this post was submitted on 09 Dec 2024
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This was an awesome read. I might have a chance to go to China within the next few years and have been desperately trying to learn Mandarin beforehand. Itβs a lot harder than Japanese or Spanish but the challenge is awesome!
Interesting. To me, Japanese seems much more difficult. :P
I also have no idea how much of my experience is still applicable to modern China.
Back then China was really opening up to the West, eager to soak up everything new. It was still a sort of balancing act for the party (at the one hand, you could more openly criticize the party etc, but on the other you had stuff like the persecution of Falun Gong).
Beijing still had its old Hutongs, Hong Kong was still British and "bad mainland Chinese tourists", the "elbow" culture and flaunt of wealth/status weren't really a thing, yet.
Now China is turning inwards again. It'll have to weather some rough economical, social and political (external + internal) storms. And it's choosing the "nationalistic" and restrictive approach for that (which is pretty much the current West's approach/trajectory, mind you, but it's still sad to see).
But even so, I still love China. It really is a world of its own. You can meet hundreds of different cultures, see humble villages and mega cities, experience ancient traditions and cutting edge tech, travel through almost all climate zones, terrains/landscapes, flora and fauna -and still never leave its borders.