Life and Travel in China

In 2005 or 2006, while talking on a forum with a Polish woman who had settled in Hong Kong, I once got into a nervous discussion. The woman had a husband from Hong Kong and she looked at 'ordinary' Mainland Chinese with some contempt. She then made fun of the fact that in Shenzhen you can buy Panascanic, Soma, etc. equipment. Of course, she meant cheap fakes with deliberately misspelled letters and similar-sounding names of well-known brands. Now I want to laugh at her opinion when I see Robert Lewandowski advertising Huawei. Most Poles already know and admire Xiaomi phones, many can pronounce the name correctly. These are brands that have achieved a very good level of technological advancement and have already defeated competitors such as Samsung and Apple. I remember that 2-3 years ago every Chinese used an iPhone or Samsung, the newer and the bigger the better. Currently, many Chinese people freely use Xiaomi, Lenovo, Huawei, Vivo, Oppo or TCL phones. Just ten years ago, people like this Polish woman from Hong Kong made fun of Chinese products. Now I laugh at the fact that these products have become so popular even in Poland and they are by no means synonymous with cheap Chinese fakes. China has taken millions of small steps towards development and technological progress. Of course, they can be accused of following something, borrowing something, counterfeiting something, but for decades they were a nation isolated from the rest of the world. I think they are on a very good track now and I admire their ambition and hard work.

I feel like traffic in China is like flowing water in a stream. It will always find an outlet. The intersections are so congested that the application of any regulations would not be justified. The police are very tolerant. Changing lanes, turning from the wrong lane, jostling between pedestrians, cars and cyclists are everyday life here. Interestingly, there are few accidents with this driving style. Moreover, no one gets irritated when another car cuts in and passes at a distance of literally 5 cm. For many observers, this traffic is shocking, but resourcefulness wins. Just move forward.

A Chinese man reminded everyone on WeChat (the most popular smartphone messenger in China) that the Chinese are too involved in Western culture. He reminded everyone that December 26 is not "f... Christmas, but the birth anniversary of the leader Mao Zedong"! Maybe it would be understandable if he referred to other holidays in the Middle Kingdom or Chinese customs (which are permanently present in the lunar calendar), but Mao's birthday?! Seriously... as you can see, some people still live under the influence of strong propaganda from the past.

In just 2 days, the Chinese New Year will begin and the Year of the Dog will begin. We celebrate in Zhejiang province with our immediate and extended family. Yesterday we had a wonderful dinner, about 20 people, two tables full of delicacies: tofu, beef with onion, fried dumplings, crabs, steamed fish, vegetables, lotus root stuffed with sweet rice, etc. Plus traditionally Scottish whiskey, a mix of tradition and modernity. It was noisy, cheerful, many toasts. A unique holiday atmosphere. Now we will celebrate for 2 weeks.

The Chinese pray once a year and that's probably enough. Of course, temples are crowded during Chinese New Year. Collecting donations in a tray is controversial in our country. In the Middle Kingdom, some temples have paid admission! During holidays, admission is four times more expensive, e.g. on New Year's Eve and New Year's Day. Yesterday, Buddhist temples were besieged because they worshiped the god of money and wealth. In China, few people go to temples regularly. They pray now, during the new year and in times of need (according to the principle, when there is fear, it is to God). They often pray for money, marriage, professional success, and to a lesser extent, health.