For three month we are now in China and we have seen a lot of different places like Shanghai, Beijing, Xi`an and Hangzhou. And one thing I can say, is that China is far too big and interesting to learn all the things you want to know in three month. Even a year wouldn’t be enough.
We got our first impressions of China when we arrived in Shanghai. Even though Shanghai is a little bit different than other cities in China we noticed one thing that is the same all over the country. The busyness and noise in the streets. There are so many people and chaotic traffic and everything is producing very many sounds for example the honking and noise of the brakes. But everyone is working and is occupied with doing his things. And this is a good image for the whole country. China is rising. Everywhere new factories and skyscrapers are popping out of the ground like mushrooms after the rain. That produces a scenery with elements of modern cities next to the needy buildings of the older city.
But there is not only the modern China. You can find traces of China’s very long history everywhere. The most famous examples are the Great Wall, the Forbidden Palace or the tomb of the first emperor Qin and his terracotta warriors.
In Hangzhou you got both. There is the busy downtown with the big shopping centers where you can buy the latest electronics and fashion and if you go a few hundred meters you find the Westlake with its beautiful scenery and the stories about it and the pagodas and temples.
And of course there is that thing that makes China what it is. The people. When we came to this country we found ourselves confronted with a totally different culture.
What we noticed most about the Chinese people is that they are very open and friendly. If you got a problem they are very eager to help you. It happens often that a complete stranger starts to chat with you, sometimes just to practice his English or because he wants to get to know you. Now and then it happens even though you meet someone for the first time he invites you to his home.
One thing that is a big adventure for us is the food. Everyday we discover things we don’t know at all or cooked in a very different way than we would do it at home. But mostly we find very delicious dishes, though we sometimes feel the need for some familiar food, like bread that is not sweet and creamy.
At all we don’t want to miss the experience of visiting China.
