Life and Travel in China

I recently read in an English-language Chinese newspaper that the number of private cars is constantly growing and is around 40 million. This is not much when you look at the population of the country in general, but on the other hand, it does not include company, company or government cars, and there are probably hundreds of millions of them. Despite everything, the number of vehicles increases, and I observe that the number of collisions and accidents increases. When I left the house for 2 hours, I saw two collisions. Yesterday, while riding a bike, a small car brushed against a new BMW. The number of cars and drivers increases, and their driving skills are getting worse. Either they do something about it, regulate the regulations somehow and start demanding something from these pseudo-drivers, or they will kill themselves on the roads.

I noticed that Poles' perception of the Middle Kingdom depends on whether they have been to China at all, and if so, in which city or town. Two Poles visiting Guangzhou recently said that China is crap, the food is terrible, the streets are nasty. When someone visits some poor towns in the interior of China, they probably think that China is crap and poverty. Being in Shenzhen, Shanghai or Hong Kong, we will find that China is rich and modern. It's such a big country that even I, having been here for 20-30 years, won't get to know it thoroughly. So you need to have some humility and you shouldn't judge an entire country, such a large country, based on a few days' trip. Here, each province has different cities, towns, different culture, language, diverse architecture, customs, some develop more, others not at all. There are no rules for China. Of course, people who have never been here have the most to say about the country.

I was taking night photos in downtown Shenzhen yesterday and encountered a new form of begging. An older guy comes up to me, asks about the photos, asks where I'm from, of course he says America. Later he tells some story about his daughter, I didn't understand him exactly. And finally he tells me to give him 7 RMB. It may not seem like a fortune, but I don't give away money on the street. I look at him, glasses, hat, watch, decent clothes, and it turns out that he has nothing to eat. He then asks for 5 RMB as if he was haggling. I told him I left the money at home. He asked if I lived here and was surprised when I said yes.

My friend is a young teacher, this is her first job. He teaches English in a public primary school, he teaches the youngest children. He is 25 years old, so he is a beginner teacher. How much does he earn? $450 per month. This is really not a small thing, considering that the school covers her housing and meals. USD 450 is her take-home salary. Moreover, the school is located in the suburbs of a large metropolis, so all expenses there are basically half of those in Poland.

I see that white people have become popular in Shenzhen. I think that in a few years foreigners will be common in this metropolis (maybe not like in Hong Kong). I came to these conclusions because I see non-Chinese people more and more often in different parts of the city, recently there were three of us white people in one subway car. I remember 4 years ago outside the city center, beyond the border with Hong Kong and hotels, it was difficult to meet foreigners, and the Chinese looked at me like I was an alien. There were areas where they only saw white people on TV. It's different now. An old pimp asked me on the street at the border crossing, "Do you want a hooker?" Just a few years ago they only said "Miss?". Apparently, they have more and more global clients and they are learning languages. It's a pity that this is the case.