Reflections of China

• It's a vast place - the distances, population, tower blocks, construction.  A lot of what we saw was very commerical and capitalist despite it being a communist country.  At times it's difficult to see passed this and the pollution and smog
• We visited a tiny part of the country with most places being on the tourist trail.  We're really pleased that we visited the areas that we did but don't feel that we've experienced what China really has to offer in terms of it's more rural and possibly scenic areas.  The areas we did see - around the Great Wall, the Three Gorges, Yangshou - all had so much to offer
• Language is a big barrier especially when travelling independently, it's impossible to guess at the meaning of the Chinese characters and even Pinyin is difficult with the pronunciation and tones.  It's lucky that numbers are the same.  We got by with hello/thank you/goodbye but to go further afield would want the comfort of being able to converse at least a little bit
• Travel by train and plane is straight forward.  The trains are clean, cheap and relatively comfortable and a good way to get around if you have the time or plan your routes around the fast trains.  The internal flights are also cheap and a good way to cover long distances quickly
• The cities are huge and everywhere is extremely crowded with people and traffic of all forms.  There's so much construction ongoing which appears to be a combination of demolishing the slums and replacing them with new tower blocks and half built additional tower blocks.  Pollution and smog is a real challenge
• We saw little evidence of the past or any culture apart from the tourist areas in Beijing and Guilin/Yangshou
• The only rule on the road is that there are no rules!  Lots of undertaking, cutting up, driving in the wrong direction and on the pavement.  The horn is used liberally as a means of advising the vehicle in front that you're there
• The Chinese eat everything and every part of it - including frog, horse, dog, snake and insects.  This meant some unpalatable food descriptions - pigs intestine, chickens feet, chicken gristle - and some unpalatable meals.  The concept of boneless chicken breast certainly doesn't exist here
• The Chinese love their gadgets.  Most people had smart phones and were glued to them
• We only got to met a few people although those we did were very helpful.  Most just seem too busy and disinterested in engaging with foreigners
• It's hard to accept the hawking and spitting - we wondered what the equivalent is that we do in the West that the Chinese would find so disgusting! 
• We saw relatively few westerners, probably because the number of visitors is so small against the vast and growing population
• The Three Gorges, Guilin and Yangshou are very picturesque.  We'd certainly like to see more of rural China away from the cities and honey pot areas, especially Xichang and Tibet
• Hong Kong couldn't be more different, one country two systems, and it's very hard to imagine how it can be integrated into China by 2047
• Would we go back?  Yes - there is so much to see but with some ability to speak Mandarin and off the main tourist trail