Literally avoiding the city of Guanzhou like a plague, my China trip ends on its 8th day in Shanghai.

A deadly flu-like virus there had infected hundreds and killed many.

This trip was a huge eye opener.

What was different?

- Definitely the new architecture and sense of going forward. New modern buildings stand shoulder to shoulder next to old blocks and every other building more than 20 years old seemed to be getting demolished.

- The old back alleys of Beijing, I did not find on this trip, mostly replaced by apartment blocks.

- Cars, they seem to be everywhere although the cabs now are running on mostly LPG or non-gasoline fuel.

- Food, there're lots more western food now and the old little eating places that I ate at years ago have disappeared.

- Used to be able to spot a mainland Chinese or at least one from the inner provinces a mile away in the past. They all look the same now in the way they dress and I couldnt tell who was local and who was from HK, Taiwan, Singapore....etc

- Nobody really seems to say 'thank you' or 'excuse me' anymore except the foreigners!

- In the past it was a luxury to own a telephone. Now, its almost unthinkable not to own a handphone. Handphone snobs abound here, with many examining each other's handphones.... and almost everybody wants to leave you his handphone number.

- The air is definitely worse now in Beijing.

- The airports are modern and the planes are no longer Russian.

- Toilet cubicles now have a mix of squatting and sitting models and most (!) of them have closing doors that allow for some privacy

- I used to be able to get change down to the last feng (cent) Not any more. Almost nobody's got change for less than 1 yuan

- New age drugs seem more prevalent now among the young

- They're starting to drink western wine these days......normally in the style of 'bottoms up!' (Gang Pei!'), or mixed with Sprite/7-up/Coke and sometimes with ice!

- They're starting to aquire a taste for cigars and seemed to have mastered the art of fully inhaling a Cuban robusto.

- I can tell from their facial expressions that they hate drinking coffee but its fashionable these days to be seen drinking the black brew.... without sugar. Seen also were a few of the locals after 3 straight cups of double expressos with the glazed expressions of a caffine high.

- Rental in prime business districts like Pudong are expensive and on par with equivalent Hong Kong and Singapore real estate.

What's still the same?

- Well, many might be clothed in western and modern garb but old communist habits die hard. They still address me as 'comarade Ed'

- Service continues to be slow at locally operated establishments. Foreign owned places showed a very marked improvement in this aspect.

- Air travel within China continues to be very affordable and reinforced with more flights

- At the smaller establishments, decent, sincere, civilized conversations still take place which I greatly enjoyed

- They still drink like fish

- They still order more food for their guests than an entire army can reasonably finish. But they order enough alcohol for the same army which the 6 to 8 of us seem to consume with little or no leftovers.


BUT seriously, the Chinese seems very fixed on catching up with the rest of the world especially on the business front. Materialism is rampant and the business mind is acutely tuned to the happenings outside of China.

I come away impressed with the speed at which they pick up ideas and implement them.

Yet, despite this personal and national drive towards progress and riches, the Chinese remain humble and extremely hospitable. People used to be extremely crude and rude in cities like Shanghai. Nowadays, the jostling and elbowing has pretty much died down and there is a pleasant, if not silent, air of gentle courtesy.

I left China asking more questions than when I arrived. This huge country has immediately warranted more study in its social fabric and infrastructure. What is its interior like? How far has modernity spread its web? Would the divide between the rich and poor lead to social unrest? What were the prices paid for 'progress'?

Lastly, from a photography point of view, people seem much more open about allowing strangers to take their photographs. They seem to bask in the attention.

Almost nobody confronted me when I was shooting and some even asked to be sent a copy of the pictures if they happen to be in it.

I had the chance to handle a Chinese Seagull SLR camera and must say, it felt good in my hands. I tried looking for a couple of their locally manufatured rangefinders and TLR cameras but was greeted instead by a flood of Point and Shoot models.

Bye for now.