The Great Firewall of China, Fireworks, and Populaces

When we started this adventure we knew that we might have problems using the internet in China. What I didn’t expect was that I would not be able to gain access to Blogger or any other blog site with the exception of those permitted by the Chinese state run internet, Sina Weibo. This has put a real crimp on many other activities like uploading photos using Google. This is not too surprising as Google is not on friendly terms with the Chinese government. What I also found surprising was that there are microblogs being written by US athletes (Kobe Bryant) and other Western celebrities published in SinaWeibo. I haven’t red any of them but per China Daily (a government approved English language newspaper) these microblogs are being written in hopes of expanding their Chinese fan base.

This is our second trip to mainland China, this trip and the previous one we were given the standard Communist party line but in neither case did we feel we were being monitored while speaking with our guides.  The two China guides assigned to us this time have traveled to the US and our Shanghai guide has even been to Walnut Creek (though she was surprised we didn’t live in a gated community). When talking to the guides about where they went while in the US, it appears that their main goal was to shop for designer goods at outlet malls and to go to Las Vegas. This was quite different than what our Japanese guides said they did which was to go visit our National Parks with shopping as a secondary excursion.  I should mention that freedom to travel in China by the Chinese is permitted and in fact was a problem for us as our stay coincided with the Lunar New Year celebration.  Many Chinese spent their holiday in Shanghai. However, personal relocation from one part of China to another is not as easy.  This is in part to control the population growth and resource needs of an area. China is still enforcing the one child program with a few exceptions for ethnic groups.  If a person or family wants to move from one city to another in a different province permanently they must first request permission from the local magistrate to obtain residency.  There are many cases where “undocumented” workers have moved without seeking such permission but if they have children the children may be denied acceptance into the local college or other free or subsidized privileges given to “documented” citizens.   Our Harbin guide seemed confused when I mention that Dick’s family had originally been farmers but his family had moved away from the farm to different states.  He asked where we lived as he assumed that the San Francisco area was not a farming region and I told him that much of the Bay area had been farm land but was no longer. He had this look on his face of not comprehending what I was saying. I didn’t think his question was unusual nor his look of confusion until later when I realized what he didn’t understand was that in the US we can move freely from one state to another.  His grandfather had to request permission to move to Heilongjiang province.  

Chinese New Year is a very busy time in China with 200 million people traveling from one part of the country to another to either see family or just to vacation. This is the largest movement of humans in modern times and it occurs annually in China during the Spring or Lunar New Year holiday season. Shanghai was full of people to the point it was very difficult to get around without being shoved when “walking” through some of the more popular sights. 

Every night there were several rounds fireworks (many displays provided by the local government) being shot off until daybreak. The air in Shanghai was hazy to begin with from factory and car pollution so the added smoke from the firework displays made the very smoggy in Shanghai.  The evening of the 13^th was the nosiest and unfortunately the next morning we had a real early flight so we didn’t get much sleep when the popping and banging was done in front of our hotel (we also had a front facing room).

In Harbin we again experienced the fireworks outside our hotel in the evening but it was not as loud or large. Fireworks were being sold on many of the Harbin street corners. Again per the state controlled newspapers the displays were less than years previous as the government is encouraging consumers to show some restraint in spending.  This is not being demonstrated at the various dining halls. We ate one in Shanghai and one in Harbin and in both cases I saw lots of food being wasted. This is not unusual but again the Chinese government is suggesting that this type of wasteful behavior be curtailed. Good luck with that as this is the time of the year in China when feasting is a sign of wealth and to be able to throw away food is a sign that you have money to burn. Other obvious signs wealth expressed at this time oc the year is buying designer labeled goods. On our flight from Shanghai to Harbin there were several people wearing new designer clothes carrying bags of recently purchased goods. 

With everyone traveling in China and many places being overcrowded this was a major cultural difference between Japan and China. In Japan personal space is respected and politeness shown at every occasion. Not in China. The idea of queuing and waiting your turn is very different and shoving is common.  If you are standing in line in a restroom don’t expect to be able to use the next available toilet as the Chinese tend to queue in front of a stall door and when it opens it is yours to use. So if you think you are at the head of a line you are in reality queued for whatever door you happen to be standing in front of. I made this mistake only once and learned. BTW bring your own TP as none is provided in the stalls but there may be a big roll available when you first enter the restroom.  




In Japan you will find Western style toilets in most places with a few squat toilet for women who wear kimonos to use but in China more often than not it will be a squat toilet and not very clean. All of this is not to say that China is backwards it just has a different view of how things work, take driving for instance. Traffic lanes seem to be discretionary as it was very common to see cars going down the freeway straddling two lanes or driving below the speed limit and without headlights on. Per our guide in Harbin people buy cars without having a license or any idea of how to drive so they learn as they go. In Japan you will see driving schools with practice driving courses. The Japanese traffic and the driving rules are very tough so getting license is difficult in Japan.  I didn’t see any accidents or many dented cars in China so the system must work whereas we did see a really bad accident in the middle of Tokyo.  With the cost of fuel, insurance, and the limited space for parking many Japanese don’t own cars and use public transportation. But in China public transportation is not always available so people buy cars to get around. There are about a 1000 new cars on the road each day in China.  Subways are being built in most of the major cities to address the problem but in many cities these projects may not be completed for another decade.

Guess the US and China has a lot in common as far as public transportation goes.