Life and Travel in China

I traveled in China in various vehicles, taxis and buses, today for example 5 hours in a modern and safe Volvo bus. But before I got to the bus station in a provincial town that white people don't often go to, I took a ride in a super old taxi. The vehicle was so worn out that the driver (a woman) picked us up with great difficulty and caution so that the car did not fall to pieces. When I wanted to get in, it turned out that the handle was broken from the outside. At every intersection, when you put the car in neutral, the entire dashboard jumped from the engine noise. Good thing we didn't have to drive too far with this clatter.

A 26-year-old Chinese man talked to me during a visit to his company (a small town in Guangdong) about working in Poland, our history, food, culture, etc. He couldn't believe me that my first job paid PLN 500/month. When I calculated it for him, he laughed, of course there are lower salaries here, but comparing it to education, skills, knowledge and the nature of the work, it was simply a ridiculous salary. In China, you can definitely earn two or three times as much in the same position.

For several days now, I've been watching Polish media reports and I've come to the conclusion that I have another damn good reason to live in China and connect my future with this country. This reason, this argument, is called Andrzej Lepper, who will probably become president in the next elections. On the other hand, I always admire such people, you can learn from them - how to make a career based on nothing, starting from nothing, how to enter the salons and rule, even though you have no predispositions for it.

And in Gazeta.pl I found this description for the photo: 'A worker in an electronics factory in Shenzhen - the show city of the Chinese economic miracle.' Showcase city? What text... that there would be at least half of such a 'show city' in Poland. You can laugh. A guy or a woman visited one factory and got excited that someone was cutting PCBs there day and night. How many factories have I already visited! I saw different workers, in different conditions, but it's better to have work at all than when someone dies of hunger, as was the case in the 1950s. These people just don't understand it. Let them go to Polish factories, mines, steelworks and write something... but what about the lack of profitability, lack of orders, unemployment? Well, it's more interesting to write about how 'cheap' labor is used in China, whose salaries are in fact increasingly similar to those in Poland. Let them go to Turkey or India (kids work there, I've never seen it in China)!

From May 1, the Labor Day holiday in China is practically in effect for a week. All Chinese go to famous places, such as Guilin (magnificent landscapes), Shanghai, Hong Kong (Disney World), Xi'an (terra-cotta army), Beijing etc. Crowds everywhere, millions of people. Imagine a beach about 5 km long, completely crowded, even traffic on the only road in that area has been closed, the same in parks, you just walk as if in a queue, and you are surrounded by groups of people on all sides, the same in shopping centers and supermarkets. I don't know how the Chinese can relax like that?! They're just used to crowds everywhere.