Monday, July 9, 2007

Look Out Venice!

After spending the night with a Chinese host family, the Chen's, I was taken to one of the water towns outside of Shanghai called Zhujiajiao. Seated next to me is their 18 year-old son Zhang Fan. Saturday night I christened Zhang Fan with a new English name, Francis, on account of his interest in writing essays (Bacon). We are shown in the bow of our formidable boat being powered from the stern by an oarsman.

China's emphasis on restoring its historical heritage is new. The tickets to all of the town's museums are adorned with less than perfect English translations. The museums themselves, while often air-conditioned and housed in nicely renovated houses, offer little in the way of knowledge and less in the way of English translations. Fortunately, my host Mr. Chen, as the CCP Secretary for our district of Shanghai's regional development, told me he would rectify this, as he is friends with the town's administrator.

This particular town contained: lots of little souvenir shops selling reproduction handicrafts; about ten mini-museums relating to silk, rice, postal service, pottery, vases; about forty very nice old stone bridges; a temple complex housing both Buddhist and Daoist altars (?); and some quaint narrow alleys. Apparently China has dozens of these kinds of towns on the historic waterways. As you go about 100 meters inland however, the modern suburbs immediately destroy the notion of historicism.

My host family was very gracious and I was grateful to be assigned to a family with a new car and not one but two well-furnished apartments in a fashionable development. In fact, as they picked me up from the university on Saturday, I experienced my first ride in a private Chinese automobile. This experience of whizzing past all of the dirty sidewalks and street vendors offerred quite a different perspective of China than my usual foot-powered locomotion. While we have significant differences between rich and poor in the US, I found myself awed by the unfamiliar feeling of clean leather seats and the convenience of driving in the city. When the family dropped me off on Sunday afternoon at our dormitory, I felt like a Prince being returned in a golden sedan chair and was actually hoping that some of my classmates might notice my stylish mode of transportation. Such has China affected my consciousness.

1 comment:

Eduardus Benedictus said...

Mr. Henderson, have you ever fraternized with or received gifts or favors from members of the communist party?

Are you now or have you ever been a member of the Communist party?

Only eternal vigilance can protect us against Communism and its infiltration into our way of life.