Chapter Four
It must be obvious by now that China is not what I expected. What I don’t know about are the unscrupulous behaviors of the manufacturing companies that make things for export to the U.S. Perhaps they didn’t know about our laws, but the American contractors must know. Perhaps they tried to get away with things. I don’t know. I do know that a huge issue for the populace in general is corruption. It pervades in government and probably in business too. It’s being addressed, but like all things in China, it must be an enormous job. There will be stories yet to come from the earthquake disaster about such things. I have empathy on so many of their issues because in some ways we do worse in our own country. The last biggest disaster for example in New Orleans is something to be compared. The Chinese soldiers were on the scene of the disaster within the shortest possible time. When it became apparent that roads were broken, paratroopers were dropped in, helicopters were put into service and there were many people to help and as things moved forward they accepted expertise from any country willing to offer it. Having Japan play an important technical roll in the survivorship of the victims was an enormous advance in humility from what I understand. They still have resentment toward Japan since WWII. And to think of it in a larger form, they put their people before anything else.
That aside, the people themselves are sweet, cordial, clean, helpful, respectful and friendly. They speak loud and in a tone that often seems tough or angry. Without knowing the language it seems a little harsh even if the words are soft in pronunciation. They appear full of emotion and allow themselves to show it. I already defined the people in the service business as dedicated individuals. They will do anything to make sure you are satisfied and content.
One of the memorable things about China is how clean it is. It is clean wherever you go. It’s immaculate in fact. There is no flying debris. That’s something I’ve grown accustomed to here in Las Vegas. Every spot of land is growing something green or green and colorful. And it’s not helter-skelter. Every inch is plotted and cared for. It seems impossible but true. Under every highway, viaduct, parkway and roadside there are flowers or plants growing. In the countryside there is green everywhere. It’s the greenest place I’ve ever seen. The parks are grand places. They are well used and purposeful for every age group. For example, there is a section of apartments where many older people live. The parks are developed for their health and enjoyment. They play cards; they do ballroom and ethnic dancing every single day. They make art, and do Tai Chi, there are choral groups, soloists, gamers of all sorts, group games where they physically kick a feathered weight from person to person something like badminton birdie using the ankle and can be played by two or around a circle of people. On any given day the parks are crowded with people at play or in groups practicing silk twirling, balancing exercises and the like. In fact, it’s interesting to note that the Chinese government has come to recognize that in order to keep Alzheimer’s at bay they encourage not only all the activities I mentioned including tennis, table tennis and more, they encourage card games and mah jongg. While gambling is illegal throughout the Chinese mainland, and they do watch it somehow, seniors are allowed to play mah jongg for money. They do this to keep them vital and their minds busy. So over a certain age you can legally gamble. People take their birds for walks and hang the cages in trees and they sing and whistle to them.
It’s easy to see the connection of people to nature in so many ways. They revere rocks and deformed stones. I think they are limestone, (the ones I saw) I forgot, but there are these huge boulders that get eaten through and are revered for their immense size and configuration. Many public and private gardens have areas cordoned off with these rocks on pedestals in the same manner as we are used to seeing public sculptures displayed. When touring mountainous areas the tour guides are always naming the mountainous terrain with names of serpents, princesses or animals as a point of interest butusually there is a story that highlights the reason for the naming. I imagine it serves as a landmark also. They believe symbolically that heaven is round and earth is square. So if you see a round roof I imagine it’s a place to pray. I may include a photo, which is Temple of Heaven. Gardens are everywhere. Every public place, no matter how remote or insignificant has gorgeous gardens.
I don’t think I mentioned the airports. Even in Korea, the Seoul Airport was incredible. They are all relatively new and are HUGE glass and marble buildings, even the ones that were not international were spacious. They are sparkling clean. They are well lit, spacious with free carts everywhere. I don’t know if we have anything to match this in all of the US. The international airports are mind-boggling. Any and every designer shop is in the mall areas, which are adjacent to the gates and because of the immense size you can stroll up and down while waiting for you r plane. The time of departure stamped on your ticket is the boarding time, not when the plane is due to leave. I suppose they don’t have the kind of traffic we do yet but all flights left in a timely manner from the time the doors closed on the plane. I noticed at one of the airports theyhad a section of gorgeous green plants with large leaves, common one that we see here, maybe 50 to 100 pots surrounding a section of seating. There was an attendant cleaning each leaf on each plant while we were walking through and I noticed that there were plants some much larger throughout the airport with shiny dark green leaves. When I got back to the states, unfortunately LA Airport is in such disrepair and laid out so badly, it’s such a letdown to see it as the first sight. I always thought of Las Vegas Airport as a rather cheerful place until I had to go through it on my return trip. It made me feel so closed in and the carpet gave it a dingy feeling. This was an unexpected negative surprise to my senses much as the cleanliness and beauty of China was a positive surprise to my senses. The contrast cannot be easily forgotten.
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