Life and Travel in China

On the one hand, censorship in China combats eroticism and pornography, but on the other hand, even well-known Internet portals such as Xinhua, Sohu or 163.com often present erotic photos from lingerie shows, Miss pageants, bikini photos, etc. There is also more and more 'nudity' on billboards, in TV advertisements, and in glossy magazines. There are also various juicy photos and gossip about stars from China, Hong Kong and Taiwan. It seems to me that the presentation of such materials is necessary to maintain viewership (the number of website visitors) and also provide a bit of entertainment. Officially, there are no erotic/pornographic publications or films in China. The exception are materials smuggled from Hong Kong, which are available in record stores on the lower shelves or 'under the counter'. Don't ask me how I know this ;-).

In every large Chinese city there are so-called 'dirty districts', most often near train stations, such as in Shenzhen Luohu district (train station and border with Hong Kong), Ningbo (the same around the bus and train stations), Guangzhou (various areas), Shanghai (Nanjing Road area)... in each of these places there are several or even several dozen pimps. They encourage both Chinese and foreign travelers to use the services of 'massage therapists'. Sometimes they are really pushy, but it also happens that they just stand on the sidewalk, pretending that they have nothing to do. It all depends on the situation and arrangements with the local police. Such areas are dirty morally and literally, the sidewalks are often dirty with food waste, there are many inferior, even smelly, old bars. There are also beggars, cheaters and thieves. Generally, China is safe, but I advise you to be careful in such areas. It is important to take a decisive step and answer suggestions in Chinese with "no need", i.e. BU YAO! Or not to speak at all and not engage in conversations, even in English.

I observe that more and more Chinese want to live like Europeans. Of course, their concept of Europe, America, or the 'West' in general is a bit misleading and stereotypical. They often think that the most important thing for us is hanging out in nightclubs, drinking beer and having a relaxed attitude towards the whole world. Of course, there are such people, but not all of Europe relaxes with a beer?! The Chinese focus on night entertainment, meetings with friends, good dinners, alcohol, discos, cinemas, cafes, etc. They are very much moving towards the 'West'. This especially applies to people aged 15-30 living in large cities. During my several years in China, no one has suggested meeting me in a Chinese teahouse, but they always suggest Starbucks, McDonald's or KFC. Once in Shanghai, quite by accident, I met a student from Qingdao and her friend. The girls were going to a good tea shop, they called it 'kung-fu cha'. I associated it with martial arts and some amazing show. They meant the way of preparing and brewing tea - it was an ordinary tea shop, and I was expecting Jackie Chan ;-). Young Chinese easily deviate from their own traditions and escape to Western culture. But is our culture better? They may imitate our lives, but they are never completely free. Their consciousness is always controlled by censorship, and their actions are observed and controlled. And everything must be normal.

A few days ago I received a promotional email from a Chinese supplier from Shenzhen, it was about some consumer electronics. It was some kind of group email, but in the sender name they wrote in Chinese ?? (bo-lan) meaning Poland. There would be nothing strange about it, if not for the fact that the content of the email was in Russian!!! As you can see, some Chinese still think that Russian is spoken in Poland, or that we are even a Soviet republic ;-). Unfortunately, there are a lot of ambiguities and black holes in Chinese history and geography lessons, and then there are such effects. I wonder how the Chinese would feel if I wrote to them in Japanese and were surprised that they weren't part of Japan? They would definitely be furious.

The visit of the Polish delegation to China, headed by the Speaker of the Sejm, Ewa Kopacz, is underway... It seems to me that Poland is about 10 years too late for such talks, negotiations, cooperation plans and joint investments. We isolated ourselves from China for too long and were offended by the entire Middle Kingdom: the famous boycotts of the Olympics, our 'protection' of Tibet and the invitations of the Dalai Lama. The Chinese have a lot of disadvantages. Now our politicians, seeing an opportunity in China, are trying to suck up. And the Chinese authorities don't care much about it, because neither the prime minister nor the president meet the Polish delegation! The Chinese media does not say anything about this visit at all. More important is Xi Jinping's visit to Costa Rica and Mexico, and later to the USA. It may sound unpleasant, but Poland is a third-rate partner for China. They care about poor African countries - where there are various deposits, they care about cooperation with Germany and France - where there are large sales markets and imports are more efficient than in Poland. Moreover, our legal and tax system is too complicated and I already know cases of Chinese companies that fled Poland or significantly limited their activities. We have been offended against China for too long to now suddenly build a great partnership and friendship - this is how I assess it. Of course, this is slowly changing, although the whole world is doing excellent business in the Middle Kingdom, and we are still talking about human rights and communism. "Poland is the Christ of nations" - this is how we must save China, even if it deepens our economic crisis! Let's fight for a free Tibet, let's separate Taiwan, independence for Inner Mongolia, the Uighurs also deserve something! I'm being ironic, of course, I just mean that we often get involved in things that are not our own. The ideas are beautiful, but are they right in the face of unemployment, the crisis in Poland, and the bankruptcy of many small and medium-sized companies?!