China – a land of opportunity

I’ve just landed in Malaysia after 5 days in China. And what a contrast!

China was grey ,cold and damp, and Malaysia is sunny, tropical and warm – and finally I have unrestricted access to the internet and my blog again.Yet despite that frustration China is a fascinating place and for me this last visit showed me what a land of opportunity it is.

We all know how China has modernized itself over the last couple of decades, and a combination of the Cultural Revolution and the decades of construction have transformed cities like Shanghai from a Colonial city, to an hectic modern urban jungle of skyscrapers, western brands and opportunity.

Whilst I was there the Chinese announced that they now manufactured more cars than the US for the first time. Certainly all the luxury  European brands were a very evident sign of the city’s increasing prosperity.

In fact I had to dig hard to find the “real” China in Shanghai. I made touch with a local photographer, who helped me find a small district full of streets that have been pretty much left untouched by the construction frenzy, and where a more traditional Chinese way of life – or at least my expectation of what that is – still exists.

In these few blocks, street after street bustled with activity – market stalls, small independent shops, Taoist temples, and the quirky mix of tradition and modernity. Yet walk around the corner and you might bump into a Macdonalds or a Starbucks as easily as you would an old man on a bicycle taking his eggs to market
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Initially I was treated with suspicion and a stream of what sounded like mandarin invective, though may equally have been one of them asking me if I wanted a bowl of noodles. Yet as soon as I showed them on my iPhone the sort of pictures I took, and through a combination of gestures, printing on the faithful pogo printer and in one case the purchase of some amazing chicken noodle soup, the atmosphere changed. Suddenly everyone wanted me to take their portrait.

I was invited down alleys, into kitchens, asked to take photos of the children or the family business. In fact given the complete lack of language it was an amazing few hours immersed in a magical world of noise, laughter and smiles.

The energy that exists in the people I met there is perhaps what is also behind the incredible story of modern day China. Opening the local English language paper to look at the adverts, to see property prices or what was on at the local cinema was weird. I could have been in any modern cosmopolitan city. It really is a country in transformation and one full of opportunity.

But for me, those precious few hours spent in those older streets will be the memories I cherish. You can see more of the photos in the gallery.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, January 12th, 2010 at 10:45 am. It is filed under Travel and tagged with China, Shanghai, Travel. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.