China in Fast Forward

In contrast to India in slow motion, both as a method of moving through a country and what the reality is like as far as progress in real time, we're now in the middle of a sometimes mind-boggling rush into the future here in China. Whoever thinks, as I did before coming, that China is an up-and-coming country is wrong. China is THERE! We haven't seen anything this bustling, modern and consumerist since the U.S. + Europe. Jianshui - A small, provincial capital - 700,000 people. Kunming - Capital of Yunnan Province, the less progressive southwestern corner of the country - 5 MILLION people. AND, they're shooting to DOUBLE by 2020! SCORES of cities you + I have never even HEARD of with over a million people. China sure looks geared to become THE power of this century. (Photo: Coming Soon, The NEW "Old Town".)

Kunming is a sight to behold - Skyscrapers galore on well-planned, tree-lined boulevards; Generous pedestrian plazas; High-end stores carrying all the chic, international brands + many of their own. At night, the city puts on an even MORE spectacular face with buildings bedecked in neon, jumbotrons + lights the likes of nothing I've ever seen.
(Photo: Lights, Camera, Action)


Fast forward to back in time... With all I'd heard of the destruction wrought by Mao's Cultural Revolution all the way through to the craze at which the current government is bulldozing all things old and building bigger and newer, things are changing VERY quickly here and not necessarily for the better. Even the historic "Old Towns" have not been spared in the name of "Progress" and have been, or are being, razed + replaced by brand-spanking-NEW Old Towns. It all sounds pretty grim doesn't it? Well, it's partly not as bad as it seems and partly worse. The Old Town in Jianshui was quite impressive in it's adherence to traditional style + employment of local artisans to hand-carve wood doors + screens and chisel stone pavers for the streets. Much nicer than most of the cheap, characterless construction in the States. BUT, seeing a place now like Lijiang that's COMPLETELY tainted their Old Town with hundreds, if not thousands, of trinket stalls + gimmicky eateries, all the preserved or restored architecture cannot redeem the soulless, packaged scene that this has become. What we're discovering is that if you want the "Real Deal" you have to get out of the noted tourist destinations and explore the villages, many of which are still intact and super-charming. On the four hour bus ride between Kunming + Dali alone I'd estimate we passed a hundred or more villages with brick or clay walls + tiled, peaked roofs. Many were on knolls, or encircled by walls, as they've been for centuries when they were built to withstand invaders. People were out harvesting the terraced fields, animals grazed, cypress-looking trees dotted the hills lending it all a Tuscan air. All this within sight of an expressway! NOT the China I'd imagined. Over time, all this modernity speeding by is sure to alter the way these people have lived for centuries. Already, there is electricity + satellite dishes and some of the traditional clothing is only worn for tourists sake. I keep wondering if these ancient people will be able to maintain + preserve what makes their particular tribe different from the neighboring, or will we all eventually become one big homogenized melting pot? (Photo: Views from bus window. A new expressway flanks ancient villages.)

Check the "link" for more current photos.