Travel Journal: Second Edition

This is the second and final edition of my online travel journal. As you know, I studied abroad in Beijing, China, since January 11 of this year. I ended my semester studying at Peking University, located in northwest Beijing, and also toured around China with my classmates and then my family, recently returning to the United States on May 21. The second half of my semester was just as, if not more, exciting than the first, and this edition details in particular my travels around China, and some conclusions about the country and the people–albeit several months late! The return to American television and fast food was too much.

Again, the full blog can be found at michaeldavidwagner.blogspot.com.



James Bond in China
Although James Bond cinematically has had the occasion to visit Hong Kong, the South China Sea, various other locales, and work with Chinese intelligence agents during his forty year career, a James Bond film has never been shown in China . . . until now. This entry details 007's arrival into one of the world’s last remaining Communist nations.

Model United Nations
Although I had done some debate simulations during High School, I had never participated in a Model United Nations event, either in high school or college. It was with some surprise that I signed up for Peking University’s annual hosted Model U.N. event, and soon started reading up on Iran, East Timor, and South Africa.

The Grand Tour
Although the academic semester officially ended mid-April, none of us were slated to leave China until near-May. For two weeks, the thirty-eight college students in the Beijing Program of Asian Studies would leave their books behind and brave some of China–and the world’s–most exotic locales in a grand tour around the Middle Kingdom.

Xi'an and the Terracota Warriors

Xi'Ning and the Ta'Er Temple

Lhasa and the Potala Palace

Chengdu and the Pandas

Yangshou, Riverboating, and a Night on the Town

Shanghai and Mission: Impossible III

Touring with the Family
To both visit me during the semester, and to have another serious family vacation, the rest of the Wagner family flew to Beijing after my semester ended, and we proceeded to take planes, trains, and automobiles back around China on another grand tour.



Where’s the McDonald’s? Answer: Everywhere except Lhasa, in over 700 locations around China. Food in China part II.
Because of the tendency for Chinese food (and my lack of appreciation thereof) to come up in conversation, I felt the topic of Chinese food deserved a second look, as well as some more photographs of my basic meals on campus.

The Marco Polo Bridge . . . and Museum.
This essay covers a visit to a very old bridge, a very new museum, and a very disconcerting aspect of the Chinese personae and history.

Economy in China
Short thoughts on China's rapidly growing economy, the presence of multi-national corporations, and whether capitalism or communism rules the day.

Tibet
What I understand about the Tibetan situation, enlightened slightly by having been there.

Religion in China
A brief discussion of the attitudes of China towards religion, and my experiences with both Buddhism and Christianity.

I want to be in America
What do Rita Moreno and Michael Wagner have in common? They both want to be in America.

Conclusions: TIC.
Some final thoughts and ruminations about my time in the Middle Kingdom.

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Michael Wagner

Conclusions: TIC.

At last we arrive at the end of my time in China, and the end of this travel journal and essays. Although “How was China?” is far and beyond the most common question I received when returning Stateside, I also had to ask myself, “What is China?”

During the middle of the semester, we watched the movie Blood Diamond. Although focusing on African conflict diamonds, Leonardo DiCaprio’s character used one line my roommate Christian rehashed. “TIA,” remarked DiCaprio, “This is Africa.” Christian quickly adapted the line “TIC–This is China.” A facebook group quickly followed, and I will let the description speak for itself.

Every walk down the street and see a bike stacked with numerous barrels of old trash? Do you regularly buy yams on the street? Are you more worried about being hit by bikers than cars? Does a sketchy guy sell you meet on a stick, and you like it? Does your haircut come with a happy ending? No elevators in your hotel? No deodorant in the supermarket? No Wikipedia?

This Is China, mate. Better get used to it. In America its bling-bling, over here, the bling is fake and shouldn't cost you more than 20 kuai.

So enjoy China, buy your meat on a stick, drink alcohol out on the street and set off your fireworks. And if you see something strange, just remind yourself, "T.I.C."

Quickly, this became the shorthand for anything out of the ordinary, impressive, or frustrating about China. (At some of our worse moments, it was suggested it be replaced by TFC–This Freaking Country). In a scary moment, I was heading to dinner with some German students I had met at Model U.N., and, prompted by the bad traffic, one muttered, “TIA.” What? He continued: “This is Asia.” From an American Movie, about South Africa, seen by Germans, in China, applied to Asia–the exact same line used by American students in China as well. Whoa.

I recall bristling at the notion that I would somehow become “multicultural” when I left; I remember thinking, I like being a midwestern American! I still do, but near the end of the trip, as I was walking back to my hotel after mailing some of my stuff back to America, I realized that I actually knew far mor than I would have thought. In the space of an afternoon, I had packed my stuff, found a taxi, directed the taxi to the Post Office (the location of which he did not know) using limited Chinese and hand signals, mailed the stuff to the U.S., and walked back to my hotel, all without breaking a sweat. I daresay I would never have had the ability or the motivation to try even half of this when I arrived. Perhaps there is more to this than I thought.

So what is China, exactly?

• The most populous nation in the world, with an ethnic majority comprising 91% of the population.

No matter what your background, you were either white and western, or Chinese. As me, Mr. America, was consistently mistaken for being a red-bleached native, every person of non-Chinese descent was spoken to in the same language: English. Practical? Yeah, probably. Frustrating? Definitely.

• A nation experiencing a resurgence of Nationalism.

Although understudied, this is perhaps one of the key factors to consider when examining China and the Chinese psyche today. Nationalism, by definition, requires a nation, and China was not a nation in the classic nation-state mold until 1912, when the last Imperial Dynasty fell and the Republic of China was formed. Today, after only fifty four years as the People’s Republic of China, the nation has a short history, but chock full of fascinating events.

Used to being the “middle kingdom” (which translation, “zhongguo,” literally means China), China suffered a string of defeats at the hand of technologically and militarily superior forces starting in the mid 1700s, exemplified by the Opium War, where the British Navy more or less singlehandedly defeated the entire Chinese military. More recently, the Japanese invasion and continued tension is another example of the “humiliation” China continues to experience. This mindset goes a long way to explaining China.

A case in point is the bombing of the Chinese Embassy in Belgrade. Whether it was a mistake or not, China could interpret the bombing in one way: a blatant attempt for the U.S. to use its military might to once again “humiliate” China and put down the nation. Peking University students, it must be noted, once again led the charge for reform, culminating in a thousand-strong march through the streets of Beijing to protest outside the American Embassy. Ironically, most of those thousands of students went back to studying for the U.S. GRE test, and applying for a U.S. visa the next day.

As I alluded to, most Chinese I met are atheistic. I cannot help but wonder if their need to believe in something, to find a meaning for life, is expressed in their belief in themselves as a people–as Chinese.

• A communist nation.

Despite the “capitalism and democracy lite” that the government impresses on you, this is first and foremost an authoritarian government that effectively controls the political and most of the economic institutions in this nation. Most of the stories I covered earlier in the short essays.

• A nation where, despite the image of a“communal” culture, personal survival can sometimes be emphasized at the expense of the common good.

This maxim came in handy in Shanghai, when we stopped a robbery. No kidding: we were walking across a street, and noticed a man walking his bike across the street. No, strike that, we noticed the man next to the man on the bike, who was crouching down, and clearly attempting to pull something out of the bag on the bike. And we, the Americans, had to shout and scare him off. Later, Steve’s Chinese girlfriend noted that we shouldn’t have done that–after all, he might have had a knife!

• A nation of both a repressed economy still controlled by the central government, and the purest form of capitalism known to man.

I realized finally about a month in why the Chinese storekeepers are so persistent and annoying. This is the only way they can make a sale. Because every single product is exactly the same, from store to store, city to city, a personal appeal by the shopkeeper–or sales clerk–is the only way to earn the sale. That being said, when in Xian and browsing through the shops, the absolute best storekeeper was the lady who simply welcomed us to her store and let us browse silently.

• A nation where, despite the reputation for the more “genteel” culture, personal manners can easily fall by the wayside.

It struck me at dinner with my parents, about four months into my time in Chian, just how much China had destroyed my table manners. During the course of dinner at a fancy restaurant, where distinguished guests such as Henry Kissinger had ate, I achieved the following:

▸ Shouting across the room at a fuwuyuan.
▸ Blowing my nose into my napkin.
▸ Pulling the breading for the Peking Duck out of the dish with my hands.
▸ Eating directly off of the serving tray, bypassing my plate.
▸ Grabbed at the food the moment it arrived at the table, instead of waiting for it.
▸ Holding my fork with my fist, instead of properly between my forefingers.

The sad thing is, it took me halfway through the meal to realize this, I had become so accustomed to eating this way. Ah, China.

• A nation where, all this considered, one can still find moments of personal gratification.

Two moments stood out for me. The first came in Tibet, when in a fast food restaurant I was, once again, spoken to in Chinese. I responded in English, and instead of laughing, the girl working the counter smiled and proceeded in English. After ordering, she politely asked where I was from, and we held a nice short conversation about where I was living, the fact I was South Korean, and even out of courtesy switched back to what I knew of Chinese for her sake.

The second moment came at the very end, the last night in Shanghai with my family. In the bathroom, waiting to wash my hands, as usual, several Chinese cut in front of me. This is not uncommon, and certainly I was used to it. I evil-eyed them, and to their credit, instead of turning back and ignoring me, they moved away and let me move forward. Amazing.

• A nation that is still one of the most fascinating nations on earth.

Despite the sour tone, I enjoyed my time in China very much. As the third largest, and most populous, China is huge, and encompasses dozens and dozens of distinct cultures, people, and ways of life. With a history stretching back thousands of years, America is very much a young child in the long run. Yes, as I like to point out, we do have twelve aircraft carriers and effective nuclear supremacy over China, but I would be foolish to ignore the inherent power of China in the future. The men and women I met were, mostly, polite, friendly, unfailingly curious, and unerringly hard working–although I certainly met my share of denigrates, con men, and rude people. It is a nation of fascinating history and inherent beauty, and some of the most disgusting locales I’ve seen in a long time. So, what is China? Well, dare I say it, This is . . .

I Want to be in America

As most of you know, I consider myself to be pretty patriotic, and think America is one of the best nations on the planet (if not the best, most of the time). Although this essay will thus be biased in favor of the U.S. and against China, here are three select conclusions about China versus the United States, not covered elsewhere in this blog.

Democracy

China has “democracy” in the sense that voting is held regularly to establish the makeup of China’s lowest level of governance, the municipal and local people’s Congresses. The LPC’s will then vote to determine the makeup of the Municipal People’s Congress, if applicable, and then the MPC will vote to determine the makeup of the Provincial People’s Congress, and this People’s Congress will vote to form the makeup of the National People’s Congress.

For a political science class, I wrote a short paper on the makeup of this voting system. I interviewed several local University students, who, according to China’s voting rules, vote as residents of Beijing’s Haidan district (the largest cities are divided into districts). The following facts emerged: the previous vote was held in late September of 2006. The students could vote for three offices, three deputies to the District People’s Congress. I then asked each student how many people were on the ballot for each office. “Three.” Hmm . . .

Voting turnout was helped by the fact that the government took impressive pains to ensure the people voted. Although I am against mandating voting in the United States, I do think the process could be made easier for citizens, and China goes all out–appointing certain students as “election monitors,” setting up voting precincts in class rooms, and guaranteeing time off from school. Still, a good number of the students I spoke with did not vote. When asked why, the reason was simple enough: “It didn’t matter.”

The Internet

The Internet deserves a special mention. Before heading to China, the most oft-discussed topic was the fact that wikipedia, the “free encyclopedia,” was not accessible in China. Sure enough, it wasn’t, as were things such as the Voice of America, the BBC News, and various other pro-democracy and anti-China web sites. From what I understand, the Chinese government employs literally thousands of computer employees, all tasked with monitoring the internet and reporting or blocking such attempts to find “subversive” web sites.

Now, to the resourceful, this is not ordinarily a problem. One of our professors, a full Chinese citizen, outlined the best way to circumvent the blockers by finding a free proxy address, and accessing whatever site we want.

The Chinese government does get touchier about more damaging things. I never actually tried searching for “democracy” or “Tiananmen Square Massacre,” reasoning that I really didn’t feel like having my internet access revoked halfway through the semester. I did, however, choose to access the U.S. State Department’s Human Rights Report when it was released in March. To my surprise, I got right to State’s web site, but when looking at the report, I found my internet slowing down. Within five minutes, I could no longer access State Department’s web site.

Of course, this was without a proxy server, signed in using my Peking University ID, so perhaps that facilitated my “capture” at the hands of the censors. My friend Katie related her experience, slightly more disturbing. Using her computer, at a free internet café (Starbucks, actually), her attempts to download the report met with the same pattern–difficulty accessing the report, difficulty accessing the State Department’s web site, all culminating in her complete loss of internet access after a mere 10 minutes. The censors had done their job.

We are allowed to make our own judgements about history and our nation.

I think two anecdotes illustrate this, one from our side, and one from China’s. I recall in High School, when learning about the Civil War, our textbooks presented several reasons for the war’s occurrence, and we held at least one or two discussions in class about which reason may have been better. Some felt that slavery was definitely the reason; others could reasonably attribute it to financial reasons, or clashes between the relative power of the north and the south. Although I have a general conclusion, I’m sure that some of my other friends think differently, and it remains a topic that emerges occasionally in conversation.

In contrast, the Tiananmen square massacre is more neatly presented. Although scholars can argue over why the students gathered in Tiananmen square in 1989, and why the Chinese government ordered the military to suppress the gathering, the average citizen has no such luxury. Informally, most of the students aware of it were certain that the government had a legitimate reason to crack down on the “rioters” and “radicals” meeting in Tiananmen square. This presumes that one knows about what happened in 1989–which, I must also report, was not always the case.

Food.

‘nuff said.

Religion in China

China is not particularly religious in a theistic sense. Out of the 1.3 billion Chinese, Taoism is often cited as the nation’s predominant religion. Taoism can reasonably be construed as a philosophy of life, rather than a theistic religion. Of course, a desire to worship has been present in Chinese for thousands of years. The building of the Terracota Warriors by Emperor Qin points to a belief in an afterlife. Thus, “ancestor worship,” or familial worship, is also considered to be China’s predominant religion. I often wondered that, with an essentially athiestic worldview, do the Chinese I have met seek spiritual fulfillment in technology, or nationalism?

While freedom of religion is officially protected in the Chinese Constitution (along with freedom of speech, trial by jury, and a democratic government), in practice, it is different for non-indigeneous religions. The Falun Gong, for example, variously described as a cult or an oppressed religion, is a good example. When speaking with one of our professors, he explained the government considered Falun Gong a cult–indoctrinating their members, urging them to kill or commit suicide, not unlike the Branch Davidians. However, he noted that the other view–that they were a religious minority–could also be true, and confessed that he did not know which was the truth. This was surprising to me–coming early in the semester, I had yet to appreciate how the Chinese government obscures the truth.

He continued to explain that regardless of what Falun Gong actually was, he believed that the government felt threatened by the group in some way. The group probably possessed the capacity to mobilize a large group of people, posing a direct threat to government control. Although he covered himself, explaining that historically, insurgent groups would often use religion as a cover to move against the government, it was still a clear statement.

To me, it was a direct slap in the face for liberty and freedom of religion. The government wasn’t afraid of religiosity, but of the power of religion to mobilize the people? That is exactly the point! I thought. The government should be afraid of religion; if religion is afraid of the government, that, in my opinion, is the beginning of tyranny. This is why the First Amendment exists, and one of the principle reasons America as a land and nation was settled. The case of Tibet only serves to strengthen my opinion here.

Regarding Christianity, approximately three percent of the population is said to be Christian. The first missionaries arrived in the mid 600s, and the violence against outsiders–in particular Christian missionaries–was one of the triggering events of the Sino-Western conflicts in the 19th century. Today, churches exist–there was one about a mile from Peking University–if they are registered with the government as an official Christian church. I heard stories of locals being arrested for worshiping in a non-approved location, such as at a person’s home, but from what I understand, this is rare.

In Xi’an, with my family, I had a chance to visit a local worship service. Held in a building more resembling a mess hall at summer camp, in a dirty back alley, with no signs, sat hundreds and hundreds of Chinese, each with a Chinese-language copy of the bible. A female preacher explicated on what I presume to be the bible verse in question, while a western-style choir sang to almost familiar sounding tunes. What I thought was neat was just how enthusiastic these people were. After the service, the hundreds filed out–to be immediately replaced by the next worship service, and we did not attend the first service of the day. It was impressive, and serves as a counterpoint to my more dire predictions about China above.

Tibet

Famous in the U.S. for crusaders like Richard Gere and other famous Hollywood types, there is an interesting history to Tibetan-Chinese relations. Historically, Tibet existed as a mostly autonomous region and culture for most of its 2,000 plus year history, coming into contact with China in the early seventh century. Neither nation operated with today’s nation-state conception of national borders, and China may or may not have considered Tibet part of the “middle kingdom.” What is clear is that after the arrival of missionaries, British, and in 1951, while Mao was consolidating his hold on China, Tibetan leaders signed a treaty essentially transferring sovereign rule to China. Mao got a nice end of the deal, his photo still prominently displayed here in the Dalai Lama's summer palace.

The current Dalai Lama fled to India in 1959 after a Tibetan uprising failed, and China completed its hold on political control. The Dalai Lama has his own website, I also learned upon returning to the states–which, surprisingly, looks for all the world like a U.S. Senator’s web site, complete with photo albums, a biography, press releases, and current issues. I guess even the Dalai Lama has a political constituency.


While in Tibet, several things about this situation struck me. First and foremost was the overwhelming presence of the military. It seemed every hour, another military truck for an “exercise” passed by. As Tibet is not exactly a high value strategic target for China’s enemies, the military could only be there as a naked show of force by Beijing.

Second was the demographics. As mentioned, we arrived on a railway only completed last year. From what I understand, this is part of a coordinated effort to open Tibet to the outside world. With such treasures as the Potala Palace, Tibet’s tourist value is certainly clear, but we got the sense more was going on. Our suspicions found some fulfillment when we learned that Lhasa’s population had, in the course of a decade, more than doubled from 200,000 to 400,000–most of them mainland Chinese citizens settling in. The fact that many of the new businesses are Chinese owned and operated, employing local Tibetans as workers, lends credence to the notion that Beijing may want more Chinese citizens in Tibet to consolidate its hold on the region.

What is at stake in Tibet?

Wealth: As mentioned in my writings about the Potala Palace, there are literally hundreds of millions of dollars–if not more–in gold alone in the palace. When you add the wealth found in the countless rooms we did not see to the unimaginable historical value, it has to be one of the richest human constructions in the world.

History: Apart from the economic value, the Potala Palace alone holds the written and recorded history of an entire people stretching back thousands of years. Whoever controls history, it is often said, controls the present, and it is clear who wants control of this building. After all, didn’t we pay our cash to the central government when entering?

Religion: China, from what I understand, also seeks to control Tibet religiously as well. Reading the Dalai Lama’s writings, one finds that Beijing has been systematically manipulating the leadership of Buddhism for years. Briefly, a man now concurrently gain approval from both the Buddhist leaders and the Chinese government to become a monk. One suspects that those with dreams of Tibetan independence will not be allowed into the ranks. The second thing to understand is that once the current Dalai Lama dies, the monks as a caste will select the new incarnation (the “next”) Dalai Lama–roughly analogous to the selection of the Pope by the Cardinal Electors. Putting two and two together, if Beijing controls who the monks are, and the monks control who the next Dalai Lama is . . .

Economy in China

Is China a communist nation, economically? Is it more capitalist? Or is it, to paraphrase a quote the Chinese are so fond of saying, “capitalist with Chinese characteristics?”

A bit of history is in order. The nation still had an emperor and a traditional economy by the turn of the century, albeit one coping with a massive outflux of spices and other native products, and an economy dominated by the spheres of influence of foreign nations. The civil war consumed most of the nation’s resources, and by the time Chairman Mao defeated the nationalist party, the very name of the victors–the Chinese Communist Party–reveals what economic system the nation would adapt.

The communist system included detailed central five year plans and economic output goals, combined with the danwai, or work units, to which every Chinese citizen was assigned. These work units functioned as communal living islands across the countryside, where citizens heard indoctrination, ate collectively, and worked. The system was not effective or efficient at allocating food and goods, and combined with Mao’s “Great Leap Forward”–a crazed ideal to surpass the United States in steel production by smelting homemade pots and diverting resources from farming–millions of Chinese had starved to death by the end of the 1950s.

After Mao’s death, new leader Deng Xiaopeng opened up the country, both figuratively and literally, allowing less restrictive rules and more foreign capital. These reforms continue today, where, for example, new World Trade Organization rules are in place to cut previously sky-high tariffs on imported automobiles. Fascinating about a study of China’s economy is the fact that China is still very much in the process of reducing trade barriers and opening up industry to foreigners. A cursory glance at (very good) western (barbeque and pizza) restaurants reveals that not a single one of them, all ran by American expatriates, was open for business four years ago.

As for China’s domestic economy, there is a joke worth telling. In the mid 1980s, the world leaders got together to choose a Communist or capitalist system. Ronald Reagan looked at the two roads, and walked down the capitalist road. Mikhail Gorbachev likewise looked at the roads, and strode down capitalism. Deng Xiaopeng, however, looked at the two roads, reversed the signs, and walked down the road now marked Communism. And, on the surface, China’s economy is extremely capitalistic, perhaps of a purer sense than here in America. Everything is for sale (legally or illegally), as evidenced by the fact we paid in full for each tourist exhibit we entered. In Chengdu, the pandas are another great example: no reputable American zoo, I imagine, would allow visitors to manhandle the zoo’s prized animals, but for the right price, anything is possible in China. Street vendors likewise sell identical goods, competing with each other for the lowest price and highest sales pitch.

On the other hand, China still has a government dominated economy. Christian, a friend of mine, brought up the “commanding heights” theory when discussing this in class. This theory holds that, while common businesses such as retail or restaurants are allowed a free hand, the economies that dominate the nation’s infrastructure–the “commanding heights”–are still government run. This is true in China, where the top five nationwide banks are state run, the local banks are provincial run, the telecom sector is dominated by the government-underwritten corporation, and until two years ago, the only legal financial companies for Chinese citizens were Chinese corporations. Although WTO reforms, as mentioned, will open up the nation, it is still very much a directed economy. For example, while vising UnionPay, China’s version of a credit card processing company, they noted they were first new in 2002, and were just facing competition. Why? Well, until 2002, the government wholly owned what is now UnionPay, monopolizing the personal credit financial sector; and had previously prohibited international companies from operating either outside of Shanghai, or selling to domestic customers.

Much is made of China’s impressive 9-10% economic growth each year for over a decade. When visiting Shanghai, and later Suzhou, this was never in doubt. A set of photographs decorates the entrance to the Pearl TV tower, graphically illustrating Shanghai’s economic growth. The first photograph was taken in 1994, showing the Pearl TV tower, and maybe two or three high rise buildings. The photographs proceed each year until now, showing three or four monstrous office and industrial towers being built each year, until the skyline looks far more like New York than, say, Grand Rapids (MI). All this economic growth came in less than 15 years, a visually shocking feat. Added to the dozens and dozens of high rise apartments, and a view of the bustling port of Shanghai, well, it seemed clear that China will not stop until its economy rivals–or beats–ours.

Suzhou, about two hours south of Shanghai, is another eye opening visit. Although a serene and beautiful location, Suzhou is also one of China’s booming economies, and in fact, my Uncle’s company recently built a location in Suzhou. Passing the dozens of construction cranes, industrial plants, and high rise office spaces, I once again reflected on the new maxim that “The World is Flat,” and the fact that China’s growth will not stop anytime soon.

That being said, there are a few facts which lead me to believe that China will not overtake the U.S. economically for some time. I should emphasize believe; should China beat the U.S. in not only carbon emissions but GDP before I run for office, I don’t want a wrong prediction to sink my economic credibility! (Tongue firmly in cheek, for the record.)

First is the education system. Studying at Peking University, the “Harvard of China,” it is my contention that China’s higher education system does not produce students at the level of U.S. universities, or even many of the major European universities. Although cliched, the perception that Asian cultures only emphasize “rote learning” and memorization at the expense of independent thinking does, in my opinion, have a significant grain of truth. My conversations with Chinese students led me to believe that, although intelligent and motivated, their education system does not fully prepare them for a modern, interdependent global business world. The fact that in Beijing, without a U.S. masters degree, the vast majority of college educated students are unemployed lends credence to this fact. It could easily be different in Shanghai or Hong Kong, but I can only report what I see. That said, these students are very intelligent and motivated, and have no problems studying for 10-12 hours a day, so when the education system does catch up, be prepared for an influx of the new business youth.

Second is basic demographics. While China’s economic growth is incredible, the fact is that out of China’s 1.3 billion people, most still live in the countryside, at subsistence level farming. Although we as a class never got to fully experience countryside living, we had glimpses of these villages when driving or taking the train through China’s countryside. The living conditions are much more “third world,” and technology probably peaks at kitchenware and ovens–if that. While the city life is alluring for hundreds of millions, China’s cities host an estimated one hundred million “floating” citizens that migrated from the countryside and have no job. Thus, the disparity between the rich and the poor is enormous, and China, as far as I can tell, has no capacity to convert the majority farm and rural citizens into a service economy anytime soon. If and when China makes the transition, however . . .

The Marco Polo Bridge--and Museum

Late in March, on almost a whim, several of us accompanied program director Dr. Youli Sun to the Marco Polo bridge on a Saturday morning. Although an example of ancient Chinese bridge architecture, a protected historical site, and a fascinating trip in its own right, the Marco Polo bridge is also notable as the start of World War II, where Japanese and Chinese troops exchanged fire in 1937.

Steve Will, a friend of mine from Washington State, had lived the previous year in Japan (incidentally, where he met his current Chinese girlfriend). He had warned me that animosity between the Chinese and Japanese was something to look out for, and at first, I didn’t believe him. Although sure, China and Japan were historic rivals, and had gotten into some pretty serious fights during the past two centuries, I figured the United States had pretty bad fights, and you didn’t see a national animosity towards Germany anymore. Why should it be different?

Next to the Marco Polo bridge sat the“Museum of the War of Chinese People’s Resistance Against Japan.” Not the World War II museum. Not the Great War museum. The Museum of the War of Chinese People’s Resistance Against Japan. While naming may not seem like much, I couldn’t think–at all–of any similarly named museum in the U.S. We had the Smithsonian, various Museums named for the city or subject or donor, but nothing named as such. The closest analogy I could think of was the Holocaust Museum, as it dealt with a very specific evil in the past, but even so, it wasn’t named the Museum of the War Against the German Nazis.

Sure enough, inside was a masterfully constructed museum, full of colorful displays, intriguing historical relics, and propaganda of the purest order. Although sticking to a true historical outline, the displays–even in Chinese–were so blatantly constructed as to make us all shake our heads in disbelief. Prominent on the walls in between “historical” displays were paintings of the “brave” Chinese soldiers putting up heroic fights against the “barbaric” Japanese invaders. Of course, as a Communist government work, I noticed that certain historical facts–such as how the CCP did not control China at the time, and that Chaing Kai-Shek’s Nationalist party likewise fought the Japanese. Nope, it was the single handed struggle of the peasants and Communists that beat back the evil Japanese.

Freakiest of all was this image, located near the end of the museum. At first, I thought it was maybe a count of money, or the number of Chinese troops involved in the conflict. Nope! This lit graph measured the number of Japanese killed each year by the Chinese troops.

One display, however, was particularly heart-rending, because this was the only room I suspect had not been dramatized for history: the room commemorating the “rape of Nanking.” In late 1937, the invading Japanese army entered Nanking, one of China’s larger cities, and captured the city with little military resistance. For the next several weeks, documents and photographs and eyewitnesses prove, the Japanese army raped, tortured, and murdered anywhere from 100,000 (Japanese accounts) to 300,000 (Chinese accounts) men, women, and children in Nanking. With the memory of the Holocaust very clearly on our minds, we looked at the photographs of mass graves, disemboweled bodies, and severed limbs filled the display, providing a stark reminder that, as irrational as Chinese hatred of Japan seemed, perhaps it was not utterly inexcusable. The refusal of contemporary Japanese officials to even acknowledge the incident provides another subtext for the simmering passions between the two people even today.

Other things caught our eyes as we kept traveling. In Xining, outside the Buddhist temple, we noticed a 119 billboard–the loose equivalent of 911 in China. What Steve noticed, however, was that the city pictured behind the advertisement was not China. It was Tokyo. The subtext seemed hardly subtle: in the event the Japanese attack or invade, call the police!

The attitude was so subtle that at first I didn’t notice, but it was clear that if nothing else, the government had a convenient enemy in the Japanese. It is an age old tactic to unite the people you lead by providing a common enemy–for good or for ill—and clearly the CCP sees no problem in keeping the relations between the two nations more hostile than necessary, for what could be historical, or more cynical reasons.

Back in Washington, D.C., I noticed what America, who had lost 3,000 sailors and civilians in the surprise attack on Pearl Harbor, and tens of thousands more in the War in the Pacific, had done to commemorate the war. Sure enough, I found the “Japanese American Memorial to Patriotism During World War II.”

Where’s the McDonald’s? Answer: Everywhere except Lhasa, in over 700 locations around China.

Because of the tendency for Chinese food (and my lack of appreciation thereof) to come up in conversation, I felt the topic of Chinese food deserved a second look, as well as some more photographs of my basic meals on campus.

The first and foremost thing to mention is that Chinese food, contrary to what many believe, is not as a whole healthier than American food! Key to understanding this is to simply realize that food in China is “scaled” in quality, much like food in America. One can eat quite healthy at many American restaurants or food markets, but at the same time walk down the street and find a hot dog vendor or a McDonalds. The same holds true in China–at the more upscale restaurants, the food is of good quality, reasonably good taste, and in general healthy if eaten properly; on the other hand, if one picks a restaurant off the street at random, the food is likely to be much less well prepared, much greasier, and of dubious origin.

Although not a dietician by any respectable standard, I would attribute the perceived differences to the prevalence of rice in the Chinese diet, and portion control. Rice, of course, expands when wet. Dunk a double cheeseburger in a tank of water, however, and it’s not going to change size. Thus, I was forced to conclude that eating rice made one feel fuller, with smaller portions. The family style of serving also contributes to eating smaller portions than one would in America–if you feel full, there is no visual cue to make you eat more, as you simply stop taking from the communal plates.

With that being said, however, I will include the extraordinarily odd observation that at least half the program–myself included–gained weight, rather than lost weight, by the end of the program. For me, perhaps switching back to a substantially more western diet in the last few weeks as I lost tolerance for Chinese food did it, but for the others, I have no explanation.

Now here is a photo of my principle lunch diet. As a major University, Peking University naturally has several food establishments. A perennial favorite is “campus,” a building row with four separate restaurants inside, a noodle house, a dumpling house, a “western” flavored establishment, and a rice-based dish section. One can eat for around $1.25, with the convenient debit meal card, and I found myself here for most lunches. Pictured was the meal I probably ate the most frequently, the rice, beef, and potato dish.

This next section may be grisly, but is meaningful in a broad sense of the term. One of our previous trips was an overnight near an unrepaired section of the Great Wall. To call this place old fashioned is putting it nicely; this is China pre-technology. Well, China before standardizing technology to be more precise; the locals had no cell phones or computers in sight, but tried to hawk the latest digital memory cards and batteries at us. While staying at a “farm” (in reality a run-down motel) and having dinner, we noticed a lamb lying in the courtyard. This lamb was about to die, as the owner sharpened a very big knife right in front of our eyes. Our chaperone quickly asked him to kill the lamb out back, and he complied; a discreet glance behind the building, however, revealed the disemboweled animal.

A few hours later, after walking around and playing some pool in a local shop, we returned to meat cooking over the fire. Sure enough, it was the lamb. And they offered us pieces. To the horror of the vegetarians in the group, Steve’s girlfriend (from China) asked the owner how much a small stick of lamb meat would be (surprisingly cheap at two kuai). Hungry myself, I reasoned that, as a committed animal eater (steak, burgers, bacon, sausage, mutton, etc.), I should finally live up to the standards of my more vicious ancestors and eat something that I saw a) alive, b) die, c) guts of, and d) cooked. It was actually pretty good.

Just as I thought my trials in exotic eating were over, the end of semester trip proved me wrong. Tibet, as one might expect, was the “final frontier” of exotic foods. As a yak based economy, our evening dinner in Lhasa featured yak butter tea, yak filled dumplings, yak meat in vegetables, and yak yoghourt. Shown here is me eating yak dumplings, and a photo of yak yoghurt.





The Guilin/Yangshou area also had what turned out to be a pleasant surprise: beerfish. This is, as the name implies, fish that is grilled with beer, although quite different than beer battered or similar alcohol prepared fish. If one puts away the fact that the fish is grilled whole and left for you to pick apart–at the risk of bones–the meal was pretty good.

Formal food in China–or I suppose I should say food on display–is also somewhat different, and yet the same. The content and taste is fairly typically Chinese, although the food is “gussied up” to look much fancier than one needs. Pictured here is a dish from a Chinese dinner show my family and I attended during our family tour.

By the end of the trip I had cracked totally, and here is my version of a Chinese-themed dish, complete with the double cheeseburger delicately garnished with several inedible sides.

This is my favorite–the smothered steak and loaded baked potato I had the night of returning to the United States of America.





On a final note, I realize that some of you folks may mistake my willingness and necessity to eat Chinese food as a license to assume that, somehow, after four months choking down rice, I now enjoy Chinese food. Not the case! Should there be any doubt, please read the proclamation I published on May 23, 2007, regarding what Chinese food I will (or not) be eating.

A Proclamation Regarding Dietary Intake (As Amended)

WHEREAS, MICHAEL DAVID WAGNER did live in the People's Republic of China for a duration from January 11, 2007 to May 21, 2007;

WHEREAS, he did eat an innumerable number of Chinese made or orignated meals during this time, many times averaging two out of three meals every day, and occasionally for every meal a day;

WHEREAS, he has made clear his preference for American and western food;

WHEREAS, his opinion has been clearly and irrefutably vindicated by his stay in the People's Republic of China; and

WHEREAS, his consumption of steak and a bacon steakburger upon his return to the United States of America has confirmed his opinion of western food;

NOW, THEREFORE, I, MICHAEL DAVID WAGNER, citizen of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim I will not entertain under any circumstances, save for life-threatining emergencies, the preparation or consumption of food or food products of Chinese origin or style, for a period no shorter than the remainder of the year 2007.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this twenty-third day of May, in the year of our Lord two thousand seven, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and thirty-first.

MICHAEL DAVID WAGNER

Touring with the Family

Before I left, my parents floated the idea of them visiting me. Typically I fly home in the spring for Easter or another similar celebration, although obviously this semester would make it way too difficult and expensive. Seeing as how the family hadn’t taken a family vacation a la Griswold style since 2003, we decided that my parents and sister would fly to meet me in Beijing just after my semester ended, and tour around China. The tour location was nearly point-for-point the same location as the tour I had just finished, but a few new points are worth mentioning.

Hong Kong
Some of you may be aware that I had visa trouble: my student visa expired before the family trip was to end, and I could not receive an extension. The closest “foreign soil” was Hong Kong, where as a U.S. citizen I could enter without a special visa. With the help of our travel agents, I was soon on a flight to Shenzhen, the city closest to Hong Kong.

Hong Kong, of course, used to be run by the British until ten years ago, when England formally handed control of the city back to the Chinese in 1997. During the Opium War in the mid 1830s, the British (after destroying the Chinese Navy) occupied the territories, and received control of the region as part of the Treaty of Nanking. Today, Hong Kong is a Special Administrative Region that is largely self governed, save for defense and foreign policy issues. Notably, the years of British rule means that Hong Kong’s economy is almost thoroughly capitalist–so much so that it is often ranked the freest market economy in the world. Politically, the Chinese now rule, but make special efforts to placate the billions of dollars worth of businesses already in Hong Kong. The Communist system rears its head, though, when you consider the selection for Hong Kong’s Chief Executive is by a limited system of an election committee, a majority of which are influenced heavily by Beijing.

Landing in Shenzhen, I took a bus across the city, across the border, and into Hong Kong. Amusingly, the border officials asked for a second form of identification when I showed them my U.S. passport. It was a good thing I still had my driver’s license; I don’t think my Peking University ID would have cut it. From there, a bus dropped me off in the center of the city. What a busy place!

It rained in the city all three days I was there, so I did not get to see many of the sights. I did have an extended walking tour of downtown Hong Kong, and was impressed most of all by the system of covered walkways. It was possible for me to walk at least 3/4 a mile across the central city, all without leaving the protection of a roof (handy when it rained!).

At night, I also found time to visit the “Avenue of the Stars,” featuring statues and handprints of Hong Kong cinema’s most famous actors. Jackie Chan’s hand prints, and the Bruce Lee statute, were obviously the most popular attractions.

Hong Kong also has the world’s longest escalator. Although I initially thought this was a single structure, it is a series of escalators, designed to take people from the center of downtown Hong Kong up for 15 minutes of travel to the mid-town and upper-town neighborhoods. Starting just a few blocks from Hong Kong’s distinctive skyscraper skyline, the escalator path takes one through a diverse set of neighborhoods, bars, restaurants, and shops. I took the escalator at night, and was impressed by the vibrant–and price-rich–nightlife.

As a city, Hong Kong was by far the most expensive I visited. Although the conversion rate from the U.S. to the HK dollar was still roughly 8 to 1, the high numeric prices of Hong Kong made it almost as expensive as the United States (a good meal one night cost me well over 100 HK dollars, but still only about 15 US dollars). It was a good meal, though.

Although I flew to Shenzhen, on the encouragement of my train obsessed friend, Steve Wasiura, I booked myself a sleeper hard cabin (the cheapest–and de facto most uncomfortable) for a twenty-four hour trip back. The trip was much improved from the train ride to Lhasa. With the train near sea level the entire time, motion sickness and altitude sickness was only a distant memory. With a set of good books, I had ample time to read. I also ran into a nice, newly graduated college student from Edinburgh, Scotland, and we had a good chat about contemporary politics, China, and James Bond (from a Scot, the perspective was pretty neat). Before I knew it, the train pulled back into Beijing, with my family arriving in town just two days after.

Underground City
Back in Beijing, an interesting visit in Beijing two days before they arrived was to the Underground City. When tensions during the Cold War were at their peak, and Mao wasn’t busy destroying the country, Chairman Mao decided that the belligerent Soviets posed a real danger to China. At that point, the U.S.S.R. pointed virtually all of its nuclear arsenal at the Red, White, and Blue, but Mao couldn’t rule out a few nuke “accidentally” landing in Beijing should a war break out. Thus, he hit upon one of his most brilliant ideas: let’s build an underground city!

Starting in 1969, Mao and 70,000 Chinese workers constructed a roughly 85 square kilometer series of tunnels below the streets of Beijing, complete with ventilation shafts, sealed doors in the event of a chemical weapons attack, movie theaters, indoctrination centers, and all manners of personal rooms and weapons caches. The Underground City was completed in 1979 . . . just when the Soviets decided to invade a little known middle eastern country called Afghanistan.

The tour cost ten kuai, no photographs allowed, and took about a half hour. I walked through concrete tunnel after concrete tunnel, maybe fifty feet below ground level. Clearly marked at certain intervals were corridors leading to the Forbidden City, Tiananmen Square, and other city landmarks. Along the walls were what I presumed to be vintage photographs of a) Chairman Mao, b) Chinese military might, and c) “instructional” photographs of U.S. and Soviet military vehicles. Every few meters, a gas mask would hang from the wall. It was neat, but exceptionally creepy to walk through at Mao’s vision for a post-nuclear-holocaust China.

Panda Photoshoot
For a decent cost (in U.S. dollar amounts, too!), one could not only see, but hold a panda at the Panda Research Center in Chengdu. Prices varied from cheap, for the red pandas, middle of the road, to pet an adult panda, and expensive, to hold a near-infant giant panda. I had passed up the opportunity to do so during my first visit, but with my parents’ and sister’s enthusiasm, the Wagner family ponied up a bit of Yuan and sat down with some pandas. Once again, I will let the photos speak for themselves.



Guilin “Native Village”
During our tour of the Guilin area, our guide mentioned that, if we wanted to, we could view a genuine native village. This “native village,” he explained, was a village in the traditional style of the native population, one of China’s 55 ethnic minorities. Comparable to a Native American replica village, I thought.

I was half right–it looked more like Disney World’s “It’s a Small World” Ride than a “real” native village. We took a small boat tour around what was pretty clearly a pre-planned and constructed set of lakes, rather than a natural occurrence, and I had to laugh when we passed by buffalo skulls posed like something you’d see in a Western. The rest of the “tour” took us past a group of natives, dressed in what I can only presume to be traditional garb, demonstrations of old painting and sewing methods with the requisite gift shop area after the demonstrations, and other equally cheesy looking methods. More like a summer camp than a “native village,” but fun nontheless.

The Pearl Tower at Night
Another neat opportunity on the family tour was a return to the famous Pearl TV tower in Shanghai. Although we had gone into the tower already, I now found myself in the 300 meter elevator at nighttime, with an exceptionally clear view. This was pretty neat. The viewing deck was still crammed with tourists, perhaps even more because it was at night, and the views of Shanghai were spectacular. Pictured is another shot of the Mission: Impossible III towers, this time at night, as the film crews would have seen them.

Shanghai and Mission: Impossible III

After Yangshou was the true final “port of call”: Shanghai. A genuine port city, and more recently now the largest port city in the world, Shanghai is well known in western popular culture for its mix of excitement, intrigue, and old stories. One of China’s more literally named cities, Shanghai is directly translated into “on the sea” (Shang=above/on, Hai=sea). Certainly a more flattering name than the old “whore of Asia” moniker bestowed on Shanghai in the 1930's. On a technical level, Shanghai is one of only four cities (along side Beijing) that is directly administered as a province-city, and has gone through an amazing economic boom ever since the Central Government granted it special-economic-zone status in the early 1990s.

Our flight and drive into Shanghai was much like the drive into Chengdu, another busting metropolis: a long drive, going past wave after wave of highway, high rise apartment, and business skyscraper. With a population well over 18 million, and billions of yuan being poured into the city, the investment was right before our eyes. Much like New York, as a major port city, and with the government until recently mandating the positioning of financial businesses in Shanghai, Shanghai is the generally regarded center of finance and trading in China.

Our first stop was the main symbol of Shanghai’s economic development: The Pearl TV tower. Ostensibly a broadcast and production station for local Shanghai television, the Pearl Tower stands out as one of the world’s more distinguishing skyscrapers, up there with the Empire State Building and the Sears Tower. Composed of two large spheres, and a third as the tower exceeds three hundred meters, we had the pleasure of ascending to the “top observation deck” located in the second large sphere. The view from the deck was amazing, despite a light fog–or is that pollution?–and we all enjoyed the time.

Of particular note, Shanghai was featured prominently in the film Mission: Impossible III, where Tom Cruise’s Ethan Hunt, to save his wife, has to recover the “Rabbit’s Foot” from the top of a Shanghai high rise. In the background, and then again at night, are the two buildings. The oval shaped building with red logo is the building Hunt base-jumped off, and the building on the left with the triangular top is the supposed home of the “Rabbit’s Foot.” Chalk up another on-action-film-location photograph for Mike Wagner, following two on-site photographs for James Bond movies.

Some of our crew were getting jaded with China at this point, but I enjoyed Shanghai. It was significantly more western, perhaps attributing to my like, and had all the amenities of any big city. The Shanghai museum, in particular, was an extremely well done example of city and national work, featuring coins from thousands of years ago, the evolution of Chinese calligraphy and paintings, and more contemporary works of history.

The next couple of days included a visit to China’s new credit card processing center, a “top secret facility” and more independent wanderings. Another highlight for me was the Shanghai science museum, reminding me of the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago. This, however, looked much more . . . scientific, with glass and steel forming the futuristic looking building.

The displays were generally very good, with helpful notations in english for many of the displays. Another highlight was found in the robot museum, where I ran into the Peking Opera–performed by robots. Too cool an opportunity to pass up, and with the Chinese fairly lax about photographing performances, and the performers–robots–not caring, I snapped a few photos of the strangest stage performance I have ever seen.

Shanghai was generally a free day, and I spent much of it by myself visiting the museums, and one of the city’s parks, Century park, pictured here with the Goodyear Blimp–in town for an auto show–visible overhead. The evening we had another group dinner and time to hang out in the hotel, and in general enjoyed a relaxing evening.

Finally, on April 27, we boarded the train from Shanghai to Beijing–another 12 hour train ride, and headed for home. We were tired, and looking forward to sleeping back in the dorms, but glad we had gotten to see more of China than most–even in China–will ever see. Two days later, the majority of us packed our bags, boarded a bus, and headed for Beijing Airport . . . except for me, who found a hotel near campus, and holed up as I waited for my parents to arrive.

Yangshou, Riverboating, and a Night on the Town

Our next port of call, so to speak, was the city–well, tourist trap–of Yangshou. We flew into the Guilin airport, located even further south of China. This felt more like the tropics, or at least southeast asia: humid, perpetual rain, and lush green plants, trees, and mountains surrounding us. As I have explained many a time, if one thinks of the traditional Chinese paintings featuring a winding river, green steep and squat mountains surrounding the river, and fog hanging over an old Chinese fisherman, that image came from right here in Yangshou.

Yangshou, after an informal poll, was voted the “most fun” city of the trip–at least by the guys. I am getting ahead of myself. Initially, after seeing a large sign reading “Western PIZZA” hanging from a building, a cheer went up inside the bus. Our hopes were bolstered seeing the words “western food, western breakfast” hanging from the wall of seemingly every other store. Our hotel likewise was very modern, a wood floor, square beds and a theme, and well cooled with personal air conditioners–perfect for the sweaty days that lay ahead of us.

During the next day, we spent a wonderful time on the river. As mentioned, these rivers are the inspiration for many of the classic Chinese paintings, and we would take a pleasant cruise down the river. I wasn’t sure what to expect–motorboats? Kayaks? Canoes? Wrong on all three, as I strapped on a life vest and shimmied onto a . . . well . . . bamboo raft, lashed together with rope. There was a single large chair, and on the raft behind us jumped a local Chinese worker, with bamboo pole in hand, and pushed us off.

The trip down the river went smoothly, for the most part. As befitting the humidity and the fog, it did rain, and the weight of our craft going over small (two to three feet) waterfalls along the way meant our pants got soaked in the process. It was a very relaxing afternoon, though, and an extremely beautiful look at a quiet part of Southeast Asia. After the boat trip, many of us went on a caving trip combined with an underground “mud pit,” although for obvious reasons, no cameras went with us! A photo of a group emerging from the cave is on the left.

Yangshou was voted the best city by the guys, I am sure, for its overwhelming and wild nightlife. During the day, the tourist and motel section of Yangshou looks very much like a southern Chinese city, with buildings lining a small brick street one to two stories high, with tourist shops, hotels, and restaurants. Once the sun set, however, the shopkeepers became more aggressive, the hotels turned into bars, and the restaurants likewise brought out their neon signs, disco balls, and flowing alcohol. Literally, every third or fourth business was a bar, with a gaudy tourist shop in between, or the entrance to a hotel. It was overwhelming, glitzy, and fun.

Chengdu and the Pandas

After the thin, arid climate of Tibet, Chengdu was like a breath of fresh air . . . well, more like a breath of thick, humid air. As we stepped off the plane, I couldn’t help but be reminded of my trips to Florida from a cold Michigan winter, feeling a heat wave, humidity, and lots and lots of green assailing one’s face.

Chengdu is the capital of the Sichuan province, one of China’s southern provinces. It is most renowned in the tourist world as the home of the Giant Panda Research Center, but also serves as the fifth largest city in China, and–in my opinion–just an overall nice place to stay for a few days. However, the Sichuan province is also world renowned for its extraordinary spicy cuisine, so guess who didn’t eat much at the local dinner? That’s right–me! I was fortunate enough to go out with much of the group after that “dinner” to Pete’s Tex-Mex and chow down on a bacon cheeseburger.

The next day was the big trip to the panda facility. Located about six kilometers northwest in the city, it is a U.N.-award-winning environmental and animal research center. We spent the morning there walking through the preserve for the giant panda, and it’s smaller “cousin,” the red panda. I will let the photos speak for themselves.



Chengdu as a city is also nice, as a few of us headed to the downtown to look around in the afternoon. We saw a fairly attractive downtown park–with the marked exception of the giant Chairman Mao statue overlooking the city (in front of the Sichuan Science and Technology Museum, nontheless!), as well as a smaller city park, and some of the streets. Trouble only came when we went looking for a taxi, at rush hour, after work. We found none. Literally, we were walking around the downtown of Chengdu for well over an hour, and with the exception of two taxis that ignored us completely, and three taxis to which we were beaten, we couldn’t get a ride. The taxi we finally landed three hours (and one dinner) later, of course, was a “black” unlicensed taxi, who had to stop for directions on the way to the hotel. At that point, armed with a map, I could have driven us there faster.