China, Part 5

I've been here 2 weeks. I found out this weekend last that I have 4 more weeks to go.

Last week I wanted to see some history. Shenzhen is, however, not a city with history. Well, at least, it's not a city with an obvious palpable history. About 30 years ago some financial wizards decided to make Shenzhen, at the time a small fishing village, an international business metropolis. I don't know the specifics but given it's proximity to Hong Kong, I wonder if it was a competitive move.

What this has meant for me is that as far as the eye can see out of my lovely 5-star executive hotel room, there are tall buildings interspersed with small buildings. Roads, streets, metro subway systems, cars, everything a major city usually has. Even parks, trees lining sidewalks, golf courses...all perfectly manicured and styled to be "appealing to the discerning eye". Everything is as one would expect it to be. Everything is sterile. There is no life, on the surface.

To see "life", or the heart and soul inside the city, you have to peek inbetween the buildings. You have to look around corners, walk on the streets inbetween the nice English-translated street signs.

When you do this you get a glimpse of how the non-financial wizards are living. You also get a glimpse of what they think about others. I've been hollered at, cat-called, sneered at, glared at and shoved aside so many times I've lost count. At first I thought it was a culture difference. But I don't think so. If I walk around a place where the majority of the people have a decent income (they're dressed well, they carry nice bags and have clean, new shoes, etc.) I don't get this treatment. As soon as I step into a more low-income area, the entire vibe changes.

Nonetheless, I'm still seeking the hidden culture in Shenzhen. I found the remains of an old city in Nantou, in the Nanshan district, where there were amazing old structures from the 1300s dropped sporadically between larger apartment buildings that had noodle houses at the bottom floor, where a very thin man would be tossing, twisting and spinning dough to make long noodles. Or a small vagrant dog would sleep on the steps of a buddhist temple, occasionally looking up at me, then away in disinterest.

I wish Shenzhen had more of this. The executive-style room is just not what I'm used to. Walking everywhere is. Taking the subway instead of a taxi is. Walking around a park instead of driving by it while talking on my cell phone is. For someone like me who is desperately trying to learn Mandarin and learn about the Chinese culture, this town is a prison.

This weekend I got out of my prison to visit Hong Kong. My cousin lives there, and I spent the weekend hiking in the hills, soaking up the rays at the Marina club and swimming in the Repulse Bay beach. I loved it, but still feel like something's missing. I've travelled across the Pacific ocean, and I feel like I haven't experienced much that was different.

Part of this is my own fault. I haven't been learning Mandarin fast enough, so I can't talk to anyone. I can't take a cab to Dapeng Fortress (a Ming dynasty fortress that I'm dying to see, but it's 55km away with no ties to public transport). When I go to new, non-touristy places I get lost very quickly and have trouble finding my way back, because the streets that are away from tourists are only in Chinese characters, and no one speaks English.

I think the other part is where I am. I think that even if I spoke fluent Mandarin, I would be disappointed in Shenzhen for being so "Los Angeles". For tearing down and rebuilding instead of preserving and building around or above. For not respecting old ways and insisting that new ways were superior. I'm spoiled I think in living in San Francisco. Old buildings are kept, people still live in apartments from the 1920's, and in that sense it's almost European. I think that if the big earthquake hadn't happened in SF, people would still be living in homes that would be much, much older.

So I'm trying to remedy this by making plans to visit Shanghai. I know it's a modern city, but I also know that there are some areas of historical interest that have been preserved. I know there is a history and a culture and a life there that is so very Chinese, and I want to experience it. I'm also planning to visit Taiwan to see what has gone on there as well.

And, I'm still plugging away at Mandarin. I think it's silly to expect others to know how to speak your language if you're the one coming to their country.

And for the short-term, I have "Lost in Translation" ready to watch as soon as I'm done with this post, for a little sympathetic comfort.