I continue to be shocked at how populated, build up, and advanced it is here. I knew that Beijing and Shanghai would be modern, developed cities, but I expected the others to be more like large villages. My ignorance has been blaring. Even “small cities” in China number in the millions of occupants. With Chongqing having a population of 33 million (The population of all of Canada) cities with a population of 3 million look very small. As I write this I'm sailing down the Yangzi, the shore across from me is densely packed with high- rise apartment buildings. And yet, alongside this development you'll see a man pulling a rusted out cart full of bricks. Seeing the co-existence of old and new has perhaps been the most fascinating part of my visit to China thus far. On the freeway you'll see women, with a homemade dustpan and broom, sweeping. Miles and miles of high way are lined with roses, and several layers of ornamental trees and bushes obviously cultivated and watered by hand. Semi's are rare, small mopeds each with their meager load, are common. Intense pollution makes a permanent weather condition of “haze.” In the largest cities a layer of grayish brown dirt covers everything, and yet I've seen some of the most exquisite gardens and public parks here. As is the Chinese way, it's common to see mass plantings of trees and flowers- a luxury afforded only to the most affluent cities in America. Large statues and sculptures adorn even small cities, and yet neighborhoods are left in squalor. One thing is certain, China is changing. All of our drivers have spoken of the dramatic change in the number of cars on the roads in the last ten to fifteen years, and the more recent reaction of mass transportation projects.

It's difficult, coming from my Western experience, to understand China. I get a sense that there's a great sense of propriety and “this is my lot, I will deal with it.” You see many people sitting around waiting for the rare moment when someone will buy a souvenir from their shop, or ask for a ride on their rickshaw. The culture of making do is quite remarkable. We've seen dustpans cut from old square cans, brooms made from grocery bags. The loads carried on some of the mopeds and Coocoo cars seem to defy gravity. You hear about the actions of “The government” more often than we do in our country. For example, “The traffic in the Muslim quarter used to be much worse, but then the government moved everyone to district nine.” “When the government built the Three Gorges Dam several of the historic villages along the river were going to be flooded, so the government built a relocation city on the other side of the river up higher on the hill and moved everyone there.” It's statements like these that remind you you're in a communist country. There's certainly more of a military presence here. Our first morning we saw a line of forty or so soldier walking in strict formation down the street. We saw a bunch more a few days later. Traffic wardens and security officers often stand in attention. Elderly citizens can be seen squatting on the side walks wearing red bands around their arms. They are apparently “police helpers” or essentially eyes for the Communist party.

There are so many complex issues here in China. On one hand I hate to see that they're tearing down the historic hutong to build high rise apartment buildings, but then you walk through the hutongs and see the disrepair and uncleanliness and you appreciate that the government is going to such measures to improve the lot of their people. It's hard to hear about the ancient villages that were flooded after the building of the Three Gorges Dam, but then you realize that by raising the level of the dam, boats are able to flow freely transporting goods, there is no longer a need for people to pull ships down the river by their sheer body strength.

This trip has been amazingly eye-opening. China's tenacity and drive is evasive. The sentiment of “One China” is strong, and the people we talk to seem very proud of their country and the advancements being made. They love sharing that China has the largest public square, largest hydroelectric dam, most populous city, longest wall, greatest population. . . China has definitely given its people many bragging rights. I think the hope is, that if the Chinese feel part of a great whole, they will be content with their meager lot.

Here's some pictures!

The Great Wall

Riding the cable car up. (We rode down in the same cable car Bill Clinton rode in!)