For many people, this is all they know about the world's most populous nation. It is simply the place with more than 1.3 billion inhabitants where everything is made.
First built in the middle 600s AD, the Tengwang Pavilion in Nanchange, China, was built by a prince who liked the view from the area.
But the People's Republic of China is more than just a center of commerce. It is a country of diverse people — China is made up of 56 ethnic groups — landscapes, cultures and sounds.
Recently, my wife and I had the opportunity to travel to China to complete the adoption of our first child. We had the chance to visit three locations in the world's fourth-largest country, each of which is unique. We met fascinating people, saw historic places and experienced much of what makes China truly amazing, all while logging close to 17,000 airline miles.
Beijing
Our first stop was Beijing, China's capital and second largest city with a population near 15 million. It is the home of the Forbidden City and Tianamen Square. Beijing is in northern China, and our January visit was punctuated by bone-chilling temperatures.
Part of a day was spent exploring a section of the Great Wall — one of the world's seven wonders, and such an impressive feat of construction it can be seen from outer space. The Great Wall stretches 3,948 miles, and construction began in the 5th century B.C.
With temperatures in the 30s — and wind chills much colder — our group braved out onto the wall. Some only made it up a couple of hundred meters in elevation; others climbed to the end of the section where we stopped. The views were amazing, and the thoughts of the countless hours of labor that went into the Great Wall were staggering.
While the Great Wall remains a constant, the city of Beijing is in a state of change. Construction sites can be seen on every street, surrounded by bamboo scaffolding. High-rise buildings are being built among some of the poorer sections of the city. Five-star hotels sit next to buildings with no windows and heat. The rich and poor coexist only a stone's throw from each other.
For pictures from the Great Wall and other Beijing landmarks, go to reflector.com
Nanchang
Nearly 800 miles to the south of Beijing was our second stop — Nanchang, on the banks of the Gan River and about 40 miles south of the Yangtze River. Nanchang, with a population of just under 4 million, is the capital of the Jiangxi province, where the weather is much the same as in eastern North Carolina. Our trip saw us enjoying temperatures in the 50s — far warmer than the freezing temperatures of Beijing.
Nanchang is home to Tengwang Pavilion, a towering structure dating back to 653 A.D., and Nanchang's People's Square, the second largest public square in China. We had the chance to explore the square one afternoon. It was amazing how a group of more than 20 Americans stands out in a crowded square and how many people came up to speak to us.
While in Nanchang we had an experience none of us will forget — a trip inside a Chinese Wal-Mart. It was tucked inside a four-story shopping area with Wal-Mart taking up nearly two stories of the complex. A rough estimate would have put the number of people in this particular story over 10,000 based on the inability to move. It was a claustrophobic's nightmare.
For pictures from Nanchang, go to reflector.com.
Guangzhou
Our final stop was Shamian Island in Guangzhou in southern China. Guangzhou is the capital of the Guangdong province and has a population of 12.6 million in the metro area. We were greeted by palm trees and temperatures in the 70s on this island surrounded by the Pearl River.
Guangzhou is an area heavily visited by western tourists. In fact, English was spoken by many of the people we ran into while on Shamian Island. We were able to walk the streets in the downtown area and speak with many of the shop owners. But we also heard German, Spanish, Russian and other languages.
Shamian Island at night was somewhat like a cross between Disney World and Las Vegas. The countless high-rise buildings on both sides of the river were lit from top to bottom, and the walkway around the water's edge pulsated with lights. A laser show cut through the night sky once an hour, making it feel like a true tourist destination.
For pictures from Guangzhou, go to reflector.com
While the places were all wonderful and unique in their own way, there were other things that struck us during our visit.
Traffic
No matter where you live, people believe the traffic in their area is the worst. Having lived in a college town for the last 20 years, I have complained about Greenville's traffic signals and flow more times than I can count. But let me tell you, the roads here are a welcome relief.
Throughout China, street lights and road markings appear to be there for one reason and one reason only — decoration. Traffic flow is a choreography of chaos backed by an orchestra of car, bus and truck horns.
Intersections are a meeting place of pedestrians, buses, trucks, cars and motorized scooters, all fighting for a small piece of real estate to call their own. Many times, large vehicles are forced to share that fought-for land with another vehicle or a handful of pedestrians.
I had the experience of a lifetime during a taxicab ride in Nanchang. Only Disney could have dreamed up a wilder ride. While returning to our hotel from a downtown appointment, our cab driver somehow managed to squeeze between three buses with two wheels on the curb so we could make our exit — all the while doing so with one hand on the steering wheel and the other rhythmically pounding out a tune on the horn.
I was left to catch my breath and be thankful for making it to my destination alive. Give me game-day traffic in Greenville anytime.
Food
You only have to keep your eyes open as you walk through the streets of China to see the main staples of the Chinese diet. Often hanging right next to the laundry on people's balconies are such delicacies as chicken, duck, ham and sausage.
It is a widely held practice by the Chinese people that no part of the animal should go to waste. So it is not uncommon for such things as chicken feet to be on the dinner plate. And for the squeamish, turn your head, because chances are the fish, duck or chicken will be served with the head still attached.
A breakfast buffet will include fried rice, curry chicken, baked beans and many other items that may seem out of place in the United States. But how many restaurants have you been to lately that the menu included bird's nest soup, rabbit, squid, crocodile and Peking duck?
Olympics
Beijing is abuzz about the coming of the 2008 Summer Olympics. As soon as you step off the plane, there are signs of the Games everywhere. From Fuwa — the official mascots of the Olympics — to the slogan, One World One Dream, all of Beijing proudly displays the coming event.
In various locations around Beijing, you can find signs that give you an up-to-date countdown until the Games begin. Road construction is rampant as the city tries its best to improve traffic flow for the pending onslaught of foreign journalists and athletes.
We had the opportunity to drive past some of the areas in Beijing where construction on the Olympic venues was under way. The world is going to be impressed with the look of the structures. From the National Olympic Stadium — known as the "Bird's Nest" — to a building that appears to be covered with bubbles, China is showing the world its best.
Stay tuned for the 2008 Olympics and a true look at the country of China and the vast creativity of its people.
China is more than a land of more than 1.3 billion people. It is a country full of history, unique cultures and vast wonders. It is a land you can visit again and again, and never plumb the depths of all it has to offer. And even if you could, at its rate of change, China will be all new in five years. One visit can't possibly be enough to see and experience all it has to offer.
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