Just some thoughts I had about China. As a whole, the country and its people made a big impression on us both. Their ability to blend traditions alongside modern development was always evident. For example, their ancient practice of Feng-shui plays heavily in their daily lives and all new buildings, both commercial and residential are built with Feng-shui in mind. And I used to think that Feng-shui was only for Californians! Speaking of new buildings, we were surprised to see major construction projects at every town and even in the rural countryside. Our guide told us that this growth began in 1978, after the death of Mao, and continues to this day. China has rocketed their economy for close to 30 years and it shows.
During our visit, we found the people to be very friendly. They have a great affection toward their children. Remember, abandoning a child in China is a serious criminal offence that carries a heavy prison sentence. We had heard of instances where elderly Chinese would openly criticize parents for not clothing their babies enough. Children with bare feet are frowned upon. I asked our guide if this type of criticism was reserved just for adoptive parents such as us, but he assured us that it was not.
My impression of China before we arrived was that it would be oppressive. People would be resentful, or just weary of ferengi (which means foreigner in my mother language Punjabi!-Star Trek borrowed some good stuff from my Sikh heritage, remember the villan Khan was a Sikh). Enough digression, but I think Jennifer and I were both surprised by their candor, pride, and genuine good will of the people before and after we met June. I would definitely recommend China as great place to visit. Our direct flight from Newark NJ to China was shorter than going to India. So even though China seems far away, it’s very accessible. Flight time was 13hrs. there and 12.5 hrs. back to the US. And the coolest thing is you fly over the North Pole right into the giant red heart of China.
