chi, Kung Fu and many other Karate practices. Although there is a never ending list of places around the world I wish to visit, i’ve always wanted to travel to Asia to explore the history of countries such as Thailand, China, Japan, Vietnam, Bali, Cambodia, Malaysia etc. While my initial plan was to visit Thailand, Kuala Lumpur, Singapore & Japan, I came to the decision with my aunt to begin with China. No regrets at all!

Review

China is a significant and incredibly fascinating place, rightfully earning it’s status in the world as a superpower. 

 A country that holds great values, while rapidly evolving as we speak. Sky scrapers can be seen from every angle and seem to go up every second of the day. What I love most about this magical place are the old customs and history it holds on to. It’s one thing reading about it on the internet and another seeing history before your very eyes, dating right back from the 5th century! 

It’s no surprise that this country has become more and more of a global powerhouse, drawing in people to change their lives and settle there. I travelled over, only with a few expectations on Shanghai and the people alone, yet this trip completely reconstructed my perceptions of China. Through this post I wish to share with you the culture, history, lessons and experiences I endeavoured. 

My first day in Beijing flipped my expectations immediately. I once understood the people of China to be very reserved and often stern in their mannerism, however they couldn’t have been any more welcoming and loving, attitudes us brits should aspire to. I became incredibly keen to learn mandarin(most commonly known chinese language), which improved as I moved on to new destinations and practiced the accents with the locals and waitresses at hotels.

 

The first tourist site in Beijing was a trip to Tiananmen square where the famous portrait of Mao Zedong can be seen, the Forbidden City which offers 9,999 rooms, a rickshaw ride through the old neighbourhood streets, followed by a traditional acrobatics performance and finally ending with a traditional duck dinner. This was also the day I became a subject. Most people in China travel within the country and aren't particularly aware of the western world, so when they laid their eyes on me, I immediately became the centre of attention. It was a struggle to walk no longer than 5 minutes without somebody waving, asking for a picture with me or trying to get a sneaky photo in. Not being used to such attention, I found the experience fairly annoying only to grow comfortable to it as I realised how humble they all were. If you’re black or european (blonde) and fancy being a celebrity for a short period, China is the place to go! 

By the time I reached Luoyang (second destination) I involved myself in quite frank conversations of culture, democracy, history, the one child policy, abortions and communism, all of which I found overwhelming and highly interesting. The country is still pushing through rapid development, of which the people seem hopeful and pleased about. It’s most known denunciation of being heavily polluted stands correct for most cities, which are heavily built up surrounded by industrial work. This has been a growing issue for the country, who are still working on solving it safely for its people.

One thing to make note of however, is that everything and I mean EVERYTHING is about food! You will never go hungry. It’s every where you look, turn and breathe! From street food, markets and restaurants, you are most likely to be served egg fried rice, dim sum, sweet and sour pork, kung pao chicken, spicy green beans, exotic fruits, a selection of teas and much more. Like that of the Caribbean's, Indians and Africans the Chinese are not shy when it comes to being fed and believe you me it’s fascinating to see. 

Unlike the Chinese food covered in MSG (Monosodium Glutamate) and sauce we receive here in the U.K, plenty of healthy and varied options are available. No.1 sweet & sour chicken does not exist. You’ll be served sweet & sour pork instead and perhaps hope that you haven’t been fed pork in the U.K all this time. Besides the many beautiful and diverse dishes they have to offer, you’ll witness snakes, insects, chicken feet, intestines and frogs available on the menu amongst many others. Shocking, I know!

Be expected to eat with chopsticks 24/7 and amongst locals conversing as loud as bikers riding through south end. Food serves as a high means of communication and connection, whereby every individual is served a bowl of rice and chooses what they wish to add to their meal from a large round table displaying a shared platter. 

Language is a huge barrier, including thousands of characters and sounds and can be quite daunting for anybody. Being a tonal language, it’s so precise that a slight incorrect accent could very easily result in saying something quite unpleasant. Believe me, I unintentionally wished someone war while waving goodbye at a lady in a store, wondering why on earth she starred at me in such confusion. If you ever plan to visit China, downloading google translate and any app, which allows you to translate signs through video is more than a great helping hand. 

Speaking of apps, the internet is hardly accessible. You may be able to access Whatsapp and Snapchat with wifi access, yet engines like Google, Facebook and other platforms are a no go. China has their own internet world and firewall against our western setting. Although there are a few ways around it, it was lovely having predominantly most means of communication cut, allowing me to breathe and take a break from everything occurring back in London.  

 Anywhooo...The country embraces more diversity in language, people and places than Europe. Due to its closed borders, it holds magical unheard of places, which are enough to blow your mind. Before putting the trip together I had never known of places such as Luoyang, Xi’an, Guillin and Yangshuo, each of which held a special place in my heart. When visiting, don’t settle for the well known cities of Beijing and Shanghai, which costs you more tourists, less fabulous photo opportunities and a typical westernised experience. Opting to include unknown regions are worth the while.

The biggest shock to my system was discovering just how enormous China and it’s population is! From being one of the last places on my travel list, due to the effort of having to organising a Visa & being a shy place of travel, it’s swiftly become a destination destined to return to within the next 2-3years, hopefully with family and friends. 

To sum it all up...

China is known for being polluted, not to mention there are still squatting holes (excretion holes/toilets).
Communication in English is almost impossible and finding your way to use the internet is rather frustrating. However, if you want a magnificent magical adventure, you’ll find it! China is enough to change and develop your mind, help you grow and teach you more about yourself and the world around you. It is set to become the most powerful place on earth and so I encourage as many of you to get stuck in and visit as it grows into just that!

Hope you guys enjoyed this post and more importantly I hope it has encourage you enough to take a trip to China too! Of course there is so much more I could go on to say, but fancied keeping this post to a minimum without boring the lot of you. If you have any questions and/or would like to know more on the history, culture, education, other locations, currency (of which I must say is the prettiest i've seen) or anything you may think of let me know in the comments or send me an email.

xo