China at a Glance

By Stephanie

China was a very different experience from Japan. In no way can you compare the two countries as they are so different and unique. First, China is gargantuan in size. Coming from Canada you wouldn’t think this wasn’t that big a deal, but the enormous population makes everything you do an experience.

We decided that it would be fun to take a high speed train from Beijing to Shanghai. It was cheaper than a plane and we would be able to see the Chinese countryside. We were really looking forward to this. However, the train station was unbelievably overwhelming before we even got on the train. Our guide stayed with us until we went through the gate, but my goodness there was so much shoving!!! The train station was packed and we were in a horde trying to get through gate twelve. As soon as the gate opened it was mass pandemonium shoving to get through the gate. Then more shoving to get to the escalator first. Once on the platform I thought people would calm down, but they were shoving and running to get to their car. The part that I really didn’t understand was why were we shoving and racing when we all had assigned seating, just like on an airplane. I’m not very good with mass pushing and I just don’t understand why it was happening, but this was the norm and I was just in the way.

In my last post I talked about my love of the hygienic toilets of Japan. Let’s just say it isn’t the same here. The majority of public toilets here are squat toilets. Toilet paper, if there is any, is one role at the door near the sinks. On the first day I forgot to pack tissues and/or toilet paper. I was not happy. Let’s change the subject.

The Great Wall of China is phenomenal. It was truly a once in a lifetime experience that I am ridiculously happy to have had. We went to the Juyongguan Pass and climbed the stairs to Fortress #12. The rush of standing on top of the mountain on the Great Wall of China was beyond awesome. This was the number one reason I wanted to go to Beijing. It was absolutely worth the trip and I still have a silly grin on my face when I think about the fact that little ol’ me has walked/climbed the Great Wall of China. I feel like you haven’t seen the world until you have been to the Great Wall.

Social Media in China has to pass The Great Chinese Firewall. This left us lacking entertainment. As TV channels are all in Chinese except for one news station in English. This left us with our digital devices for entertainment. We uploaded WeChat to use for communication with Airbnb hosts, but the Chinese use it like Facebook and Applepay all wrapped in one. For us, we weren’t able to use anything driven by Google, Yahoo, Facebook, Messenger, YouTube or Netflix. That left us with iMessage and our email accounts. I’d hate to say we’re addicted to social media, but we were lonely without anything in English during down time.  

As we travelled through China, our children had their own paparazzi. The Chinese people love to take photos of foreigners. Both girls were quite popular, but Hope’s dimples and curly “honey coloured” hair were a very popular photo op. Many people would ask for a photo and once the first person was taking the photo we’d discover a line up forming for more people. It was kind of fun to start with, but would sometimes become quite overwhelming and we would have to just end it and walk away. Raya loved being “famous” but Hope would quickly become uncomfortable and ask if she was allowed to say no. We started taking pictures of the people taking pictures of our own kids.

We didn’t plan to be in China for the National Holiday, but our scheduled tour landed during the holiday. We had a great time in Beijing, but when we travelled to Shanghai it as beyond crowded. Every tourist destination was shoulder to shoulder. Shopping districts we slowed to a shuffle as the millions made their way through. Our guide kept checking that we were watching our children carefully and the girls were frustrated by being reined in so tightly to us. Thankfully the crowds disappeared after the holiday and we repeated a few locations in Shanghai to better appreciate the area. 

China was an incredible experience and we’re glad we went. However, we aren’t afraid to say that it was overwhelming. When the time came to move on we were ready. It’s a country of kind people and a rich history and we’re glad it was part of our journey.