The goal of my visit to China was to witness the effects of rapid modernization on the Chinese count

1

• Introduction
• The goal of my visit to China was to witness the
  effects of rapid modernization on the Chinese
  countryside. Its well known by now that the
  major cities in China have become so modern that
  they make the infrastructures of former enviable
  futuristic cities such as New York and London
  seem archaic. But unlike the modernization of
  Beijing, Shanghai, and Hong Kong, the
  transformation in the countryside is not a
  product of simple capitalistic forces and the
  Chinese entrance into the market economy. Massive
  funding is arriving from the government in
  Beijing to central China to begin a process of
  modernization, which the governement hopes will
  mirror the economic successes on the east coast.
  The government fears that if central China does
  not catch up with the quality of life the wealthy
  easterners are enjoying, protests from peasants
  and farmers in central china will increase. And
  if food production is affected then the entire
  countrys economy could grind to a standstill.
• In their bid for equal living standards, in a
  system that is supposed to be equitable for all,
  but is seeing a major widening in the gap of the
  haves and have-nots, the government has
  introduced drastic measures aimed at short-term
  results. The environmental, physical, and
  cultural changes from such rapid, poorly planned,
  and often shortsighted modernization are already
  having cataclysmic effects on the people of the
  Chinese countryside. A speedy train ride now
  connects Beijing to Lhasa, Tibet, further
  strengthening Chinas stranglehold on the
  autonomous region. The Three Gorges Dam project
  is stopping the worlds third mightiest river in
  its tracks, and displacing millions in order to
  supply China with more non-coal-based energy. The
  centers of traditional Chinese cities, such as
  Chengdu and Kunming, are now converted into giant
  fashion mall outlets with wide boulevards, while
  side alleys (hutongs) and traditional markets are
  being reduced to rubble.
• My mission in the central Chinese cities was to
  look for these profound effects and the pressures
  they are putting on the Chinese people and their
  traditional ways. At the same time I strived to
  find traces leftover from the communist era and
  to see how pro-Western governments
  anti-communist pressures have left their mark on
  Chinese society. I took a route through central
  China to avoid the already westernized cities
  such as Shanghai, preferring to look for traces
  of the past and the evidence of big government
  spending projects that are modernizing the
  country. At the same time, these projects are
  paving over the ancient Chinese way of life and
  culture at a pace that in the next few decades
  will make China unrecognizable to those who have
  been its caretakers for the last several
  millenia.
•  

2

• Map of my journey through China

3

• Crossing into China from Vietnam at a
  little-used border, at least by tourists anyway.
  For the first three days upon crossing I saw no
  westerners nor talked to anybody who spoke a word
  of English. Not speaking a word of a countrys
  language is tough but not even being able to
  sound out the syllables is fatal. I was basically
  a deaf mute for my first few days, relying only
  on hand signals.

4

• In the 1950s, the government attempted to
  implement a Romantization of the language,
  calling the script Pinyin, which changed the
  traditional Chinese characters to roman text, but
  it didnt stick. Pinyin is used even less now
  than ever before. As Chinese nationalism
  increases, Pinyin seems to be on the decline,
  making it even tougher for those who dont speak
  Mandarin to travel in China.

5

• Traveling from the southwest on a rickety road,
  which takes twelve hours to go 200 kilometers.
  The road is being transformed into an elevated
  super highway that will improve goods
  transportation throughout the region, increase
  international trade in the area and drastically
  reduce driving times. These super highways are
  popping up all over China. Unfortunately this
  highway was not yet finished so the ride is still
  a rough, windy, potholed, half-day affair,
  inducing the majority of the bus riders to
  develop a rare disease called vomititus.

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• The countryside may be rural but rest assured
  every possible centimeter of arable land is being
  cultivated for food production, whether in the
  southwest or any other part of the country.

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• Especially along rivers, factories of dubious
  environmental standard are ubiquitous, making
  everything from chemicals to cars.

8

•  
• Most modernized sections of even rural and
  remote Chinese cities could easily be mistaken
  for western cities, especially in the southwest
  and center of the country, where the government
  projects are attempting to boost economic growth
  to even the earning potential of the west and
  east of the country. Most city centers and their
  sparkling new infrastructures make US cities look
  like a crumbling messes.

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• However, China is effectively one big demolition
  and construction project. All over every city,
  buildings are constantly being leveled to pave
  the way for progress. Speaking of pave, China
  purportedly uses 60 of the worlds concrete,
  which shows how much construction is taking place
  at the moment in the their massive countrywide
  building spree. Fortunately, they produce 40 of
  the worlds concrete as well.

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• Despite all the urbanization, Chinas traditions
  thrive if one pays close attention. Some ladies
  recreate by practicing tai chi in a local park in
  Kunming in southwest China.

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• Newer, modern, high-rise architecture
  supplanting old traditional style is commonplace
  everywhere in China.

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• The rest of the world has woken up to Chinas
  up-and-coming first-world status. For quite a
  while now it has been no secret that Chinas
  booming economy would lead to a higher standing
  on the worlds economic stage. This boom means
  that daily many more wealthy citizens are being
  added to the first-worlds economy. The Thai
  government woos a Chinese town with a festival
  advertising tourism to Thailand, attempting to
  lure them and their tourist Yuan there.

13

•  
• Universities recruit Chinese students for
  tertiary education. At the exhibition, Thai
  universities see the potential for the many well
  educated Chinese students to mutually benefit
  both Thailand and China by studying at Thai
  universities.

14

• Bucking a global trend, internet cafes are
  becoming increasingly rare in China, as the
  government shuts them down in an effort to
  control information flow to the population. At
  least 30,000 government workers are employed to
  control the Great Firewall of China, blocking
  about 10 of websites, including the BBC Network,
  and until recent demands by the International
  Olympia Committee as part of hosting the
  Olympics, Wikipedia. Unbelievably, my own website
  was blocked in China, even before the posting of
  this photojournal. Other than in guest houses, it
  is very rare to find an internet cafe, much less
  a group of computers that are connected to the
  web. The formula seems to be the following one
  computer in a building is okay, two is suspicious
  and three conspiritous.

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•  
• In cities one doesnt have to look far to find
  Chinese patriotism or communist reminders.

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•  
• It is also no secret that China has opened up to
  western tastes. The Colonel from Kentucky looks
  on at a historical gate in Kunming.

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•  
• Meanwhile, the golden arches eclipse the citys
  former most important arch now merely a gateway
  to the past.

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•  
• The state-owned media unabashedly touts their
  party lines by posting the daily newspaper in
  public for all to see, complete with pro-Chinese,
  anti-western headlines.

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• A sign of wealth even the veggie-stand vendors
  can afford suits.

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• An ancient pagoda fights a losing battle for
  skyline importance against a mobile phone tower
  in an increasingly technologically modernized
  society.

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• High-rise skyscrapers line every major citys
  skyline.

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•  
• As Chinese individual wealth increases, so do
  their opportunities. Groups of Chinese tourists
  at sites around the country are much more common
  than foreigners.

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•  
• In many cities it is difficult to find traces of
  the old neighborhoods and alleyways (hutongs).
  Most have been plowed over and replaced by
  high-rise apartments or mega shopping centers.

24

•  
• Traditional architectural neighborhoods in
  cities have become so rare that most any that are
  left now function as tourist traps.

25

• School children are trained to behave in a
  highly regimented, almost militaristic fashion,
  chanting and partaking in many patriotic-style
  activities.

26

•  
• Especially in cities, the sight of tribal or
  ethnic minorities is rare. Most are confined to
  the countryside.

27

• Like anywhere else in the world, the freedom to
  sit and do absolutely nothing is widely exercised
  in China.

28

• On the outskirts of cities, three segments of
  modern society compete for acreage new
  construction, factories, and production from
  agriculture, which is rapidly being forced
  outward from the cities.

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• In many towns, foreign tourists are so rare that
  kids will crowd around and practice the few
  English words they know. Some just run away,
  embarrassed by the sign of a foreigner. But most
  are interested enough to stick around for some
  cultural exchange.

30

•  
• Although most of these commuters are using
  bicycles, gridlock on streets is and increasing
  problem, as more Chinese can now afford cars,
  adding to dire transportation conditions and
  deplorable pollution.

31

• Mao Ze Dong, the former influential Chinese
  leader, is commonly honored in public plazas.

32

•  
• Neon billboards barrage the passerby in
  consumer areas.

33

• A typical storefront in a central business
  district, pumped full of government money to
  increase modernization, in a central Chinese
  city. This store, like its thousands of copycat
  counterparts, has does a great job pushing the
  materialism that comes with western style and
  culture.

34

•  
• Most cities become a neon light show of
  advertising once the sun goes down.

35

• Non-renewable waste has become a major problem
  in China, with so many disposable products now on
  the market due to their cheap ability to be
  manufactured - especially plastics. China also
  produces billions of disposable chopsticks every
  year, which clear out thousands of kilometers of
  forest. This truck collects cardboard and
  disposable plastic containers, likely bound for a
  recycling plant. However most plastics end up
  polluting the waterways or the diminishingly
  pristine countryside.

36

•  
• A rare find a traditional section of a city,
  unaffected by modernizations plaguing most
  cities. This district in Chongqing has so far
  been spared, due to its steep geography along the
  Yangtze River bank making it difficult for
  high-rise construction.

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• The old districts, rarer and rarer, provide a
  glimpse into the past and the activities of
  everyday life in China.

38

• Many old-style shops still exist in aging
  neighborhoods. No flashy music or mini-mall with
  air-conditioned atmosphere to welcome the
  increasingly materialistic locals. Just simple
  stores selling pottery or signs or bowls of
  noodles. This sight will soon be a figment of the
  past.

39

• The traditional way of life continues, especially
  among the elderly. A board game in a park.

40

•  
• An outdoor barber shop in the same park.

41

• But just blocks sway the culture is whitewashed
  by high-rises.

42

• The old city walls of Xian, built when it served
  as the capital of the Chinese empire.

43

• The Terracotta Warriors are a link to Chinas
  past. Over 2000 years old, they represent the
  unification of China under a great ruler, Qin,
  who was buried in the worlds largest ever
  mausoleum, some 60 square kilometers. The
  warriors were constructed by hand and buried
  along with him to protect him in his afterlife.
  Lost for 2000 years, they were discovered by a
  farmer digging a well in 1974. They are one of
  the greatest archeological finds of all time, as
  they shed much light on Chinas, and all of
  central Asias, past.

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• There are tens of thousands of life-size
  warriors guarding the tomb of Emperor Qin.

45

• No two warriors are alike, differing in the
  clothes they wear, to the facial features, to
  even their shoes. At this point only a small
  percentage of the warriors have been uncovered
  and restored (several thousand) but it is still
  an awe-inspiring sight to behold.

46

• Despite a deserved reputation for persecution of
  non-Han cultures throughout its unified history,
  various groups have existed moderately peacefully
  in Chinese society for centuries. Muslims arrived
  in China via the Silk Road as early as the 10th
  century. They can be found in cities along the
  old Silk Road route, which runs through south and
  central China. Over time they have mostly
  integrated into Chinese culture but still hold
  onto various aspects of faith, culture, and
  fabulous food, making many cities a smorgasbord
  of culinary delight.

47

•   The end of the Silk Road and former capital of
  China for most of its history, Xian has an
  amazing mix of archeological history and
  long-distance cultural exchange. The mix of
  cultures exchanged spices, silk, fine porcelain,
  gold, and ethnicities. But for me the most
  important bestowment of the ancient Chinese trade
  routes is a fabulous palate of food to each
  region. The walled city contains an active Muslim
  quarter that makes Xian one of the most rewarding
  culinary experiences in China.

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• Chinese food is simply amazing, drawing from so
  many culinary schools and centuries of cultural
  influences. I believe an ancient Chinese proverb
  proclaims You will never dip your chopsticks
  into the same bowl of noodles twice. At least in
  my experience, each one is different.

49

• Regional food specialties abound, such as the
  Sichuan hotpot (huo gao). Hotpot is cooked by the
  diner over an open flame in a spicy broth.
  Vegetables and meats are boiled in a fiery pepper
  sauce and dipped into a vinegary mixture before
  consumption. Just one of many culinary delights
  throughout the country.

50

• Fortunately not all the cheep street food stalls
  have been swept under the rug by officials eager
  to set up strip malls with chains of nearly
  identical fast food eateries.

51

• A kebab alley in Beijing serves up some of its
  finest seahorse (illegal), snake, silkworm and
  seafood skewers, to name just a few.

52

• A cruise down the Yangtze into the Three Gorges
• I took a river trip down the Yangtze, the third
  longest river in the world, to view where the
  government is bringing the power of the river
  under control by constructing a dam, the worlds
  largest and Chinas most ambitious architectural
  project since the Great Wall. The dam will
  generate as much hydroelectric power as nine
  nuclear power plants. It will flood an area
  behind it thousands of square kilometers in area,
  displacing millions, who will have to relocate in
  order to survive. Many of these people have made
  the cradle of Chinese civilization their home for
  millennia. Besides cracks already forming in the
  dams massive structure, there are many
  environmental hazards associated with stopping
  the flow of such a massive river system, just one
  of which is that it will lead to deoxygenation of
  the water, stagnation, and essentially a giant
  cesspool of waste behind the dam. River species
  will die off and the water will be so polluted
  that it will be mostly unusable for human
  activity.

53

• This factory, still in operation, will likely
  be forced to close its doors and this town
  abandoned once the waters rise to their final
  height.

54

• Countless anthropological and archeological
  treasures, such as these ancient engraved symbols
  in the rock, will be covered by the water.
  Chinese archeologists and historians are doing
  what they can to relocate these marks of cultural
  heritage, but it is impossible to find and move
  millennia worth of materials in just a few years.
  Its estimated that up to 90 of the ancient
  relics that lie below the waters eventual high
  point will be forever concealed in a watery tomb.

55

• Towns are in various degrees of abandonment,
  possibly waiting on the government to help them
  in their process of relocation, as was originally
  promised. This one looks mostly abandoned.

56

• On the hillside, a marker shows the level the
  water will eventually reach when backed up behind
  the dam. These ubiquitous markers serve as a
  warning to those who havent yet moved, that the
  time is near.

57

• Next stop a Wal-Mart near you? A great
  percentage of Chinese goods are manufactured in
  factories on the banks of the Yangtze and then
  shipped to maritime ports downriver for worldwide
  distribution. 70 of shipping China takes place
  on this river route.

58

• Many of he bigger cities have already relocated
  higher up the river banks, leaving ample space
  for the water to rise.

59

• Again, markers show the waters inevitable
  ascent.

60

• One of the greatest tragedies will be the loss
  of beauty in the Three Gorges area, a geological
  masterpiece carved by the river over eons.
  Because this is the steepest and narrowest area
  of the Yangtze, the Three Gorges will show the
  most marked change on their geography and lose
  many of their awe-inspiring views.

61

• Yet another sign showing the waters eventual
  height. Waterfront property or a submerged house?
  Only time will tell.

62

• Peasants have depended on this land for food
  production for millennia, relying on its fertile
  silt, which drains from the Tibetan steppe, for
  cultivating their crops. As is, these farmers
  barely scrape by, as seen by this precariously
  terraced rice paddy. A question China will need
  to address when the waters rise, how will the
  common river man maintain his livelihood?

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• A soon-to-be ghost town.

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• Another Major concern is environmental. This dam
  will effectively stop the flow of water on the
  upper Yangtze, disallowing the pollutants from
  factories and major cities to make their way
  downriver to the ocean. What will be stuck behind
  the dam, besides the farmers, precious,
  crop-growing silt, is a pool of water that has
  been lovingly described by some as the worlds
  largest toilet.

65

• Beijing and Beyond Northeast China

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• The Forbidden City, one of Beijings great
  attractions, was quite bland to me when compared
  to the architecture of other palace complexes
  Ive seen around the globe. Perhaps Communism is
  to blame for the rather blasé, uninspired
  designs. After seeing the lack of originality and
  complexity in its construction, I felt the city
  would be more interesting if it was still
  forbidden to tourists.

67

• As predicted, Mao dominates the facades of many
  walls in Beijing.

68

• A fine example of a hutong, or traditional
  Chinese alleyway. These normally animated
  residential areas were the centerpiece of
  traditional Beijing life before the slowly
  creeping in of westernization began to leave its
  mark.

69

• The hutongs near Tiananmen Square are being
  leveled at an unbelievable pace, probably to
  sharpen the citys Olympic image. One night I
  went shopping on a local street, full of thriving
  businesses, and the next night that street was
  closed, slated for destruction. Likewise, a
  friend told me the hutong of the hotel I had
  stayed at, upon his return to Beijing a week
  later, was unrecognizable. The saddest part of
  the destruction of the traditional buildings is
  the cardboard cutout remaking of the alleyways,
  presumably to make them more palatable to Western
  tastes.

70

• No matter where one goes in central Beijing,
  guards are in charge of your wrongs and your
  rights. They are surprisingly relaxed toward
  tourists at the moment however, it will be
  interesting to see how they handle the throngs of
  humanity thrown at them in just a few short
  months during the Olympics.

71

• Practicing for the Olympic Games Opening
  Ceremonies.

72

• The Great Wall of China is just as impressive as
  often described, but we happened to arrive on a
  day with nearly freezing temperatures and winds
  that chilled even our guide to the bone. We
  purposely visited a less-touristy area of the
  wall, to see it in a non-restored condition and
  to avoid the long lines of tourists. The wall is
  an impressive testament to human accomplishment
  and an important reminder of what massive forced
  labor is capable of.

73

• The train ride out of northeast China, into
  Mongolia, after entering through the southwest,
  was a fascinating way to watch the terrain
  change. From rainforest in the southwest to the
  Gobi Desert in the northeast, China is a large
  enough country to contain a little bit of
  everything, landscape wise.

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• Over hours and hours of track into Inner
  Mongolia, plants became scarce, as we headed
  toward the dry Gobi and the village-less
  wastelands of Central Asia.

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• Occasional towns slid by, which were probably
  outposts for Chinese government or mineral
  production, based on their lack of character and
  repetitive housing.

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• Eventually I reached Outer Mongolia, a different
  country altogether, and the Gobi Desert.

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• Map of my journey through China

78

• Conclusion
• China, like all rapidly industrializing nations,
  is at a major crossroads in its history. With
  the onset of capitalism, the government has
  finally ceded some economic control to the people
  a path toward economic freedom down which many
  nations have never returned. The government must
  understand that by relinquishing financial
  control they are some ways setting the population
  free. However, freedom of information, press,
  speech, and religion to some extent, are still
  tightly controlled. Political freedom is,
  likewise, unheard of at this point. With rapid
  modernization and the opening up of the country
  for tourists and the Olympics, China faces a
  never-before-seen level of transparency
  concerning its government and its stances on
  human rights, the environment, and other
  contentious issues of the 21st century. If its
  modernization the government wants, they are
  going to struggle to maintain their stranglehold
  on the freedoms that come with the economic
  advancements in society. Like other communist
  countries that have slowly moved towards
  capitalism, China is an enormous butterfly, about
  to spread its wings. But as the saying goes, the
  flapping of a butterflys wings on one side of
  the world could lead to a hurricane on the other
  side. This statement could not be more literally
  taken than in the case of rapidly modernizing
  China, whose decisions in the coming decades will
  affect every living creature on the planet in
  ways impossible to predict at the moment.

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• This concludes the photojournal. Please follow
  the signs to to the exit.
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