Life and Travel in China

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 Stereotypes 'for a bowl of rice' are now very outdated, because we can no longer get anything for the proverbial bowl in the Middle Kingdom.

I often deal with toys made in China, made for Polish importers, and those available in Chinese stores for the Chinese market. I must admit with sadness that what goes to supermarkets, wholesalers and toy stores in Poland is simply of lower quality! Of course, a lot depends on the price and the specific toy, but more and more products on the Polish market are simply cheap and weak. Theoretically, they have CE marking and meet certain standards, although in practice it varies. There are not many standards in China, there is no CE, and yet the toys are visually and functionally better. The only complaint - the electronic ones are simply too loud. However, they are made lavishly - diodes, sound, movement, speech, etc. In Poland, similar toys are usually two or three times more expensive because we pay for the certificate, packaging, transport, customs duties, taxes, higher margins and, above all, the license of a given brand. There are many original, licensed toys in China, but there are still many fakes produced without the consent of the owner of a given trademark. Recently I compared a set of regular plastic soldiers. The ones in Poland looked very bad, blurred faces, plastic remains from the injection mold, the set was limited to a dozen or so elements. In China, clear characters, additional vehicles and weapons, no sticking plastic - just better quality. It is already accepted that 'Chinese food' is of poor quality, but this is Chinese food for the Polish market, because Chinese food for their home market is getting better and better. Sad, sad, but unfortunately true. Moreover, China is experiencing a toy boom - online auctions, stores with professional toys and electronic gadgets, special promotions and toy presentations. Just 10-20 years ago there were practically no toy stores, only some stands and stalls. Currently, grandparents and parents are buying more and more branded, creative and more expensive toys. Yes, we also have decent toys, but the prices are definitely higher than in China (it's not just about the difference in import and transport costs).

For several months, there has been talk about immigrants, mainly from Syria, and the related threat to Poland and Europe. In fact, if the Chinese really cared, they could already dominate some European countries. Many people think that China is like North Korea and no one has a passport or the right to leave the country. This is the case with uniformed officers, but millions of Chinese have passports, visas and travel all over the world. My friend regularly visits the United States, Germany, Poland, South Africa and Canada. Another Chinese woman I know uses a visa to Australia and New Zealand, interestingly enough she has no husband, no real estate and is not attached to the Middle Kingdom - it is usually more difficult for such people to obtain visas, but she still travels. She was also in the USA. It seems to me that many Chinese are simply attached to their homeland, their culture, food and lifestyle. They can emigrate, but they feel best in their own community, i.e. in large metropolises, where there is a typical China Town. Otherwise they just feel like strangers. It is also worth noting that many people (especially older people) have their own eating habits. It may be hard to imagine, but some people cannot survive a day without a dish with hot red peppers. Others eat fresh seafood almost every day, which is simply unavailable in many countries. The Chinese may eat a hamburger and steak from time to time, but they certainly won't live on cutlets and dumplings for years. If they decide to live in another country, they organize a 'Chinese' lifestyle in a larger group, while importing Chinese products and semi-finished products.