Life and Travel in China

It may be hard to believe, but some Chinese pay approximately PLN 80,000 a year for an elite junior high school. The essence of such a school is to 'bring out' children into the world. The basis is English, traveling abroad, exchanges with other students, and learning about Western culture. All this is intended to prepare children for studies abroad. Who sends children there? Of course, wealthy businessmen, owners of companies, hotels, factories or officials, politicians, the so-called elite. Studying outside the Middle Kingdom has become very popular. Of course, most students return to China, because in their homeland they have great opportunities for career development and there they can also count on very good salaries. It also happens that such people make a career in show business. This is why most parents in China dream of their children studying abroad.

Today we had a new holiday in China - Victory Day. Almost all companies and factories will have a few days off. This ceremony is intended to commemorate the end of World War II and the victory over Japan. In Beijing, a stunning military parade, over 10,000 soldiers, modern military equipment, 500 types of weapons and military vehicles, and 200 planes and helicopters in the air. The women's units looked very nice and were especially distinguished during this parade. The host was, of course, the President of the People's Republic of China, Xi Jinping, and one of the most important guests was President Putin. Of course, world opinion reacts differently to this parade and this 'flexing of muscles', but there is one thing we can envy China - a modern and very professional army that ordinary citizens are simply proud of and do not feel threatened by anything. The Chinese president emphasized China's peaceful intentions and, despite everything, he may be right. The power that is China does not actually wage any official war, and yet it could oppress other, smaller and backward countries in Asia. Of course, another issue is oppressing one's own citizens, repression, fighting ethnic minorities... this is a story for another post.

Returning to the beautiful Chinese women in uniform, you can see photos here: <a href="http://news.163.com/photoview/00AN0001/97668.html#p=B2JF0E1J00AN0001" target="_blank">http://news.163.com/photoview/</a>. I can only regret that I couldn't be at this parade. Even if I was in Beijing, there was little chance of getting close to the parade, because we know how well the Chinese services secure everything.

Our Chinese friend is expecting her second child. As it turns out, they decided to 'give birth' to the child using all possible (paid, of course) facilities. For the appropriate amount of money, she has already ordered a caesarean section. Using some contacts, he is assigned a good doctor. She also hired a private nurse just for herself and the baby. She was also considering an individual room after a cesarean section, but the cost would be about PLN 10,000 for 6 days. On the one hand, China is a cheap country, you can, for example, have a great dinner for 5-6 people in a decent restaurant for PLN 100-150, and on the other hand, there are various fees for schools, kindergartens, hospitals, specialist services, etc. More and more often, these services are simply more expensive than in Europe.

Referring to the previous entry... regarding very expensive services. A couple in the city of Jiaxing near Shanghai now pays about PLN 1,500 per month for a nursery. This amount shows how much the value of money changes in China. Stereotypes 'for a bowl of rice' are now very outdated, because we can no longer get anything for the proverbial bowl in the Middle Kingdom.