China possesses many unique traits such as their national treasure, the panda bear, a vast 55 minority groups, a widely diverse landscape and the largest population in the world. Another commonality Chinese people share is their close-knit family bond. Chinese families share a very important and very different bond from what we have in America. Of course, many Americans have close relationships with our immediate family but its more common that children move out by their early twenties and it’s not uncommon for parents and children to live in different states.
In China however, it is most common for parents to raise their child along side the grandparents. I frequently noticed older men and women (most likely grandparents) caring for young children during the day and then parents spending time with their child at night after work hours. Although many see the only child policy as an infringement on human rights, I noticed a much higher rate of parent participation due specifically to having just one child.
It’s way to frequent that in Florida, a huge tourist destination, I see women with multiple kids trying to control a bunch of unruly children while her husband just sits by and watches. It’s too common in America to see bratty children misbehaving with their siblings while the parents just sit by and watch. In China, I never once saw parents neglecting to participate with their kids and the one temper tantrum I saw was quickly stopped by parents doing what their supposed to do... parenting! Having the one child policy is a responsible decision when you analyze how ridiculously over populated China is as well as the rest of the world. When considering the Chinese family unit I noticed corresponding evidence to the increase in the Chinese middle class. Throughout most of the areas I visited there were not only western tourists but also many Chinese tourists. We often ran into the same Chinese families traveling on a similar tour route. Our translator and a few Chinese people I spoke with all explained that given the large growth of the middle class in China, it is more more prevalent for Chinese families to tour across their country. This occurrence is also influenced by the complications and expense of getting a travel visa.
It’s easy to romanticize a foreign culture especially a non-western one. But, I observed that my Chinese peers looked, acted and dressed more western than I had expected. Four out of our five guides were under thirty. This concludes that the Chinese of my generation are the ones who are most effected by China’s new role as an emerging global power as they are enrolled in new expansions of education and working opportunities.
This demographic is being exposed to new languages, most commonly English, and the idea that they can be anything they put their mind to. Although this life idealism is often associated with American culture, it is just one more example of how the two countries are becoming intrinsically linked. Utilizing education brings opportunities for more secure or high paying job along with new options to study abroad and later return to China expanding the diversity in a cultural exchange between America and China. Those of my generation are also influencing economic grown due to having expendable funds directly from jobs they attained because of their higher education and foreign language skills. This model also applies to students in America who have gained international business and foreign language skills.
Through interaction with my peers, I learned so much about the modern citizen's opinion of China. They are well aware of the pollution and sanitation problems that need to be redefined. Many of the Chinese students I spoke with recognized that air quality is a huge problem. This was one of the major issues for other students on the trip because after seeing some of the very poor living conditions of our peers. Although I have sympathy for the issue, I couldn’t help but feel a tinge of guilt. As a global consumer of many Chinese made products I too was contributing to the pollution by purchasing products made by the factories that created such environmental hazards. As I thought more about this problem, I considered the fact that a few decades ago, America and Europe became stringent about the amount of pollution released. During the same time, China was open and ready to allow an influx of new foreign businesses and less focused on the environmental impact.
Besides the coal production, foreign businesses are able to have more lenient rules for the pollution caused by their factories, which they quickly moved out of America and into countries like China. If we hadn't started cutting back on the pollution in America 30 years ago, then we would probably have many of the same pollution hazards in our own country today. Typically, I have not agreed with our President Bush’s foreign policies but after experiencing the pollution in China I agree more than ever that terms need to be met on a path to cleaner air. I feel strongly that sanitation and air quality are undeniable human rights but I also understand that new rules take years to implement and in order for changes to effect society. I noticed that in Beijing hundreds if not thousands of new trees were planted in order to clean the air for the upcoming 2008 Summer Olympic Games. I think it will be interesting to see what people say about the air quality a year or a decade from now.
My experience concluded that Chinese people are extremely friendly, outgoing and eager in interact with foreigners. I liked exploring the modern cities like Beijing and Shanghai but I was even more interested in learning about the smaller villages like the grape farming village we visited outside of Datong and the minority villages I visited outside of Guilin.
Rollins students visiting a school in northern China.
As tourism in China begins to boom, so grows a strong interest in visiting unique aspects of China. Site like the Great Wall of China, Qiao Family Compound and The Forbidden City can only be seen in this country. The Great Wall experience was especially important to me because it’s something that I have learned about from an early age. It is truly one of the most famous man made monuments in the world and a climbing it is a gratifying challenge to complete.
After the conclusion of the field study with Rollins College, I was able to visit the city of Chengdu where they have a special research and breeding center for giant pandas. This animal sanctuary is like no other in the world. The panda is the national treasure of China and an animal that has been around for over 2 million years. Today, global concern for the environment grows to encourage preserving natural ecosystems and helping threatened species, like the panda. Visiting this center was one of the most thrilling and uniqe experiences of my life. After making a substantial donation to the breeding center I was able to hold one of the seven baby pandas at the nursery! This exceptional experience is something that I will never forget and will always remind of the importance of supporting environmental and animal issues.
Holding a baby panda in Chengdu!
Father south in the city if Guilin I spent a few more weeks traveling through villages belonging to the Yao, Miao and Dong autonomous groups. This region is home to 11 of the 55 minority cultures inhabiting China. Visiting this area was completely different from the industrialized coal mining cities of the north and the western influenced cities of Beijing and Shanghai. Minority cultures have thrived for centuries almost completely secluded from the rest of China. Unfortunately, there are still issues and concerns for those living in the autonomous regions but they have been able to continue a traditional way of life inside China, a country booming with global expansion and outside influences. Today many indigenous villages are beginning to incorporate more modern technology like satellite dishes and electricity, while continuing important traditions passed down from their ancestors.
I really enjoyed visiting with the Red Yao people. One family welcomed us into their home and offered a customary cup of tea and rice, peanut soup which I gladly tasted. I found the Yao women especially beautiful. First, their traditional clothes are made from brightly colored, intricately patterned fabrics. Second, the Yao women had gloriously long hair, which they are known for only cutting once in their life. Inside their home, a few women took down their hair to show how the length. For some, their hair surpassed their height as two of them needed to stand on a small stool to keep their hair from hitting the ground. Experiences like this remind me that beauty is culturally relevant and adornment to one isn’t always seen in the eye of the beholder. Some ethnic minorities in China, such as the Yao, spread across different areas of Thailand and other border countries. Within each subgroup are an array of similar traditions carried out in their own way relevant to their geographical locations.
Visiting with women in the Red Yao village near Guilin.
Dong Minority Village
Many of the people living in the autonomous villages were friendly and eager to share with me aspects of their daily life and traditions. After traveling for hours (by car and by foot) into the mountains, I gained even more of an appreciation for their traditional lifestyle in such a beautiful but rugged terrain. This experienced further influenced my passion for learning about the human experience. When I learned how different groups adapted to life and elevations in the same area. For example, the Yao people thrived in the valley, along the riverside. While the Dong people had adapted to life at the mountain top where they built one of the most famous landscapes, the Longseng Rice Terrace. This rice terrace is also referred to as, “The Dragon’s Back” because of it’s rigid texture that extends as far as the eye can see.
Looking down from the top the mountain, I felt so lucky for the opportunity to see such a wonderful part of nature and to experience a variety of unique ways of living. Like many travelers, the emotions during my trip to China varied, from the excitement of visiting awe-inspiring sites to the perils of homesickness. Looking back, I remember fondly the kindness of Chinese people, the allure of the exotic and the inspiration to continue on a path of cultural understanding through travel.
Longsheng Rice Terrace near the Dong Village
At least the legs are shaved in this picture. And no this is not me for those unsure about the picture. 
Once there, we were graciously welcomed into a man’s home. He spoke of his several jobs, his home, the government, and of course, his family. It was heartbreaking yet uplifting to see how, according to American standards, such a poor man could be so happy. He was delighted to share his small home with foreigners, offering us his gratitude for visiting.
China was one of the most rewarding trips I have ever, and probably will ever experience. Riding on a plane for 13 hours straight only to end up in a foreign communist country with a 12-hour time difference, climbing the Great Wall of China, learning to breath through my shirt or quit breathing just to use the ladies room, practicing my Mandarin, shoe shopping and feeling like I’m Big Foot, dashing and dodging honking buses and armies of bicyclists, and experiencing the varieties of food in each province only added to my unique trip. Not to mention chicken’s heads being cut off on the streets, cats brushing up against my legs in restaurants (now that I think of it, is that what the chicken tasted like that night?), the fungus I pretended were French fries, and of course, something that I will NEVER forget (partially because it was on my arm the rest of the night), the famous BLOOD BARS! Needless to say, forget the gym, forget those zero-carb diets—just go to China.
While we were driving around the city of Shanghai, one thing that really stood out to me was the way the roads were built. I mentioned it to a few people, but no one really seemed to think much of it. However, I thought it was a pretty impressive engineering feat.
I remember driving down the highway one day with my brother, and seeing how jammed up the traffic was. There was a highway expansion going on, but there was the problem of what to do when there could be no more expansion? Eventually while expanding out the builders would hit houses, and obviously they cannot expand inward, for they would hit the road. My brother and I concluded that it might get to the point where roads would have to be multi-layered.
And this is why the roads in Shanghai stood out to me. It was as if I were seeing the traffic plans I feel will soon be necessary in portions of the roads where I live in reality. All of the roads are built on top of each other, intertwining in any way possible to to save space, using the least amount of space possible.
