The Last Days of Old Beijing: Chapters 1-7

Chapter#1

            The old woman who lived in the hutong for nearly 80 years talks about how she does not want to leave and how she has no interest in the compensation they are offering or the high-rise apartments that suggest that you move into.

            The author speaks about how he had a refrigerator but it would overload the circuits of the hutong so now he uses it to store his clothing.

            He then goes on to describe the area he is living in and how it is made up of narrow ally ways and compact one story hutong courtyards; this is the type of are that he would consider old Beijing.

Chapter#2

            There is a quote on page 11; actually it is the entire second paragraph, which is why I’m not typing it but it explains his vantage point on the growth of cities and his background on the topic.

            He writes about how he was a volunteer in China for a decade, and how during that time he taught at a school in the country.

            He writes about his time as a volunteer and how he only made $100 a month and how far that money could go. He said that there was not much to spend money on except food and beer, and that life there was different; he mentions that he stopped wearing a watch and counted time by the school year and season.

Chapter#3

            In this chapter he writes about our ideas of what the educational system and classes in a Chinese schools look like. He comments that while there are very strict and rigid schools the children in his English class where much like American students talking to each other and shouting out the wrong answer from time to time.

            I thought it was interesting that they kept statistics about the children’s high weight and oral health as well as other things, and at one point he mentions that the children who are overweight almost always have a better English grade.

            I did not like the fact that there were students assigned to tell on other students for misbehaving or not doing homework as well as other things.

Chapter#4

            In this chapter he gets into detail about how the government and developers are knocking down and developing hutongs and the inadequate compensation that they offer residents.

            He also speaks to officer Lui, and translates a holiday card from Chinese to English for him and the others officers.

            He also writes about the Olympics and how the government is almost using it as an excuse to tear down the hutongs even thought places were in place before they bid for the right to host the Olympics.

Chapter#5

            He writes about the count down to the Olympics on the board of the classrooms and mentions the inconsistencies of two of the classes.

            He talks about a couple that will not bring their son to live with them because they do not have enough space even though they know that the schools in Beijing are better.

            I enjoyed the part about the kids playing hockey right outside the Forbidden City’s walls.

Chapter#6

            It was interesting that the remains of one of the oldest known human begins was left in the possession of the United States, and on its way to the U.S it disappeared and there are several different stories as to where they ended up.

            On page 79 there is another paragraph long quote that seemed to encompass just how long Beijing has been around and in doing so it reminds us of the roots from which it has risen to be the large and mighty city we see before us today. It is the 4^th paragraph.

            The dialogue between the two students at the very end of the chapter was also entertaining and slightly witty on the girls part.

Chapter#7

            The section on news on the second page where he lists off a few of the reports he has read was somewhat surprising and in some way not really all that shocking or different from our news here in the U.S.

            I found it interesting that they had ads for not only missing pets but in once case for a missing older woman with Alzheimers, which I found interesting because that is more something that you would see on the news in the U.S.

            When he was done with the paper the old woman showed him how to make his windows sparkle by using the paper to wipe them off.

The Di, who are an ethnic group who’s descendents will become the group we call the Han today, first settled the Qinghai Province nearly six thousand years ago. They were farmers in the central plains of Qinghai. In 121 B.C. the western Han Dynasty built a fortress and the Xiping Pavilion in Eastern Qinghai to monitor and control the Yellow and Huangshui rivers. This was the beginning of the Central Plains Feudal Dynasties. This lasted until right around the turn of the 4^th century when the Tuyuhun moved into the area and set up their own empire. The Tubo Dynasty took over in the 7^th century uniting the entire Tibetan Plateau. After that there were a series of different dynasties that took power until the Mongolian Yuan Dynasty took over in the 13^th century. In 1949 the Peoples Republic of China finally got rid of the old feudal system that remained in place since the province way initially taken over by the Han Dynasty.

The Yellow River, which flows across China originates on the Tibetan Plateau in the Qinghai. It travels through many different provinces in an eastern direction all the way to the ocean. It has many valleys basins, and has created some very notable gorges over time such as the Shanxi-Shaanxi Gorge, which is 725 kilometers long making it the longest gorge on the Yellow River.

On July 1^st of 2006 the Qinghai-Tibet Railway was opened to the public for the first time. The railway is 1,215 miles long and it has 45 stations along its path, surprisingly 38 of these stations are not staffed. These unmanned stations are monitored from  a central control station that is located in Xining. I found an interesting fact about the trains themselves. Even though it would seem that everything here in the US is made in China, surprisingly enough GE built all of the locomotives that run on the railway in Pennsylvania.

The Qinghai Lake, which you guessed it is located in North Eastern Qinghai is a major stop along many different bird migrations. This poses a possible threat to Europe and Asia because the lake has so many different types of birds from different regions coming together in one area there is fear of rapid spread of influenza. The name of the lake translates literally to Blue Sea Lake, and it sits 10,515 feet above sea level. The lake has been increasing in size since 2004 and is fed by twenty-three rivers and streams. In 2007 its surface covered 1,733 square miles.

The culture of Qinghai is very unique; the two main religions of the province are Islam and Tibetan Buddhism. The cultural traditions of the province are a cross from Mongol traditions, which come from being ruled by the Mongols early on, and Tibetan culture, which has been absorbed throughout the centuries because Qinghai is located on the Tibetan Plateau. Interestingly enough one common thing you will find in the culture of people from Qinghai is that they use yaks for transportation, and then for their meat once they can no longer be used for transportation. There are not a whole lot of in depth details about culture in this province, and I feel this is because the western provinces of China are more rural and do not have a whole lot of contact with Eastern China.

The main tourist attraction of the province is the Qinghai Lake. The reason it is popular among Chinese and Tibetan tourists is because in the summer months it remains at a reasonable temperature because of its elevation and geographic location. The rolling grasslands that surround the lake are seemingly the only other tourist attraction in the province. The area is considered a national level 5A scenic area, which I can only assume is the equivalent of a nation park here in the US.

There is one major university in the province of Qinghai and it enrolls roughly 5,100 students and offers 33 bachelor degrees and 3 graduate degrees. The degrees range from economics to agriculture to adult education. There are nearly 1000 staff members and half of which teach and do research work around the university. Just incase you haven’t guessed the name of the university at this point it to is named after the province just like the lake and everything else. It is called Qinghai University, what a shocker.

Qinghai has one of the smallest if not the smallest economic contribution to China’s economy. It makes us only .35% of the total economy, and its gross domestic profit for 2011 was only $25.9 billion dollars. Most of this money comes from steel production, which is only done in a relatively small section of the province. The reason that seems to be given for having so little impact on the national economy is that Qinghai is lacking in basic infrastructure, and because of that they are not able to support many factories.

Ethnically Qinghai is made up primarily of three groups; the Han who make up 54.5% of the population, followed by the Hui and Tibetans who collectively make up another 37% of the population of Qinghai. The rest of the population is comprised of 34 different ethnic groups. In total the population of Qinghai is only 5.6 million people.

Qinghai is not the most interesting of places, or at least it does not appear to be from my findings; however it does appear to be a rather scenic province so here is another picture of its beautiful lanscape.

Chapter#18

            Gifford explains that while tourists are attracted to places like Dunhuang, people who are from China strive to get away and move toward a western type of lifestyle.

            He also talks about how well preserved or unchanged some of the historical sites of ancient monuments and temples are, and I found it shocking just how old some of these thing are.

            China is still angry with the British for taking important scriptures from them and still to this day not having returned them to China.

Chapter#19

            This chapter talks about the natural resources that China does have, and he mentions that they are hopeful about finding oil in a few of the desert areas as well.

            I found it really interesting and a bit like something out of 1984 that you get a text or call when you enter a new province saying welcome alongside advertisements.

            Gifford also mentioned that the government closed off a well so that it could have control of the water supply in a certain region.

Chapter#20

            The Chinese language is based on Characters not an alphabet; I have always found this to be intriguing and it makes me happy that I didn’t have to learn the language because it just seems so difficult.

            There were several words that seemed to be funny when they translated like long necked deer for example, which is what the word giraffe translates too.

            It is also important that you pronounce words in the Chinese language with the proper tone otherwise it might come across as the wrong word.

Chapter#21

            The Turpan depression seems to be a really interesting place not only because so many people live there but also because of how far below sea level it lies and how hot it can get.

            There is a fear that the Uighurs will lose their native language because they are entering Han Chinese schools that do not use or teach the language.

            China is still considered a colonial power or the last great empire.

Chapter#22

            Urumqui has become a hub for western China and is still continuing to grow and this is partially because it is so connected to Beijing through the Internet it would seem.

            Because of this the Xinjiang province is experiences economic growth as well as a change from rural areas to a bigger city in Urunqui.

            There is so much propaganda from the communist party that people from eastern china that have never been to western china do not realize that Tibet is not happy with China.

Chapter#23

            Even though the economy is growing rapidly there is still an enormous gap between the rich and pour and it doesn’t not seem to be shrinking with the growth, it actually seems to be widening.

            The phrase the Chinese are not building a country they are building a continent really seems to put into perspective just how massive China itself is and how powerful the Communist party is as well.

            A major point in this chapter that stood out to me is that change is happening all over the place in China everywhere except for within the Communist party it would seem.

Postcards

            Macau has one of the worlds largest casinos and I think it is one of the only places you can go to gamble, and they are more serious about gambling in China than we are in the us, for instance they do not drink as much and it is a quieter place.

            China is becoming a super power in the world and they want recognition and respect for it even though they are considered a fragile super power.

            It also talks about their economy and how it might affect Americans.

            

Chapter #9

            China is compared to the west, with regard to technology, government control and human rights and while it seems that the Chinese are more advanced in some aspects the west has placed more value on human rights.

            China has a far more rigid and competitive educational system then we do here in the United States, education is taken more seriously in China.

            Qin was the first emperor to unify all the different provinces of China, and he also began the construction of the Great Wall of China.

Chapter #10

            He writes about the teachings of Dao and how they were very prominent earlier in Chinese History but have more recently begun to fade into the background.

            The original masters of Daoism are considered gods today; I found it interesting that they would not just be seen as profits but rather as gods.

            There are more people in China today that are business oriented than there are that find it their duty to spread religion, but there are still monasteries and monks that practice religion as a way of life.

Chapter #11

            Today there are 75 million Christians in China, which to me was a big surprise, even though it is only a small percentage of the population.

            The reason that many of the major cities in China are so large and densely populated is because of Chairman Mao and his efforts to industrialize China.

            Its citizens see China as the last great empire, and they are often very proud of the culture and history that got them to where they are today.

Chapter #12

            Lanzhou is one of the world’s most highly populated cities, if not the world’s most highly populated city.

            Some of the western provinces of China do not wish to be a part of China like Tibet, and other provinces.

            It struck me as interesting that at one point someone was saying that they prefer light skin and that they don’t really like dark skin.

Chapter #13

            In the late 1950s Tibet began to fight for political independence, and Mao and the rest of the communist party fought against this.

            This was the reason for the Dalai Lama’s exile and even though he was exiled people still talk about him and his teachings in China.

            In an interview that he had with Ziao it was clear that some of these topics are not ones that the Chinese feel comfortable talking about.

Chapter #14

            The Chinese prefer to be seen as ocean people and do not like it when their history, way of life, or they them selves are referred to as yellow. It is understandable that they would see this as offensive seeing as most cultures to not like to be defined by their skin tone.

            Gifford also writes about peasants and migrant workers are needed to keep China afloat because they supply the cheap labor and vast amount of food needed to keep the economy growing steadily.

            I also found it interesting that the geography of China is so diverse, I knew that there were mountains and plains and some tropical seeming regions but I had no idea that there were desert areas as well.

Chapter #15

            This chapter talks a fair amount about propaganda and rules, the basic feeling is that we know that the Communist party controls the news.

            It also touches on the one child rule and how it can be enforced.

            The public pretty much has to care about what the government cares about, and share the same perspective of the one-sided news papers and stations that they get their information from.

Chapter #16

            Having the newest technology is a big thing to people in Chinese cities that can afford to keep up with the rapidly changing technological goodies.

            Gifford also portrays Chinese people as very entrepreneurial because it seems they are always trying to find a new or better way to make money.

            There was a very strong movement toward western style living, which was lead by people who were in search of a higher standard of living; mostly those who generally could not afford to live so comfortably.

Chapter #17

            Gifford talks about improvements to China and how they are most noticeable along route 312 but after you stray from route 312 it is hard to see much of an improvement in the lifestyle of people in rural areas.

            He also talks about China’s strong borders and how it is hard to pass through them to get in or out of the country, and he refers to China as a still emerging country.

            The subject of censorship comes up again, which is becoming a trend in each chapter I feel like it is mentioned at least once, and it makes me feel like our stereotype of just how censored China is might be right for once.

Postcards

China has the same bad television and style of games shows that we have here in the United States.

Business moves very rapidly in China, and it seems as if it takes less time to make big decisions and implement changes than it does in the US.

Once again it is mentioned that television is censored and controlled by the government, which I still find to be overbearing.

Foxconn has an enormous number of employees and I remember hearing about them when apple went over and tried to get working conditions and wages improved upon because oh just how poor the conditions were previously.

I never really thought about how many cars we have in the US in comparison to other countries around the world but apparently in relation to China we have quite a few more than they do.

            My knowledge of China is not very elaborate or extensive, it comes from High School history class, television, movies, random news articles, and encounters with foreign exchange students from my high school. In my mind China is based off of cartoons, kung fu movies, and pictures from texts books of the Great Wall, terracotta soldiers, and terraced mountainsides. China is rural farmland, however china is over overpopulated urban areas that even our largest cities appear small in comparison too. There is one thing I am certain about though and it is that China is a colossal country that is vastly diverse and contains rich ethnic and historical roots that date back centuries.

           

Through reading articles online I encountered what is called “The Great Firewall of China.” This is a firewall that the government has put in place in order to censor all Internet content entering China from other countries, as well as what can be posted online by Chinese citizens. The article I was reading concerned Google and how its servers are located in Mainland China, because they are located within China’s borders they must comply with the country’s censorship rules. One thing that Google has done that I found noteworthy is that they not alert users when their search results are being blocked or censored by the government. China is exceedingly strict when it comes to what information is shared with the public not only through the Internet but through all mediums.

While speaking with foreign exchange students from China at my high school it became increasingly clear to me just how much the Chinese value education, and how much pressure is put on students to do well. One of the exchange students and I were talking one day about why it is so important to them and he explained to me that only the best students get into good schools and what schools you get into dictates what type of job you will be able to do in the future. A stereotype that he and the other exchange students all seemed to fit into was that they were far better at mathematics than I or any of my other classmates were. I remember one day one of them was talking to me about how they had covered the material we were learning in our junior year math class back when he was in fifth or sixth grade in China.

            In history class we would always learn about the Qin Dynasty and how Qin Shi Huang and how he united the previously divided provinces of China under his dynasty. The teachers would always tell us stories about his grand army and how they traveled through the country conquering province after province forcing China to become united under his power. Then we would learn of his elaborate tomb and the thousands of terracotta warriors that he filled it with. After all this is the man who began the construction of The Great Wall of China, a landmark that today is visible even from outer space. We would then go on to learn about feudal China and how the power was distributed amongst lords who would pledge their loyalty to the emperor, and in return would gain power over peasants in their specific region. This is the basic and brief overview of China’s history that our teachers would teach us year after year.

 

 

           

  China’s economy has been booming for the last several years growing by double digits yearly. The thing that gets me about this is that even though China’s economy is growing so rapidly the people in the lower class do not seem to be seeing any increase in their quality of life. The rich seem to be getting richer and the poor seem to be remaining just able to get by. Most of the products that are made in China are not available to the Chinese even though it is their cheap labor that allowed the products to be produced in the first place. There are more and more people living in the slums because as the economy expands there are more factory and migrant jobs available in the big cities and people from rural areas continue to venture to the city in search of jobs.

            I would like to learn more about China’s educational system and how they are able to teach so much information so quickly to young children. I am curious about how they get students to stay so focused. The other thing about Chinese education is the learning of Chinese itself because I have always been taught that it is an extremely difficult and complex language to learn.

 I am excited to actually visit china and learn more about their culture and history. It will ne nice to finally be able to put some images and experiences of my own into the image of China I have created in my head prior to seeing it in real life. Actually seeing China for myself and learning from experience what is true and what is false about my previous conceptions of China and its people.