Rediscovering China

February 15, 2010

China has turned into a tourist destination—for the Chinese.

Before Nixon visited China, the country was surrounded by an invisible bamboo curtain. It’s citizens were not allowed to travel far—even from their homes. In September and October 2008, there were so many Chinese tourists, that we were the minority.

Sedan Chairs Waiting to Climb the Dragon's Back

The Dragon’s Back is in Southeast China near Vietnam. After our bus climbed a narrow, winding mountain road, we reached a parking lot. For a few yuan, we gained entry and men with iron legs were willing to carry us to the top in sedan chairs. We walked.

The construction of the Longi Rice Terraces started during the Yuan Dynasty (1271 – 1368). Today, many Zhuan and Yao ethnic people live simple lives that honor the laws of nature. China’s central government encourages that life.

A hundred feet further, vendor’s stalls lined both sides of the road. It was China’s market economy in action reminding me of Disneyland and the shops that sold trinkets no one needs.

Halfway to the top, we reached a village built on stilts clinging to the mountain. The steep slopes were terraced to grow rice. Since it was mid afternoon, we stopped to eat local rice cooked in sections of bamboo on a hot bed of coals.

Cleaning Home Grown Rice Safe from the Sun

Mao’s Cultural Revolution ended decades in the past, and China is moving on while time seems to stand still on the Dragon’s Back.

See About iLook China

Lloyd Lofthouse is the author of the award winning novels My Splendid Concubine and Our Hart.

1 Comment | China, environment, government, tourism | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , | Permalink
Posted by Lloyd Lofthouse

Foreign Devil Heroes

February 13, 2010

One morning recently, I had an instant message chat with Ian Carter, an Australian living in Southeast China, and learned that in 1944 an American B-24 Liberator bomber vanished without a trace. Then fifty-two years later, in 1996, farmers discovered the bomber’s wreck and the remains of the ten-man crew.

Tough Titi - B-24 bomber crew

These Americans are considered heroes (more about this story here) to the Chinese, and the remains of the crew were returned to the United States for burial. 

Heroes' Memorial on Mao'er Shan Mountain courtesy of Ian Carter

There’s a memorial stone near the crash site and Chinese tourists pay honor to these Americans by leaving flowers and other gifts.  To honor these heroes further, the Chinese recovered some of the bomber’s parts that were used as a centrepiece for a museum in Xing’an, about four hours from the crash site.

Photo of Little Cat Mountain courtesy of Ian Carter

You can read more about Ian Carter’s discovery on Mao’er Shan (Little Cat Mountain), Southern China’s highest peak, at his Blog.

Lloyd Lofthouse is the author of the award winning novels My Splendid Concubine and Our Hart.

1 Comment | America, China, Chinese Culture, government, tourism | Tagged: , , , , , , , | Permalink
Posted by Lloyd Lofthouse

China’s Fast Track Growth

February 13, 2010

Here’s more evidence that Robert Hart and Jack London were right when they predicted that China would be a super power again. These two Western men spent time in China, got to know the culture and realized the potential of the Chinese people.

Bullet trains, something the United States doesn’t have due to the national debt and partisanship between political parties more interested in who packs the pork barrel than running the country efficiently, have raced into China providing jobs for hundreds of thousands of Chinese and a faster, fuel efficient way to get around.

With the Lunar New Year and more Chinese traveling home than the population of Russia, another, fast, energy efficient means of public transportation was needed.  When the economy collapsed under President George W. Bush due to real estate, banks and Wall Street greed, the Democrats and Republican’s started pointing fingers at each other and throwing more debt around.

In China, where debt does not rule and the savings rate is 40%, instead of arguing and tossing blame about, the Chinese started working. Is this evidence that one political party is more efficient than two?

My thanks to Ian Carter for bringing the Chinese bullet trains to my attention–visit his Blog to “see” more of China, or discover why China is Studying Singapore

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Lloyd Lofthouse is the award-winning author of My Splendid Concubine [3rd edition]. When you love a Chinese woman, you marry her family and culture too. This is the love story Sir Robert Hart did not want the world to discover.

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1 Comment | America, business, China, Chinese Culture, environment, government, politics, tourism | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Permalink
Posted by Lloyd Lofthouse

Doing Business in China

February 7, 2010

I’ve talked to an American doing business in China who was frustrated with the process while another American like Bob Grant wrote I Like the Chinese People.

 After all, Bill Gates Went to China. It seems many American businessmen are getting along better with the Chinese than the Western media and politicians. When’s the last time you heard something nice about China from the Western media or an American politician?  For some reason, China has become a scapegoat turning the attention of the American people away from the problems we have in the United States.

 In the meantime, General Motors and Ford are doing great in China while they are struggling in the debt ridden United States. The Chinese love American cars. The Chinese also seem to have a passion for McDonald’s, Pizza Hut, KFC and Starbucks.

Starbucks in China

 Wal-Mart is in China too.

 If America wants to get along better with the Chinese government, we should turn businessmen like Bill Gates or Bob Grant into diplomats.

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Lloyd Lofthouse is the award-winning author of the concubine saga, My Splendid Concubine & Our Hart. When you love a Chinese woman, you marry her family and culture too. 

If you want to subscribe to iLook China, there is a “Subscribe” button at the top of the screen in the menu bar.

2 Comments | America, American culture, China, Chinese Culture, economy, politics, tourism | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , | Permalink
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Why China is Studying Singapore – Part 3/3

February 6, 2010

In the 2010, January, National Geographic Magazine, there was a feature about Singapore that said, “the per capital income for its 3.7 million citizens exceeds that of many European countries, the education and health systems rival anything in the West, government officials are largely corruption free, 90 percent of households own their own homes, taxes are relatively low and sidewalks are clean (and safe), and there are no visible homeless people or slums.”

Singapore beach scene

When was the last time you heard the Western media or an American politician criticize Singapore’s government?  Probably never.

There’s a reason for that. Singapore is a strong US ally and an English-speaking city-state.

It makes sense that China should want to model their economic and political system after another country with similar values and a stronger and more stable economy than the United States. The Chinese, like the Singaporeans, save money too. When the world economy collapsed while George W. Bush lived in the White House, China had a few trillion dollars in reserve with no national debt, and the Chinese people work harder and save more money than any other country.

Compare that to the United States and you will know why China’s role model is Singapore—not the United States of America. Now, see what a traveler said about Singapore.

Return to Part 2 of Why China is Studying Singapore

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Lloyd Lofthouse is the award-winning author of the concubine saga, My Splendid Concubine & Our Hart. When you love a Chinese woman, you marry her family and culture too. 

If you want to subscribe to iLook China, there is a “Subscribe” button at the top of the screen in the menu bar.

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