Life and Travel in China

My wife and I recently observed such an intriguing scene. There is a typical housing estate near our estate where many taxi drivers live, there are also truck drivers and small delivery companies. There are always four middle-aged women sitting on the corner of one of these buildings. They have quite vulgar facial expressions and an aggressive manner. They dress not very fashionably, some black trousers, flat shoes, small jackets. They can stay there all day, sometimes two of them, sometimes three or four of them. Recently we understood why they were there. It turns out that they are pimps and they are keeping an eye on a certain girl who sells herself in a small apartment on the ground floor, exactly on the corner of the building where they hang out. When we passed this way one time, one of these women even stood to cover the window. Another time I saw this girl inside a shabby apartment. The girl was probably only in her underwear and sitting on a couch. My guess is that they offer services to various drivers in this area. Not very discreet, no privacy. The girl sits there like a sex slave while four pimps make money off her. I wouldn't count on any hygiene either, considering the fact that such truck drivers don't even wash themselves very often. Theoretically, according to the Chinese authorities, there is no prostitution and it is not a problem. The truth is, however, that more or less visible forms of prostitution appear in every city, town and even in the countryside.

Looking at China very generally, I have this terrifying impression that the future of the world belongs to them, to Asia. Why? Firstly, there are a lot of them - they outweigh all of us in population, and secondly, they work hard. Of course, a lot depends on efficiency and management, but they really work more and more efficiently and much longer than us. For them, 3 p.m. is only half of the working day, of course they start later, but they also 'enjoy' overtime. Here, it is actually appropriate to stay at work in the evening and at night. Some come home late, and many work and live in the same place. Instead of sitting with five colleagues in a factory room, it is better to work. Instead of sleeping in a cramped bed, it's better to sit on instant messenger in the office and talk to a client from Germany (time difference). They simply see their lives through the prism of work, it's either to be or not to be for them.

They will introduce a two-child policy in Guangdong province. Until now, it was possible to have one child, and two only if the parents were only children. In other areas, a second child is allowed if the first child is a girl. Now the rules are changing and they want to allow two children. I was recently in Guangzhou on Sunday, in the famous YueXiu Park. I must admit that there is no shortage of children there, literally crowds of them. It's hard to believe that one family has one child, because there are so many children. Of course, now many families have more children because they pay fines. Now there will be no fines, and the population will probably increase quickly. I have the impression that China really wants to conquer the world!

I've always had a low opinion of Guangzhou, but that's changed a bit recently. It seems to me that Guangzhou has improved significantly a year ago - it was mainly due to the organization of the Asia Games 2010. Recently I was on the ShanXia Jiu promenade three times, they have renovated the tenement houses there very nicely, there are nice shops, quite decent clothing and very good prices. There are also nice Asian and European restaurants. In the evening, I took a taxi back to the hotel near the center - YueXiu Park. The city looked very nice - illuminated buildings, large restaurants, nice hotels, some bars, greenery along the roads. It even reminded me a bit of Shanghai. I admit that I once treated Guangzhou as the worst city - dirty, neglected, even stinking narrow streets. I only went there out of necessity and nothing ever impressed me to go back there or take a lot of photos. In addition to all this, there is terrible traffic and multi-story intersections. Of course, the entire city was not rebuilt, but it was presented and packaged better. It's mainly about greenery, lighting, diodes, restored colonial tenement houses, a nice embankment of the Pearl River and nice seafood restaurants. Guangzhou has its charm, but you need to know where to eat and where to shop!

I once mentioned a friend of mine who wanted to get married 'quickly'. She contacted her ex-boyfriend online and somehow they got engaged. He, a Chinese, lives temporarily in Canada. Just as quickly as they got married, they decided to divorce. Since he was abroad, it's not that easy to arrange a divorce remotely. But now everything worked out. They provided some statement confirmed by the Chinese Embassy in Canada. Of course, the statement itself didn't guarantee anything, but... the judge handling the case was some friend of this girl's friend. He confirmed with this guy over the phone that he wanted a divorce and arranged it for them. The divorce fee is 150 RMB, or about PLN 68. I was surprised that this official dealt with it at all, and over the phone?! Later it turned out that it was thanks to connections. And this is how it works in the Middle Kingdom - either bribes or deals. If a common man went to ask for a divorce and his other half wasn't even in China, I don't think anyone would care about it at all.