Amazing China: Shanghai and modern China

THE BOOM IN SHANGHAI—China’s second largest city (16 million) is situated on the East China Sea across from the southern tip of the Korean Peninsula. With her teeming population and present economic surge, large numbers of apartment, commercial and financial buildings crowded the landscape. Shanghai’s vibrant, booming economy is an excellent example of what happened in China when former Communist Party Chairman Deng Xiaoping was able to turn China away from the old government-directed economy of the Mao Zedong years, toward a market economy and private ownership of property. He called it “Socialism with Chinese characteristics.”

The new approach is producing wealth at a pace that would even make Adam Smith smile.

We were told that in 1991 the Pudong section of Shanghai, on the east side of the Huangpu River, was all farmland. Today, this $70 billion (U.S.) economic development zone includes acres of new office buildings, the Shanghai Stock Exchange, an international airport and a new container port for the third largest port in the world! It was said that at one point during the major construction phase of the project, 70 percent of all the large construction cranes in the world were working in Pudong.

By day, both sides of the river are alive with activity and lined with beautiful buildings. By night, the river looks magical, particularly the Oriental Pearl TV Tower which brings to mind the outer-space architectural style reminiscent of the “Buck Rogers” or “Star Wars” movies.

21st CENTURY PROBLEMS: POLLUTION AND TRAFFIC—The Chinese cities that we visited all appeared to share many of the same types of problems and concerns that we Americans have. Pollution was becoming an increasingly pressing problem. English language newspapers carried stories and discussed efforts to reduce pollution.

During our visit the South China Morning Post ran a front page picture of a smog choked Hong Kong harbor with the headline “Air pollution expected to reach health-threatening heights.” Beijing officials worried about the impression their smog would have on Olympic visitors and promised in the newspapers “to enact the strictest emission standards, curb pollution by trucks at night and limit coal burning for power in cooperation with neighboring provinces” for the Olympics period. Unfortunately, no permanent solutions to the smog problems were yet in effect.

Bicycles are apparently on the way out as more and more people own motorcycles, motorbikes and more recently, automobiles.

Of course, traffic problems and gridlock are beginning to occur more often as the streets, ring roads and highways are now facing ever increasing numbers of cars. Parking places also were at a premium in cities that did not need to accommodate many private autos as in the past. Even mid-morning traffic on Beijing streets (shown here) was very heavy. Though there were a lot of buses, high-speed trains and subways, public transportation still seemed a bit inadequate. Our resident city guide in Beijing had to ride a bus for two hours each morning to get from his home on the other side of the city to our hotel!

HOW THE CHINESE LIVE—Our tour included a home-hosted lunch and pre-arranged visits to a number of neighborhoods and individual homes where we were invited in for conversation and walk through tours. Most of them were clean, well-kept apartments of about 800 or 900 square feet. They had modest amounts of furniture and other worldly possessions. Though we did notice TVs, stereo systems and telephone answering machines, they were not crowded with the latest in electronic communication and entertainment technology as in many U.S. homes.

One member of our party noted that the amount of personal clothing in the bedroom wardrobe and on the shelves was less than she was carrying in the single suitcase she brought on the trip. The families that we visited were comfortable but not living a luxurious lifestyle.

We also stopped briefly in one old neighborhood in Wanzhou that was characterized by filthy stone and cement floors, dingy-peeling or unpainted walls, glassless window frames, bare light bulbs suspended by wires from the ceiling and a lead water pipe that emptied into a plastic bucket in a cracked and chipped kitchen sink. It was hard to know for certain which of these two contrasting lifestyles was typical of the how the “average” citizen lives in China because of the miniscule sample of homes that we saw,

We did not see much group living where a number of families live in separate bedrooms and share common cooking areas - as pictured in some U.S. films depicting “communal” lifestyles in Communist countries. Though the government has continued building new apartment complexes, no way has apparently yet been found to adequately maintain and repair them. Some already appear to be showing signs of deterioration.

Travelers in China need to beware of one major difference in homes and public buildings: Most Chinese bathrooms have no standing toilet but instead feature a ceramic hole in the floor upon which to squat. This presents an unhappy and often challenging, experience for most American visitors. Hotels and public places that cater to foreign tourists, do offer at least one stall for those with Occidental needs.

The Chinese dress is very much the same as in Western countries. We saw no obese Chinese and no couch potatoes. Everyone seemed to be relatively trim and active. It was not uncommon to see exercise equipment in open areas near apartment buildings and groups of citizens participating in morning exercise sessions in public parks. We didn’t spot any indoor fitness centers.

FAMILY VALUES and the population explosion—The Chinese have adopted a relatively simple approach to slow the growth rate and eventually reduce their gigantic population. In 1978, the government established a policy that every married couple could have only one child. When a second child is born, fines are levied.

We saw this large blackboard in one apartment complex where young families live. It listed the names of the resident children, their dates of birth and their parents’ names. In this way, the disapproval of the community can be focused on offending parents -- sort of a Chinese version of Nathaniel Hawthorne’s “Scarlet Letter.” We were told that there is some flexibility in the One-Child-Per-Family policy. Our guide told us that a medical facility had issued a certificate which allowed her a second pregnancy, when her first child was born with a severe physical ailment. We were also told that the policy is not applied in agricultural areas where more children are needed on the farm, and to the Minority Nationalities (8 percent of the population).

Traditionally, the oldest son in a family cared for his elderly parents. With the single child policy in effect, the burden has increased on male children because they now have the legal responsibility for their own as well as their wife’s parents. In the eyes of some young parents, male children have become more valued. One young mother observed to us that the era of “little emperors” has arrived in China, for parents and grandparents who spoil their only grandchildren (especially the little boys).

THE OLDER GENERATIONS—As in the U.S., Chinese seniors appear to be living longer and having more fun. We visited a modern, multi-storied, plate-glass and marble-lobbied senior citizens center in Shanghai. Ladies in the local community came in to show us the facility and present a colorful fashion show.

When a member of our group commented to one of the models that none of the senior ladies had any gray hair, she smiled sweetly and confided in a barely audible whisper that hair coloring was also available in China.

About this series

Green Valley’s Larry Backus chronicles his experience in China. His stories on the Olympic host will appear Fridays through Aug. 1. This is Part 2 of a four-part series.