Qingdao is the port city that we docked in. This was not what I expected at all. The whole experience in Qingdao was literally culture shock after spending a week in Japan.
The ship docked in an industrial yard where huge trucks were moving large pieces of metal and some of us almost got run over. (don’t worry, I’m fine, haha). It was rainy and rather miserable when we got off the ship, which was not the best first impression of China, unfortunately. I walked around the port city the first day with my friend, Robin. We had a fun time and bargained a little at a market. I got some gifts and some things for myself. I bought a cool necklace with a dragon made from jade.
The city itself was incredibly poor. The buildings were in bad condition. The buses and public transportation looked very unsafe. The traffic was interesting because it seemed as if the largest vehicle or the loudest horn ran the traffic. There didn’t seem to be strict traffic laws that restrict the way that people drive. The people were fairly nice, not nearly as much so as in Japan. The locals really seemed to be quite poor. This was in stark contrast to what I expected in China. I have always understood that China is a communist nation. My understanding of communism has always been that equality is a key to the distribution of resources. In communism, people are supposed to have enough; they are supposed to have jobs, and enough to eat. This was not what I experienced. People were living in terrible conditions and literally begging us to buy things from them. There was an incredibly visible disparity between rich and poor. In areas of Qingdao, one could see large high rise apartments that were utilized by government officials when they visited the area. These apartments and leisure homes cost much more than most locals will probably make in their lives. There were also many people riding bicycles or other inexpensive means of transportation, while some people drove expensive cars. These things struck me as out of place in the supposed communistic state. The capitalism that I experienced in markets and such was also unexpected.
It is obvious from my trip to China that it is an area in transition. China joined the World Trade Organization recently and has opened itself up to a lot of western influence. China is also hosting the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, which is bringing renovations to many areas of China to assist with the influx of people during this event. The presence of both capitalism and communism was very interesting. It shows the western influence in the country, as well as the transition going on in China.
After spending a day and a half in Qingdao, I took a trip to China’s capitol, Beijing. This was a very different experience from Qingdao. To be honest, I was glad to leave Qingdao. I am very glad that I got to experience this real part of China. I am also glad that I have a better understanding of how most Chinese people actually live. This has given me a better understanding of the differences between communist theory and practice. Obviously, the theoretical ideas of communism are not being completely practiced in China, as evidenced by the disparity between rich and poor. This has given me a real picture of these differences, rather than just from reading about them. These are the things that I appreciate so much about this voyage.
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