| |
China has many thousands of years of history behind it. The stories and tales are passed from each generation to the next. Stories about the people, the land, the government, Chinese heroes: the list goes on and on.
Below you will find discussions between students from various schools in Calgary and McLean Masuch, an MT student from the University of Calgary.
Please select from one of the conversations.
- Are there any stories about the SARS outbreak?
- How did the Chinese government deal with the problems caused by SARS?
- What is the Chinese Communist government like?
- What is the story behind the fire that broke out that killed many lives?
- Who is considered a "hero" in China?
- When people go to China, what do they usually look for? What are the main attractions?
| Q: Are there any stories about the SARS outbreak? |
| |
| A: In regards to SARS, I think that disease really had a big impact on the lives of the Chinese. They have begun an ambitious program to try to change some of the unclean things that some people do. In the bigger cities this means more places to dispose of rubbish and an education program to get people to be more aware of any illness that they may be feeling and to get checked out by a doctor. This was really prevalent in Hong Kong, where many people died of the disease. There are signs all over the place telling people to get checked out if they have a cough or any signs of fever. I think that the cleanliness program is one of the reasons that Hong Kong was such a clean city. |
| |
|
| |
| Q: How did the Chinese government deal with the problems caused by SARS? |
| |
| A: I just wanted to add one thing in regards to the issue of SARS. I think that the Chinese government learned alot as a result of the problems that they experienced because of SARS. When the Bird Flu broke out here, the government was a lot more open and helpful that they were with SARS. I think that they learned the value of sharing information with other nations, as well as the importance of working quickly to stop the spread of the disease. |
| |
|
| |
| Q: What is the Chinese Communist government like? |
| |
| A: I think that the government has done many things that we in the west consider to be bad, but we also have to look at our own actions and realize that we too do some things that we regret. No one really knows much about the inner workings of the government. It is highly secretive and highly bureaucratic. No one from the West really knows what goes on behind the closed doors. Although there are many faults that you could point out, you can also criticize many western governments. So at this time I would like to refrain from saying anything negative about the government. One thing is for certain. They do not seem to be a very confrontational government which is a very good thing because the country is very powerful. |
| |
|
| |
| Q: What is the story behind the the fire that broke out that killed many lives? |
| |
| A; I just wanted to take a momment to make a quick comment on the fires that recently took the lives of nearly one hundred people. Sometimes the buildings in China are poorly constructed. They do not always follow the same type of laws that builders in Canada have to follow. As well, space is a very precious commodity in China. They do not have the amount of land avaliable to them that we have in Canada. As a result, they need to build structures very high to make the most out of the space they have. On top of that, they try to pack as much into every floor as they can. The result is very unsafe conditions; overcrowded, without properly marked and visible exits, and little means of evacuating the premises in the unfortunate event that something tragic might happen. I have been in many buildings, both in Hong Kong and in Changsha, that would be closed down immediately if they were in Canada. If a fire marshall saw these places they would close the place down and the owner of the building would face serious criminal charges. But things are not like that here in China. There are too many people to be able to regulate the movement of them all. For example, during the spring holiday nearly 24 million people traveled through the Shanghai central train station. That is nearly the entire population of Canada! Or to put it another way, over 650,000 people traveled out of that same train station each day. That is almost the entire population of Calgary! Imagine nearly our whole city hopping on a train and traveling to Edmonton each day. It blows your mind. There was also another tragedy in Bejing recently, where over thirty people were trampled in a stampede. Although the massive amounts of people that can be in any location at any given time can be unsettling, and I have experienced this, needing to get out of buildings because I felt unsafe with the situation, this is the reality that these people must live with each and every day. We should consider ourselves to be extremely lucky to live in Canada and to have as much personal space that we do. |
| |
|
| |
| Q: Who is considered a "hero" in China? |
| |
A: You have many questions about heroes and all of them will be very interesting to ask to my university students. Because I am not Chinese, I do not know of many specific heroes that might exist in China that are similar to Terry Fox, but I will ask my students. I will have an answer for you by the end of the weekend ok.
One type of hero that I do know of is the Communist Hero. For example, a hero that comes from Changsha is Lei Feng. He was a communist soldier that died in a traffic accident at the age of 22. He is a hero because he was a model worker, party member, and all around communist citizen. Here in Changsha, they have a museum that documents his accomplishments, such as doing his fellow soldier's laundry, helping old ladies cross the street, and keeping people up to date on communism. They have many photographs in this museum of Lei Feng smiling over a wash tub cleaning socks. They even have a national holiday for this guy.
As well, many other Communist Party members are heroes in the eyes of the Chinese. The most prominent of course is Mao Zedong. You can't go anywhere in China without seeing his face shining down from some sort of statue or monument. This, of course, is pushed upon the people by the Communist Party. You could say that it is a "cult of personality." You see this historically in other countries, such as the former Soviet Union.
So I will try to find out some examples from my students of other, more specific heroes. I am sure that they will have lots of stories to tell, and because this society is over 5000 years old, they will have many heroes to speak of. Check back soon! |
| |
|
| |
| Q: When people go to China, what do they usually look for? What are the main attractions? |
| |
A: I think that what your question is asking is why people come to travel in China; what attracts them here in the first place? This question can have so many answers. I do not think that we can have one response that would cover all of the reasons that people come to visit this country. Perhaps the only thing that can explain it is the desire to explore the unknown. China has been very elusive in the past, and it still is in many ways today. There has always been something strange and exotic about this country, something unknown.
As well, for history buffs China is an absolute gold mine of things to see. It is the longest continuous civilization in the world. By some accounts, the culture of China has been living for over 5000 years! In the west, we have seen great civilizations rise to great power, only to see them lose it and never regain their stature. The two best examples are Greek and Roman civilizations. While these two cultures rose to great power, they were not able to maintain that power and are now merely shadows of their former selves. China, on the other hand, has had many ups and downs but it is still plugging along as one of the most powerful countries in the world.
China also has some of the greatest engineering accomplishments in the world. The Great Wall of China is one of the only man-made structures that is visible from outer space. The Forbidden City in Beijing, the Potola Palace in Tibet, the Terra Cotta Warriors in Xian, etc... The list of cultural sites is too long to list here.
Another reason people come to China is because of the people. Although the Han Chinese are the dominant group, there are over 55 officially recognized ethnic minority groups living in China. The is very impressive. From Tibetans to hill tribes, the diversity is incredible.
And how can we ignore the allure of the food? I do not know many people who do not like Chinese food. Although much of the food that I eat here is nothing at all like the food that i get back home in Canada, it is still very tasty and very exciting to sample.
As well, a new reason why people come to China is to work. That is why I am here, and that is why many other foreigners are here as well. China has a very fast growing economy and many people want to work where the "action" is. Right now you could argue that the "action" is here in China. Cities like Hong Kong and Shanghai are amongst the most developed and forward leaning cities in the entire world. they are very exciting places to be and the possibilities to make money seem endless.
Then there is also the fantastic countryside. Terraced rice fields, some of the largest deserts in the world, the Himalayas, which are the largest mountains in the world, the second largest water fall in the world, the Krast peaks (see Yangshuo image folder), etc... So as you can see, there is no one reason that people come to China. There are many different reasons for many different people. The list that I have included only shows some of the reasons that people visit this great nation. I hope that helps you a little bit. |
| |
|