The China I Know

I regret to say I am ending this blog and returning to the United States. In doing so, I hope that what I've written will give any reader considering a trip to China something to think about. Beijing has a relatively tiny district filled with shiny new skyscrapers and modern architecture, but that is far from the truth. Living in the capital was like being developmentally-disabled and living in New York City. There is always a portion of the population that wants to take advantage of the situation. They can't help themselves.


Not everyone has had the same experience, and I freely admit mine was more uncomfortable than most, due to my unique circumstances arriving and living here. I didn't have a lot of time to think about moving to Beijing, and most of the people whom I turned to for advice, some of whom had lived and worked in China, were comprehensively and dramatically wrong. And as a result, I will soon leave this country after four and a half years with a negatively-skewed perspective of what it's like.

The noisy nose-clearing, the spitting, the public urination, the children without pants, the cutting in line, the unreliable internet, the government demanding silly apologies for insulting the nation's pride, all the things that belie China's claim to be a civilized nation rising to greatness in the 21st century. This is the China I know.

But I also know that for every aspect of Chinese life that I find lousy, disgusting, or simply unlikeable, there is a good and solid reason. I don't think the cultural behavior I've seen is correct, but I think I understand.

Occasionally, a landlord discovers he can make more money renting his apartment to a business and he kicks his resident tenants to the curb. This doesn't mean Chinese are greedy, they simply want to acquire as much cash as they can, as soon as they can. Accumulation of individual wealth is relatively new to this culture, but very important. You just never know how much is enough. I think I understand.

Every few seconds, a Chinese man feels a need to make a sound in his throat like starting a chainsaw, cough up mucous and spit it out in a massive loogie on the sidewalk. I'm told the Beijing air is thick with pollutants that wreck havoc on the respiratory system. I think I understand.

From time to time, a Chinese person is ignorant of everyone around her and simply shoves her way to the front of a line for fruits, vegetables, a shiny object, whatever. When this person was a child, she probably saw her parents approaching a similar line which was suddenly closed when they arrived, whatever goods being offered no longer available. Her adult behavior is rude and disrespectful to others, but I think I understand.

The problems I encountered here were caused by heightened expectations. A top-tier international city like Beijing was not supposed to be like this. True, it wasn't going to be Paris, but it wasn't supposed to be Phnom Penh either.

For those who arrive after I leave, whether for tourism or for business, maybe they will see a different view. But for me, Beijing came up short, serving as the unfortunate template for the China I know.