China scratch the surface…

Long time no blog! One of the major reasons for this was I had a business trip to China and was stuck behind their large firewall. No Twitter, Instagram, Google, WattsApp. WeChat worked very well though.

I really enjoy going to China. The country is fascinating. It’s full of history. There is something to see on nearly every street corner. The people are wonderful, they often waved to me when I was out running and yelled “Hello!” They then giggled when I replied “Ni Hao!”

They lavished me with gifts. My luggage was 10kg heavier coming back than it was going over and I bought practically nothing.

I had a wonderful time. One tip for those travelling to China being plant based cuts out the “weird” food for western people! I ate amazing mushrooms and Asian greens mostly!

Everything on the surface of China seems almost perfect. The infrastructure is new and the rate of development is staggering. The people are happy and in general the standard of living appears to improve almost daily.

The country is safe, and fun. There is heaps to see (and I didn’t go to the tourist bits). The main drawback on the surface is the air quality but even this is starting to improve.

On the surface all looks rosy in China. But scratch the surface and questions arise. The standard of living is improving, but not for people in rural areas they don’t get pensions in old age. This is just one example.

The infrastructure is improving and being built at a rapid rate.

But Google doesn’t work. Instagram doesn’t work. Twitter doesn’t work. It’s all censored. So what is the cost for human rights.

That’s the big things but even in little areas. The photo attached to this blog I took at the airport prior to departure you’ll see one clock isn’t working. In many ways to me this is China they’re a long way there but not quite.

As this was a business trip I had the luck to stay in some very nice hotels. The rooms were beautiful but if you looked closely a bolt would be missing in places. Or a tile would be loose somewhere.

This is China on the surface all seems merry but underneath there still are areas that need work. From bolts all the way to human rights.

China is a massive market and a truly global player which must be commended, I hope with further progression it becomes a global player in leader in all areas.