The “new” China.

I asked several of our Chinese guides if they felt they had freedom. Freedom? They weren’t sure. We have jobs, they said. We have the internet. To them, that seems enough for now.

“Do you like Mao?” I asked one guide. She cautiously looked all around, then whispered back, “No, I don’t like him.”  I agree. My political statement while we were on Tiananmen Square was to take the traditional photo of Mao looking over the whole square—but I clicked the shutter just as the flag flew over his face!

When we were at the Forbidden City (now called a museum) I took a picture of several young women in traditional Chinese costume. Only afterwards did I notice that these were girls of the “new” China. They were wearing sneakers and were texting on their smart phones!

I think I like the “new” China. The people are ambitious, friendly, curious about the West, and anxious that their children grow up in an open society. Despite the language barrier, I feel like I made connections with many of them.

[Conclusion of blog.]

Pandas are a rare delight.

We visited the Pandas at the Beijing Zoo! So cute. But they are very anti-social. They do not like to be together, so each one has its own large living area/cage. The day we were there all were out, sitting on their little stand eating their bamboo leaves and shoots. Very few Pandas live in the wild these days, we were told.

            While we watched Pandas, several groups of Chinese people were close by doing their daily Tai Chi routines. Some used colorful scarves with their graceful movements. One group used swords!

            And, yes, I did some Tai Chi while we were in China.

            

Religion in China?

For a country that claims to be atheist, it amazed me how often they referred to “heaven.”  We went to the “Temple of the Heavenly Son” and through the “Heavenly Gate.” Even in conversation, people mentioned “heaven.”

            Atheism is the official position of the communist Chinese government, and one survey found that 59% of the people were irreligious. A degree of religious freedom is allowed, however. Buddhism is said to be the largest religion, though it is difficult to estimate a number because most adherents do not do anything formal to become a “member.”

            Christianity is the second largest religion, about 4-10% of the population. There are both officially sanctioned Catholic and Protestant churches in China, and many unofficial “house churches.”  One of our guides was a Christian, even naming his little boy “Luke.”  I saw a woman wearing a cross necklace and smiled and pointed to it. She was excited that I had noticed. Through hand signs and pointing we communicated and really did feel a relationship.

            The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in not yet officially recognized in China, though our relationship has been “regularized” – a carefully chosen word. In Hong Kong there are several stakes and a temple.

Third Daughter.

In China it is the son (or actually the son's wife) who takes care of elderly parents. That is why every couple desperately wants a son and why baby girls used to be abandoned or adopted out of the country. This is changing in the "new China," however.

Our delightful tour guide in the Xi'an area quickly became a favorite of the group. "Tell us about your family," I said during a long bus ride. "I am a third daughter," she said, with a little bit of pride and a little bit of defiance. Gasp! We all knew it was not good to be a third daughter in China.

She is 27. So in 1987 it was not wise to have a third child. Her parents were farmers and had had two little girls already. Hopefully, they decided to try again to get that little boy. They were poor and knew they would have to pay a fine; they went ahead anyway.

Sylvia was born and they could only afford part of the fine. The government took the baby away. It was the grandmother who saved this baby girl. She came up with the remainder of the money to pay the fine and the baby was returned to them.

As things turned out, Sylvia's eldest sister married a man from Switzerland and moved there with him. They will probably never see her again. The second sister married a man from a far away city and they rarely see her. So who goes back to the farm every weekend or so to help her elderly parents? Sylvia, of course!

Li River - mystic and magical

The Li River and its surrounding mountains was my favorite place in China. Located in south central China, it has been called a “River Art Gallery.”  Literally thousands of cone-shaped mountains line both sides of the river. On a sunny day they make a reflection in the water. We were there on a slightly rainy day and the mists hung around the mountains, making the place seem magical.

The children of China are so beautiful. Maybe it’s because there does not seem to be that many of them. Most couples have one child; a few have two. You can see the pride in their parents’ eyes.

Often you will see small children with grandparents. In many cases, it is the grandparents who care for them while the parents are in the city working.

We watched one afternoon as several busloads of young children, probably 6-year-olds, alighted from their Hong Kong bus to cross over the border to Shenzhen on the Chinese mainland. These children were born in Hong Kong so they must attend school in Hong Kong, even if they and their parents now live in Shenzhen. Just routine. There must be logic in that somewhere . . .