You hear the term "authenticity" thrown around a lot over here. "I want the authentic Chinese experience," is what they say. The truth is that the China of Kung-Fu wielding monks, dragons, opium dens and rickshaws is fast disappearing, if not gone already. Those were the types of things movies were made of, at least Quentin Tarantino movies. Anyone expecting that experience should check it at customs or at least bring a good shovel, because you will have to dig for it.
China concentrates its energy and its wealth on 10 percent of the population. At least, that is what I have heard via CNN. 90 percent of the population lives outside of the cities, meaning they receive less money. This (not-coincidentally) is also the China not advertised by, um, you guessed it: the government. What you get is a new classification in the Chinese social system: the migrant worker.
These masses, funnel into cities like Shanghai, Beijing and Guangzhou. They search for work and a better life. They fill jobs such as high-rise window-washer, recyclable-bottle-picker-upper, or "massage therapist". In China, it appears that there is no middle class. You either have it or you don't.
What I have also found is that there is the "actual rich", and the "poser-rich". The latter, predominantly, 18-23 year olds, wear one good outfit over and over again. The same time, they may spend their holidays sleeping in the park because of a lack of money. It makes you wonder where the priorities are. Why do these people spend 300 RMB on a pair of pants and not a hostel room? Or an education?
China is a land of money and it has an insatiable appetite for getting it. Money makes the country go round and since it has a centralized government, that means, many people get left out. This was brought into focus as I saw the upper-side of the socio-economic spectrum this past National Holiday.
My first extensive travel experience in China brought me to Shanghai and Hangzhou. Shanghai with its ultra-modern subway system and glossy skyscrapers, could make a native New Yorker do a double-take, but this city of 15 million lacks something that puts it on par with the world's other great cities.
A soul, or at least, a non-manufactured one, seems to be lacking here. Through the Haagen-Daaz and the ubiquitous Starbucks, Shanghai was absent of anything that made me want to cling to its spectacular views from The Bund. After being at first overjoyed at the cultural opportunities, I was then sickened. I felt a good deal of relief when I left the city after 3 days. I mean, there is just something about overweight middle-aged British men and their young Chinese girlfriends that makes you queasy after a while.
While Shanghai still holds onto a bit of that sleezy port-town image that made it so famous in the early 20th century, it is not the China you would expect. Shanghai is the epitome of what the Chinese government would want every Chinese city to be: high-tech, ultra-rich, ultra-Western. English was everywhere and so was high fashion, Big Coffee and contemporary architecture.
Though the British and French concession still give Shanghai much-needed historical charm, it is not the place for me. I found it to not to have the style of New York or the upbeat mood of Chicago. For all it's glitz, it lacked the excitability of Las Vegas. For all its bright lights shimmering on the water, it lacked the romance of Paris. Shanghai was a good first test, it was good to get it out of the way.
While Hangzhou is just as "well-to-do" as Shanghai, the city that Marco Polo once quoted as "paradise", lived up to the hype. The incomparable West Lake mystifies the city, despite its commercialization on the west banks. The neighboring tea fields were quite pleasant and much less crowded. Even with millions crowding near the city's down town, the fields were nearly vacant and you could even spend a few minutes alone, without being gawked at or hearing another voice. The gardens, the flowers, the tea leaves and the local tea farmers, made Hangzhou one of the most memorable cities I have ever been to. Even though it would fit in that upper echelon of Chinese financial success, I would gladly go back.
I want to get as diverse an experience in China as possible. Culturally, socially and economically. Shanghai brought me the first taste of stratification and I can't wait to see the rest. The city I live in, Changsha, is right in the middle. It really is the epitome of what China is right now. Old and new, side by side.
However, I look forward to searching for more of those bad kung-fu movie type settings and characters.
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