China: Beijing to Shanghai, May 19 - 27

China…. Not sure what to say here as, unfortunately, I have strong emotional feelings about this country; not all entirely pleasant. My mother taught me that, “if I have nothing nice to say, then don’t say it at all.” I think I must still listen to those simple but important words of advice as I wouldn't want to offend anyone. The only thing I will say about this topic is now I understand the frustration that the Hong Kongians have towards mainland Chinese.

The good: The Great Wall, 2 hours train ride outside of Beijing, was absolutely breath taking and definitely worthy of one of the Seven Wonders of the World…. And for me, that is about it. The second highlight was meeting up with a friend who was living in China. Having dinner with an old friend was absolutely fantastic, but I could have been anywhere to have enjoyed my time with him.

Our first stop was Beijing which is home to many historical places, such as the Forbidden Palace. The general theme of China was the sardine like feeling you have walking around with hundreds of Chinese tourists. I actually haven’t been anywhere in the world where the main groups of tourists were people of their own country. I am not sure why, but I found that strange. The Forbidden City was packed with hundreds & possibly thousands of tourists, so for me, that took away from the experience. I would say walk around the outside to take in the views which are more interesting.

Tienanmen Square, historically, is phenomenal due to the 1989 Massacre. What is ironic, is that you cannot discuss what happened here. Police are everywhere ensuring that no one discusses the tragedy that happened on June 4th 1989. Our friend who we met up with has lived in Beijing for 16 years, and he warned us that when we go, we must be silent, take photos and carry on our merry way. That was excellent advice, but also almost unnecessary as you could feel the tension towards the West here. If the huge painting of Mao wasn't a big enough hint to keep your mouth shut, the swarms of police made it obvious enough. It was so strange to be somewhere I had studied in history, yet was not able to discuss it.

It definitely was an interesting feeling being somewhere with such infamous importance, yet the people here were not allowed to “know” what happened. The blocks on the internet in China also meant that I actually do not think that the people know what happened there or have the opportunity. Even British Airways’ website was blocked, especially Wikipedia or Google. It was impossible to try to learn or read about any Chinese history whilst in China.  I honestly think that China is attempting to erase it from history. So the heavy amount of police here are to prevent Westerners from talking about it and accidentally informing someone who happens to know English.

Every other country in my travels have embraced their history, good and the bad. Yes, they may have a somewhat under-exaggeration of the truth, but they still have Museums, Statues, and historical sites where bad things have happened, in order to not forget and learn from the past. Fellow Communist country, Vietnam, has an awful history, but the country has embraced it to the best of its ability. Yes, many of the museums are anti-American and rightly so from the tragedies from the war, but it is informative. These museums and historical sites are available to its fellow countrymen and tourists to learn from the atrocities and not forget what happened. China, simply decides to erase the bad; I found this terrifying for the future state of Chinese politics.... but that is an entirely OTHER topic!

Beijing in general was okay…. Really nothing to write home about. It was nice to see a friend and go to the Great Wall. The Great Wall was the only highlight for me while being in the city. When it was time to move on we took the “supposedly” amazing speed train from Beijing to Shanghai.

This experience was ruined by the company among us on the train. We arrived to Shanghai and did the typical sites around The Bund, but in all honesty, we were just done with China. We cancelled flights internally and used that credit to get back to England early. This is the first place I have ever been where I actually just couldn't enjoy myself at all due to certain events whilst here. If one wants to know my reasoning behind this, feel free to ask, I just do not feel it is appropriate to post my negative opinions on the "world wide web".

Shanghai

It is very unfortunate I feel this way as I have friends who loved China. However, for the most part, everyone I have talked to have had the same experiences and even warned me prior to going. I was glad for the warnings as I do not think I would have lasted as long as I did without a few of the warnings. It is a shame as there is so much rich history in this country that would have been so great to see. Please don’t let my negative experience deter you from going. One must try everything out for themselves and create their own opinions.

It could very well have been my own personal state of mind for this unpleasant experience. It could have been because I had spent the past 3.5 months backpacking and I was just ready to get back to the Western world, or I was just done travelling in general and moving around so much, or was incredibly sick for a few days in China and let that influence me, maybe I didn't try hard enough to like this place or accept the mannerisms of the people? It could entirely be my own lack of trying, but I am still traveling and am enjoying myself. So, I am not sure? All I know is that I wish I enjoyed my time in the country more, but I will NEVER be going back to China.