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The festivals were crowded, but
it was a very fun time! |
At this time, my 2 week Chinese New Year break is coming to a close. It is genuinely crazy to think about everything that has happened in such a relatively short amount of time, especially for someone who hasn't done any extensive traveling before now. Our Airbnb host had been so wonderful to us; she picked us up from the airport, gave us help when figuring out travel plans, offered to cook for us, accompanied us on a couple excursions, helped me get a SIM card (which is SEVERAL times harder to get here than other places), and driven us places where she even spent an entire day doing just that! It's been a wild time, but I'll honestly say that it's nice to be back in the familiar (albeit hard) bed and get back to my routine for a bit. So for the time being, I'll be happy to not worry too much about flight times, packing suitcases, spending money, etc. I'll share some of my favorite photos from my trip here, but this post will be mainly about what I have learned during my time in China. (Note: this is just based on my own observations over 10 days, so I'm not exactly an expert.)
1. People Use Phones for Everything, Even More Than Usual.
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Why is it called the Forbidden City
if everyone can go in? |
There is a super social media app (one of the only social media people can use here) called WeChat. People use it like Facebook and Twitter, but also use it for a variety of other things, including making purchases, and so many people rely on that rather than physical money or cards. Our Airbnb host is a prime example. The only physical money she has are a few bills in her car, and she has told us time and time again that she's so used to leaving the house with only her phone. When she picked us up from the airport, she didn't have enough money on her to pay for the parking, so she went up to a random guy and asked if he could give her money and could transfer the same amount to his WeChat account in return! It was a bit surprising to see people doing something like that so casually. Well maybe I'm overreacting a little bit, I think that the rest of the world will soon follow suit.
Another thing that I've taken note of is that QR codes are all over the place! I thought that they were dying out or something, but no, people use them everywhere in China. There are QR codes for restaurant menus, locations, business information, and so much more that if they were to suddenly not work I think it would be a national emergency!
2. Look Both Ways Before Crossing the Road, Then Keep Doing That.
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This is outside the Forbidden City,
as you can see, it's a little cold. |
I think that the most dangerous activity I've taken part in in Beijing was crossing the street because what would normally be very well observed traffic laws are more like suggestions here. I've experienced similar things in Macau and Hong Kong, like how the taxis typically don't have seatbelts, people generally don't stay inside the lanes unless there are a lot of cars, and the speed limits are not very limiting. But I think one of Mainland China's specialties is the fact that pedestrians don't really have the right of way. If that crossing light is on and the drivers think there's a decent chance that they can get through without causing bodily harm, they will zoom right past you without much indication. It's honestly very annoying. So yeah, be well aware of that.
3. So, This is Everyday Life.
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| The Summer Palace was beautiful! |
One of the things that I was interested to learn about upon arriving in Mainland China was to see just how strict everyday life is without the bias of American school textbooks. Generally speaking, I don't think that the daily lives of the Chinese and the daily lives of Americans have that many obvious differences. In my time there, I didn't feel as if the values of communism affected me all that much, in fact I completely forgot that there were any differences in the economic systems at all. Granted, it could be because I've only been there for 10 days and don't work or live there.
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You have no idea how hard it was
to take this photo. |
There were a couple of things that jumped out at me as feeling completely different from the US, even when comparing it to Macau or Hong Kong. The security of Beijing is very strict, which is understandable, it is the capital after all. But never before have I used a subway where I have to undergo a bag check and metal detector each time I enter. Overtime, I got used to it, but I was immediately very surprised by these measures. I also just recently found out that one can't just drive wherever they want in the city. You have to have a special registration for your car to enter inner circles of the city, and if you don't, you have to rely on other forms of transportation to get you to where you want to go.
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Like, we had to climb these rocks with
two dozen other people to take it.
Treacherous. |
It's clear to anyone that the open opinions that make up the bulk of public conversations in American society would never fly in China. I was showing my host a few political SNL skits, and while she really enjoyed them, she was absolutely stunned by our ability to criticize and satirize our government. I've always been aware that this is one of our greatest freedoms and that there are countless places where this behavior is unheard of, but being in one of those places really puts it into perspective. I could feel how the lack of this freedom puts a big restriction on the people, especially when our host lowered her voice in her own apartment to talk about her thoughts on the government, and they weren't even that radical at all. So while I know that there are many people who don't have any major qualms about certain topics, you can tell that there are things left unsaid with an uncomfortable air.
4. Foreigners are Like Mythical Creatures.
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The Temple of Heaven was also
beautiful. No filter by the way! |
This is something that I have not experienced until I arrived in Beijing, and it was quite a surprise. Over the 10 days Connor and I spent going to different tourist attractions and landmarks, we found ourselves very popular among the locals, especially the kids. I guess they don't see as many foreigners as people do in Macau or Hong Kong, because everywhere we went there were always kids staring and sometimes shouting "美国人!" ("American!") towards us. Luckily we actually are American, because we could just as easily have been European and they wouldn't have known the difference.
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I have so many Great Wall photos!
I highly recommend to see the rest
of them on my Gallery page! |
But the attention didn't stop there, because we also had multiple kids notice us and speak to us in whatever English they knew, usually just "Hello." It was honestly adorable and you can tell how excited they were to be able to say anything like that to us. But it doesn't stop there either, because Connor and I had at least 7 people come up asking for pictures with us during this trip. I thought it was really funny and I enjoyed doing it, but it was a little uncomfortable when grown men started asking.😐
So overall, it was definitely a trip I'll remember for a very long time. I'm really glad that I got to experience how different the culture and lifestyles are between Macau, Hong Kong, and Mainland China, especially since one would initially think that they'd all be the same. I didn't spend too much time out of Beijing, but Mainland China is so big and diverse that I'm positive that each place has their own variations.
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| It's even steeper than it looks! |
In terms of the what I was able to do and see during my trip, I'll keep it brief since this post is focused on what I've learned. Connor and I managed to go to the Forbidden City, Tiananmen Square, the Temple of Heaven, the Summer Palace, and the Great Wall at Badaling. I also spent a day in Tianjin which is a city nearby Beijing. Out of all of these experiences, the Great Wall was hands down the best. Unfortunately, we could only spend less than an hour and a half climbing it, but that alone was well worth the trip to Beijing. It was steeper than I imagined, and if you were not careful, you can easily hurt yourself at any part of
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One of the only videos I took while
on the wall! I wish I had more. |
the wall. The step height had no uniformity, and there are many parts were there no steps at all and you had to tightly grip the railing to safely walk up and down the traction-less pathway. It was a challenge sometimes, but that's what made it such a great experience. I really do hope I can go back someday and spend more time there.
Classes start up tomorrow, so it's back to the old routine! But I have no shortage of things to share with you next week, and I'll soon be planning another adventure to somewhere over Easter weekend. Be sure to check out my Gallery page because I've taken waaay too many photos over these past couple of weeks. So until next time,
再见！
TL;DR: Virtual payments are the future, QR codes rule the world, don't cross the road if you want to live, China is not that different in some ways, but it definitely is in others, if you're an American you are a special flower, and I got to do so many things in Beijing, I think the Great Wall was my favorite.
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