We've been doing a whirlwind tour of China from bottom to top (Shenzhen to Beijing) in a week.  Lots of night trains and lots of rain!  What a wonderful, curious country!

 

Talk about "Lost in Translation"!  With all our travel experience we were unprepared for the total lack of English spoken in most places here.  It certainly lends to the sense of adventure and we try to navigate our way around, buy tickets, find accomodation and order food that isn't chicken head, brain or feet.  Thank God for our guide book with translations written in chinese characters.  We do a lot of pointing and gesturing.  The Chinese we've run into are friendly and do their best to help us, sometimes with frustration on both sides, but ending always with the best effort and smiles....

 

Shenzhen, and now Beijing with its new Olympic makeover, are so modern they make Canada look 3rd world.  The cities are well organized and they do an amazing job of moving and accomodating the huge population (the cities actually seem less crowded than most others we've visited).   The public transportation system is extensive and easy to negotiate (would be even easier if we knew the language).  They talk about Beijing being polluted but we haven't witnessed that.  It is no worse than any other city and a good deal better than any Indian or or African City.  The ex-pats who live here however, bemoan the loss of the traditional chinese aspects of Beijing (old buildings, street vendors, traditional markets, etc), as it rushes to modernization.  In all places we visited there is an obvious care for the environment and new trees, gardens, parks, lakes and "green" initiatives are common, such as solar power and electric cars and motorbikes.  The locals are very excited about the Olympic Games and very proud to be hosting.  The stories of the Tibetan situation are reported in a different light here, but I will leave the comparisons for later, for obvious reasons.

 

So, we were pleasently surprised by China and its people and hope to come back someday to explore more.  We are really only getting to see some big cities, and would love to explore the gorgeous countryside while some of the traditional ways of life still exist.... next time I guess.

 

Having trouble up-loading the pictures, so once again...stay tuned...