Week 9 - Cultural (24/03/12)

This week Andrew and I had the opportunity to travel to Guangzhou, which is the capital and largest city of the Guangdong province in the People’s Republic of China. It is also the third largest city in China and is home to around 12.78 million people, including four fellow Stranmillis students, Keith, Dan, Dani and Sophie. Our main agenda for our trip to Guangzhou was to spend some time with the guys and see how they have settled in, as well as experience life in Mainland China, in order to see the similarities or differences between it and Hong Kong and discover why the principle "one country, two systems" exists. 

Although we have lived in Hong Kong for over two months, which is part of the People’s Republic of China, we were still very unaware of what to expect from our visit due to the principle above and so I was a little apprehensive towards the start of our journey. This apprehension was greatly increased with our first encounter with mainland China, as I was stopped at immigrations, trying to explain why we were crossing the border to an officer who spoke little English, while Andrew was ushered on through. Thankfully, after a few confused and then sympathetic looks, I was allowed to enter Mainland China to officially begin our adventure - definitely a little more complex than crossing the border at home. We then boarded a train to Guangzhou East, where we had agreed to meet the guys, as they very kindly offered to share their university accommodation with us for the five days that we planned to stay. 

On board the Pearl River Cruise.

My first impressions of Guangzhou, were completely opposite to how I had first perceived a place in Mainland China would be. Quite naively I was expecting many rice fields and little wooden huts, however Guangzhou is very similar in many ways to Hong Kong. There are many colossal skyscrapers, a huge variety of shops and the train systems are equally as developed. I was also unaware that the variety of western food would be on similar standards with that which we experience in Hong Kong, as every few metres there was a McDonalds or a Starbucks. On the Saturday night, I was especially surprised as we were taken to one of the largest all-you-can-eat buffets in China, which housed food from countries all over the world. It’s safe to say that we definitely were not peckish after our meal. 

Our Motor-taxi transport to the buffet.

Although, we only stayed for five days, it was also obvious that there are many contrasting elements of these two regions. One of the biggest differences between Hong Kong and Guangzhou would be the composition of the multicultural population. In Hong Kong, it is not surprising to come across a large number of people from a variety of different national backgrounds, however it was obvious from the number of people stopping their daily lives to take photographs and videos on their cameras and even approach us for autographs. This to me was very surreal and even though the other Stranmillis students had warned us what to expect, at times I still felt very uncomfortable, unlike Andrew who was gladly soaking up the additional public attention. 

Another difference that became clear to us nearly as soon as we got off the train in Guangzhou East, was the contrast in the general cleanliness of the streets. Everyday, Hong Kong employs around 3800 men and women to keep the streets and surrounding areas clean, which both Andrew and I completely took for granted, as the conditions of the streets here are impeccable. 

An additional factor, which I especially took for granted was the western toilet that you can so frequently find in Hong Kong. This was definitely not the case in Guangzhou, as traditionally Chinese women prefer to use a squat style toilet so that they won’t come in contact with any germs that may exist on toilet seats, even to the extent that they may choose to stand on a western toilet seat and squat.

Common Chinese squat style toilet.

Sign found in many toilets.

These past number of days spent in China, have given both Andrew and I a sense of what the other Stranmillis students are experiencing everyday and it has been so interesting to encounter the cultural similarities and differences between Mainland China and Hong Kong. Although there are many similarities, it is clear to see that the principal “one country, two systems” definitely applies to our adventure in China, even in relation to the language that is most frequently used. On our final day in Guangzhou, we were able to join the guys as they attended their language class, in which they learn how to speak Mandarin and write in Chinese. After the three hour long class, it became apparent to both Andrew and I that we actually could speak more Mandarin than Cantonese, the official Chinese language used in Hong Kong. This is something we hope to change, as we become more and more culturally immersed in our surroundings, which is Hong Kong.

Practicing some Chinese symbols.

On a more personal note, we absolutely loved spending time with Sophie, Dani, Keith and Dan, as we got to celebrate the boys 21st birthday, enjoy loads of great food, thrills at a theme park and on the back of a motor-taxi, as well as relaxing with a foot massage and squeezing in some time for sunbathing...the perfect weekend and we are very much looking forward to the next, as they visit Hong Kong in April. 

Andrew and Dan enjoying their massage.

Enjoying the rides at Chimelong Paradise Theme Park.

21st birthday celebrations with the locals.