Crossing into China from northern Pakistan was one of the biggest developmental contrasts I’ve ever experienced. After having no electricity, no phone service, no hot water and only limited shops, I was stunned to be confronted with a full-on city in Tashkurgan. I missed the silence but I was hugely appreciative of the amenities. Beyond this initial shock, there were several other monumental differences, including:
- Chinese people count to 10 using one hand, with special hand signals for 6 - 10. Initially I was completely confused when people were waving a telephone signal at me (thumb and little finger extended with the rest folded in), until a vague memory of seeing something about chinese counting came to me. After some googling, I learnt the hand signals and rather enjoyed using them.
- QR codes for everything. QR codes, scanned via WeChat or Alipay, are used for paying for things (no contactless or card machines here), ordering food in restaurants, adding friends to message, getting info once at a hostel, just everything!
- Discussions about politics or the chinese government are usually a complete no go. People look warily at their phones and change the subject. Alternatively, I was met with an entirely different perspective on issues. For example, I spoke a lot with the other girl on my Sichuan tour about politics and received some interesting takes. She told me that there was absolutely no genocide in Xinjiang against the Uyghurs, in fact the government gave them a lot of social aid. She admitted that it may be true that they could not get passports, but only after a Tibetan guy told us that he could not get a passport, something which initially shocked her. She also asked me how I was coping with England’s bankruptcy, which was news to me.
- Passports / Identity cards are needed for everything. Not just hotel bookings, this is to be expected, but for visiting a museum, a national park, or any ticketed place. Your booking is linked to your passport number and this must be shown on entry. A clever way to keep tabs on what everyone is doing I suppose.
- Food is everywhere and important, especially in Sichuan, but eating it is not given the same time and care that I would’ve expected. As soon as the final mouthful is chopsticked into your mouth, not yet even swallowed, people are standing up to pay and leave. There is no slow enjoyment or break for digestion!
- Several items which are unacceptable in the west are perfectly normal here, namely spitting on the street, burping loudly, and pushing people. Queues are also a suggestion rather than mandatorily followed, which felt quite freeing to engage with.
I only really experinced two provinces in China: Xinjiang and Sichuan. Sichuan felt very “chinese”, by which I mean Han chinese. Xinjiang did not, feeling more similar to central asia than Sichuan, but with chinese aspects still present. I enjoyed my time in China a lot more than I expected to. Yes, the people are not outrageously friendly, but it was quite nice to be left to do my own thing and not constantly stared at. The culture as arguably the oldest, continuous civilisation is rich and so different to the west. The cities are developed so comfortable to travel in, but in a very different way to the west so they are still interesting to experience. The rural areas are less developed and so offer the off the beaten path feeling. The scenery is varied and beautiful. The food is incredible and cheap. Trains are fast and efficient. The plethora of apps make it a breeze, once you have them set up. And if you use an esim, you don’t even need a VPN, the western apps all still work! I would definitely like to spend more time in China, in particular in Gansu (the silk road province in between Xinjiang and Sichuan with great hiking) and Tibet. My main irks with China are over the fakeness of some of the historical sights and the constant use of tourist shuttle buses at touristy sights that you have to take to explore the area. I think a trip which focuses on hiking and camping, and visiting small villages might avoid both of these issues, however. I’ll keep you posted.