Side Trippin

The province in which I reside, Zhejiang, is only China’s 11th most populated, yet it has 11 million more people than California, despite being one fourth its size. Even more disproportionate, is its recorded history, being inhabited for over 7,000 years, with the last 2,500 and change contained within one continuous civilization. Basically, there are people everywhere, and they’ve been around for a minute, for lack of a better word. This becomes increasingly apparent when venturing out of the confines of my present hometown of Huzhou, with its modest population of 2 million, and limited sites of historical significance that have survived the current construction craze. Life here is pretty laid back by Chinese standards, which can lull you into a false notion about the reality of this country. Possibly more shocking than being injected into the human pinball of Shanghai is a quick flip through a China guidebook. Within a 200 mile radius of Huzhou, there are an abundance of mega cities that 99% of the world’s population has never heard of, like Wuxi, population 4.3 million, Yangzhou 4.46 million, , Shaoxing 4.3 million, Ningbo 5.4 million, and Wenzhou 7.4 million. The list could continue for quite a while, since China has more than 100 cities with a population over 1 million.

I’ve recently been escaping from Huzhou on the weekends to explore larger cities of interest that folks outside of China may have actually heard of. My first destination, Hangzhou, is a fellow Zhejiangian city, while Suzhou and Nanjing required crossing a border into the neighboring province of Jiangsu, population a modest 74 million.

The first thing any Chinese person will say when you mention Hangzhou, is “You must go to the West Lake.” The famed lake is located in the center of this town of six plus million people and is one of China’s major tourist attractions. It’s surrounded by pagodas, finely manicured shrubbery, and to my dismay, a handful of Starbucks. Hangzhou was founded 2,200 years ago and visited in the 13th century by Marco Polo, who then called it the finest city in the world. Unfortunately, my introduction to the city was slightly dampened, since it was raining relentlessly during my entire stay. Despite the non-cooperating weather, my English teaching crew and I went for a boat ride on the West Lake, which was relaxing, but didn’t quite live up to the hype that had been heaped upon me leading up to my visit.
My Hangzhou journey took place before Halloween, so an afternoon was spent searching for costume materials. This quest led to a gigantic, cavernous mall featuring five floors of utterly useless crap. Claustrophobia sunk in quickly while navigating through a mass of manikins and bootleg sunglasses, all housed under an 8 foot ceiling that seemed to get increasingly shorter by the minute. I’m not a fan of shopping to begin with, but I promptly came to refer to this place as hell incarnate.

The highlight of the entire weekend was an Indian food buffet, featuring a stage which rotated between a live belly dancer and a projection TV playing classic bollywood music videos. Here, my taste buds were graced by the likes of daal, naan, and chicken massala, which equaled such a mainlined overdose of non-Chinese flavor, it’s a miracle I didn’t eat myself into an eternal coma.

Another noteworthy experience in Hangzhou was my daring first attempt to eat a burrito in China. I had no expectations, although I couldn’t help but hold onto a shred of optimism, and wonder if I would be served a greasy, tinfoil wrapped, bean filled, masterpiece of Mexican origami, at which point I would go straight to KTV and sing “Reunited” by Peaches and Herb. Back in stone cold reality, I was met by shredded chicken and lettuce inside of a tortilla, the only saving grace being a conservative scoop of sour cream on the side.

I would never admit it to a Chinese person, but on this particular visit, the Indian food was more impressive than the West Lake. I imagine Hangzhou would be much more majestic when seen without an umbrella obstructed view, so hopefully I’ll be able to return and formulate a more Marco Polo-esque opinion.

According to a famous Chinese proverb, Suzhou is the equivalent of Heaven on earth. Upon arrival, with its population of 5.7 million, it looks just like any other sprawling city in China, but once you crack through its generic exterior, Suzhou becomes exponentially more heavenly. The old city, bounded on all sides by a moat, is about 5 square miles and features surviving patches of cobblestone streets, traversed by canals and bridges, hence its nickname, Venice of the East.

My first stop in Suzhou was the Humble Administrator’s Garden. I’d give the benefit of the doubt and assume the name is a joke, but the Chinese don’t really use irony, so it just appears to be a bold faced lie. Suzhou is famous for its gardens and this one is the largest and most renowned. It’s a meticulously designed oasis of coy filled ponds, pagodas, and precisely placed plant life, as to not disrupt the feng shui. Doesn’t seem like a place that would be dedicated to any so called humble administrator. As hypocritical as it sounds, this could’ve been one of the most relaxing places I’ve been in China, were it not for swarms of tourists spreading over every available square inch of the place. I’m aware that I’m just another tourist in the crowd, but i couldn't help imagining the garden without the armies of annoying tour groups, in which everyone sports matching hats, aimlessly following a flag waving tour guide like a flock of camera wielding sheep. In theory, this is the absolute low season for tourism, which makes me cringe at the thought of visiting in the high season. I’d personally recommend risking execution and hopping the fence after hours to enjoy the garden in peace and quiet.
Another significant event was a visit to the Pintan Opera Museum, which featured my first live theater experience in China, performed in Suzhouhua, the local regional dialect. If you’ve ever wondered why Chinese television always has Chinese subtitles, it’s because every region speaks a different dialect which is completely incomprehensible to its neighbors. Remarkably, the written language remains the same, so logically the performance had a digital projector displaying the written mandarin translation. Unfortunately, this did me no good, as I've managed to learn about 3 Chinese characters thus far (People, land, and building). Entertaining as it was to temporarily invent my own dialogue, it was difficult to become fully immersed in the drama without having the slightest idea as to what was going on.

Even though my 30 hour stay was too short to form any kind of accurate opinion, Suzhou is the best place I’ve been so far in China. Wandering around a maze of old one story buildings and canals, polluted as they may be, was a welcome relief to the soulless high rises that dominate the landscape elsewhere.

Most recently, I traveled to yet another metropolis, Nanjing, where 5.29 million people battle for personal space on tree lined streets. The city was originally founded 2,500 years ago and features the longest city wall in the world. It’s famous for being the capital of China from 1368 to 1644, and was believed to have been the largest city in the world at the turn of the 14th century. In modern times, it briefly regained capital status in the early 20th century, and is home to one of the worst atrocities committed in the atrocity plagued 20th century.

With a preconceived understanding that despair about the state of the world would follow, my first excursion in Nanjing was to the Massacre Memorial Hall, which chronicles the Rape of Nanjing, perpetrated by invading Japanese troops at the close of 1937. During a devastating 6 weeks, it’s estimated that over 300,000 Chinese were killed and 80,000 raped, in the midst of an all out assault on the capital. Not surprisingly, the exterior of the museum is a dark, lifeless landscape occupied by a few suffering sculptures. The interior provides an in-depth look at the lives of various victims and documents the details of the killing, torture, and rape that decimated the city. The most haunting image was a recently beheaded Chinese man's cranium, placed on a fence post with a cigarette hanging from his mouth for the amusement of Japanese soldiers. Less revolting but equally disturbing were a pair of massive walls identifying the names of the departed.
As expected, I left the museum depressed about the disturbing history of humanity. I believe people are born inherently good, so it’s hard to cope with the reality of masses of people being consistently led into the absolute depths of evil and madness. I don’t think any Japanese soldiers, Nazi’s, or corporate CEO's were born with a biological thirst for blood, but somewhere along the way they were steered violently in the wrong direction. For all that we claim to be, humans are still a bunch of savage beasts killing each other for reasons unknown to most. I guess it takes more than a memorial museum for people to learn from the mistakes of the past.

To end on a lighter note, I do have tremendous hope for the future. Hope on all levels. Hope that a taco truck will be lurking deep in the jungles of Cambodia. Hope that the world isn’t completely fucked beyond repair. Hope not in an individual, but in the collective power of all the rational, free thinking, peace loving people who are destined to reclaim the throne from those who have abused it for so long.

While exploring my neighboring cities, I've begun to realize the extent to which China now plays a mandatory role in the direction of mankind. With a fifth of the world’s population, the fate of humanity is intimately tied to whatever happens here, for better or worse. So far, I’ve only been to 6 Chinese cities, and their combined population is more than California’s. In each place, my understanding of China, and therefore the world, has been shattered and rebuilt. It's a parallel universe where women in knock off designer jeans walk side by side with monks. Kids who can barely walk have cell phone conversations, while construction crews navigate bamboo scaffolding. In each city, the past and present are strangely interacting on a scale that's too ginormous to explain. With all this change happening for so many people, China has some serious issues that need to be addressed. Most importantly will be how the country can keep its economy growing without continuing to rape the environment, and how many opportunities can be created for some 750 million poor rural peasants, who are supposed to be the beneficiaries of communism. About 1 in 9 people on earth is a Chinese peasant, a population with the potential for revolution on a scale the world has never seen, if they recognize how badly they're being screwed and organize accordingly. For the sake of the world, I'm hopeful that China will somehow be able to resolve these issues peacefully.

In one month, I will be switching careers from professional educator to nomadic vagabond. I'm sure that when 2009 hits, my understanding of China will have transformed several times, and once I hit the road, the transformation will continue. That's pretty much what traveling is all about.