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Post by Prometheus on Nov 23, 2020 6:55:20 GMT
It was the end of July, 2008. After a 13.5 hour flight, my plane touched down in Beijing. A cheer erupted from the Chinese passengers. I was worried. Was a safe landing so rare that it required applause?
The cheering has come to an end over the intervening years as more Chinese are more accustomed to traveling by plane and (I suspect) admonitions from the government about frightening non-Chinese passengers.
I'll have to talk about traveling with Chinese people in another post....
Anyway, I collected my baggage and headed for customs, hoping that it wouldn't take too long as the departure time for my connecting flight to Dalian was fast approaching, but with the Olympics just 10 days away, I was worried I'd get stuck in a long line. Luckily, since I was just passing through, my line was moving quickly enough and I arrived at the next departure gate as they were calling my "zone".
There were more cheers when we landed in Dalian. These I understood as the approach to Dalian Airport requires a quick descent after clearing some mountains and the landings are always at high speed.
My brother and sister-in-law met me and then I got to experience traffic in China for the first time.
If you think Chinese drivers are bad in your city, just imagine thousands of them all taking to the road at once. 
And worse than the drivers are the pedestrians who think it is their right to cross streets wherever and whenever they chose and the drivers had better stop. This has also gotten better over the years, but in those early days it was like watching a real life version of "Frogger."
My brother was driving like they were. He said that you could either drive the right way and get nowhere or you can drive like them and get where you're going.
I've never gotten a driver's license here and never will. I get road rage just riding on a bus, but watching the Chinese try to park can provide hours of entertainment.
As I mentioned, the Olympics were just a week or so away. Every store, every bar, every place you went, you were assaulted by the " Beijing Welcomes You" song. Then came the opening ceremonies. The whole city stopped to watch. There wasn't a person on the streets nor a car moving. It was the same everywhere. 1.3 billion people around the country just found the nearest TV and watched with pride as there country finally, truly opened up and welcomed the world.
It was a very moving and humbling experience to see an entire nation joined together not by ideology or religion, but by the notion that they were finally part of the larger world and the hope that they would be accepted.
12 years on, it's obvious that hatred of the Chinese is still the last bastion of acceptable racism, but back then, there was hope.
Over to you all.
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Post by ant-mac on Nov 23, 2020 8:23:16 GMT
I can't say I care for flying either. I'd probably be cheering right along with any Chinese passengers who happened to be on the flight. Also, here in Australia, we also cross the street wherever we please... although we have a lot less confidence in the oncoming traffic. However, I must say that driving in city traffic in China sounds like an interesting and infuriating challenge.  I've never had any interest in the Olympics, not even when they were last hosted by Australia, but I'm glad they enjoyed the experience. Good for them.  As for bias and bigotry, I can't think of anything specific I have against the general civilian population. However, I'm not quite so carefree when it comes to their federal government. Mind you, I have certain doubts and distrusts when it comes to most federal governments... including my own. PS - A good start, mate, you've got my attention.  |
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Post by Prometheus on Nov 23, 2020 13:27:02 GMT
I can't say I care for flying either. I'd probably be cheering right along with any Chinese passengers who happened to be on the flight. Also, here in Australia, we also cross the street wherever we please... although we have a lot less confidence in the oncoming traffic. However, I must say that driving in city traffic in China sounds like an interesting and infuriating challenge. I've never had any interest in the Olympics, not even when they were last hosted by Australia, but I'm glad they enjoyed the experience. Good for them. As for bias and bigotry, I can't think of anything specific I have against the general civilian population. However, I'm not quite so carefree when it comes to their federal government. Mind you, I have certain doubts and distrusts when it comes to most federal governments... including my own. PS - A good start, mate, you've got my attention. Driving in China: My brother said the first rule of the game - and it is a game - is to realize there are no rules. Every single Chinese driver simply wants to be the first to get where they are going, whether it's around the corner or across town. To that end, Chinese drivers generally toss out as many rules as they can manage in order to meat the goal. And since the police rarely make an appearance other than to deal with collisions, drivers operate with near impunity... and have lots of collisions. I can't remember a day since arriving where I haven't seen at least one accident. Some have been rather gruesome. I wish I could forget those. |
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Post by ant-mac on Nov 23, 2020 14:12:33 GMT
I can't say I care for flying either. I'd probably be cheering right along with any Chinese passengers who happened to be on the flight. Also, here in Australia, we also cross the street wherever we please... although we have a lot less confidence in the oncoming traffic. However, I must say that driving in city traffic in China sounds like an interesting and infuriating challenge. I've never had any interest in the Olympics, not even when they were last hosted by Australia, but I'm glad they enjoyed the experience. Good for them. As for bias and bigotry, I can't think of anything specific I have against the general civilian population. However, I'm not quite so carefree when it comes to their federal government. Mind you, I have certain doubts and distrusts when it comes to most federal governments... including my own. PS - A good start, mate, you've got my attention. Driving in China: My brother said the first rule of the game - and it is a game - is to realize there are no rules. Every single Chinese driver simply wants to be the first to get where they are going, whether it's around the corner or across town. To that end, Chinese drivers generally toss out as many rules as they can manage in order to meat the goal. And since the police rarely make an appearance other than to deal with collisions, drivers operate with near impunity... and have lots of collisions. I can't remember a day since arriving where I haven't seen at least one accident. Some have been rather gruesome. I wish I could forget those. To be honest, it sounds rather like driving in GRAND THEFT AUTO ONLINE. And I'd be lying if I said I wasn't intrigued by the idea of having a go... in someone else's car. |
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Post by Prometheus on Nov 23, 2020 14:20:24 GMT
Driving in China: My brother said the first rule of the game - and it is a game - is to realize there are no rules. Every single Chinese driver simply wants to be the first to get where they are going, whether it's around the corner or across town. To that end, Chinese drivers generally toss out as many rules as they can manage in order to meat the goal. And since the police rarely make an appearance other than to deal with collisions, drivers operate with near impunity... and have lots of collisions. I can't remember a day since arriving where I haven't seen at least one accident. Some have been rather gruesome. I wish I could forget those. To be honest, it sounds rather like driving in GRAND THEFT AUTO ONLINE. And I'd be lying if I said I wasn't intrigued by the idea of having a go... in someone else's car. Come on over. All you need is a visa with at least 6 months on it and you can apply for a license. No other driver's licenses have any standing in China. |
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Post by ant-mac on Nov 23, 2020 14:29:19 GMT
To be honest, it sounds rather like driving in GRAND THEFT AUTO ONLINE. And I'd be lying if I said I wasn't intrigued by the idea of having a go... in someone else's car. Come on over. All you need is a visa with at least 6 months on it and you can apply for a license. No other driver's licenses have any standing in China. I would, but the lead on my Playstation controller is only so long... |
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Post by Prometheus on Nov 23, 2020 14:32:42 GMT
Come on over. All you need is a visa with at least 6 months on it and you can apply for a license. No other driver's licenses have any standing in China. I would, but the lead on my Playstation controller is only so long... Your skin has actually started to grow around the controller? You need help, dude. |
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Post by ant-mac on Nov 23, 2020 14:35:22 GMT
I would, but the lead on my Playstation controller is only so long... Your skin has actually started to grow around the controller? You need help, dude. Shh... not in front of the Playstation, mate.  |
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Post by Prometheus on Nov 23, 2020 14:40:03 GMT
Your skin has actually started to grow around the controller? You need help, dude. Shh... not in front of the Playstation, mate. I'll try to keep my voice lower in the future |
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Post by ant-mac on Nov 23, 2020 14:44:38 GMT
Shh... not in front of the Playstation, mate. I'll try to keep my voice lower in the future Cheers. They've watching... Both of them. |
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![[cheers]](http://storage.proboards.com/7182076/images/engyBVslEdpmpmdnBwZQ.gif)