Contradictions:

Observations
Prepared for post-travel presentation by David Abreu from Norman Thomas HS, Amanda Brown-Inz from Edward R. Murrow HS, Injy Carpenter from Edward R. Murrow HS, Sara Ching from Stuyvesant HS, David Duhalde from Bronx High School of Science, Chris Torres from Leon Goldstein HS at Kingsborough, and Nicole Torres from Poly Prep Country Day School.

China Through its Own Lens
China is the world's third largest country in terms of landmass and has the biggest population in the world: 1.2 billion. Approximately half of China's land is uninhabitable so its huge population must survive on the relatively small amount of land that can be used. This makes both cities and farmland crowded. Now, all of this information was taken out of a book and we probably could write a lot more using encyclopedias or other similar resources. However, we have decided to look at China not through the lenses of American authors but through our own experiences.

The students at Beijing University live 4 or 6 to a small room without privacy or air-conditioning. Each student is given very little space for their personal items and they sleep on bunk beds lined with boards instead of mattresses. There is one bathroom on each floor and as with the halls, that bathroom is usually dark, hot and damp. In order to take showers the students must walk downstairs (since there are no elevators) and use the community showers in a building outside of the dormitory.

Most Americans would complain about this living situation but it seems as if the students at Beida just feel fortunate to have the opportunity to study at Beijing University. They are willing to deal with the dampness, heat and small rooms and happy that they are receiving a good education.

Also, according to our observations, most Chinese are content with parts of China's government. However, some would like changes such as stronger local governments and more democracy. We think that they are happy that the economy and government are relatively stable and, in most cases, improving. Our explanation for this is that lots of Chinese lived through, or have family members who lived through, the Cultural Revolution and they know how unstable China has been in the past.

Almost everybody that we met belonging to the younger generation was an only child. This is due to the Family-Planning program (the one-child policy). It is our impression that some couples do not mind the policy because they realize that it is necessary to slow down China's population growth. However, others (such as our tour guide Mike) would like to have more children but can't afford the consequences of doing so, therefore they must deal with this role in society. We were never met with a straight answer so we've had to draw our own conclusions: We feel that women basically have equal opportunities in the work place considering that 40% of the police force is female. There are female bus drivers and factory workers. However, we noticed that at the homes we visited the women either sat behind their husbands or off in a comer by the door. When we asked questions the man automatically answered and we had to specify that we wanted his wife to answer. We are not saying that this would occur with all Chinese families, but this is what we saw at most of the homes we visited.

We noticed racism directed towards us during our stay which some of us were expecting. However, we were mostly met with looks of curiosity. They found us to be amusing and stood in awe of some members of our group because of the darkness/lightness of their skin or their height/weight.

Most of the students that we met had very interesting ideas of America. Some believed that America is full of homosexuals and crime while others saw it as an extremely free country. Many students said that they would like to study in America someday yet, others were turned off by the negative stereotypes that they've seen in movies.

On the train to Inner Mongolia many of us had the opportunity to speak to a group of 18 year-old police academy students. We were amazed by how well versed they were on recent American news stories. It was almost as if they had memorized all of the headlines that they've read about America in the past year and saved them for when they happened to come across an American with whom to discuss the issues. They asked us question after question on internet stocks, Taiwan, the WTO, and Monica Lewinsky and they wanted to know what Americans think about each issue.

In conclusion, if we had to say what the most important thing we learned in China was, it would have to be this: Even though the Chinese might not be able to enjoy all of the freedom that Americans enjoy, we have to remember that market socialism/one-party rule works for China and that capitalism/democracy works for America. The whole world does not need to follow in America's footsteps and it is necessary for all Americans to realize this so that we can stop judging foreign countries by American standards.

Contradictions and Continuity
In the past century, China has undergone many changes. Much of traditional China was destroyed, to make room for the new beliefs and values imposed on the people by communism. Today, China is attempting to advance its technology greatly. Major metropolises are filled with large skyscrapers and new cars. All three of these factors are now coexisting in China, causing many contradictions. Such contradictions are where the old and the new, the communist and the capitalist, the poor and the rich, the traditional and the modern, the simple and the advanced, are juxtaposed to an extent that it is very obvious, and very startling.

But the most startling thing that becomes apparent when observing these contradictions, is the emphasis that traditional China (pre-Republic) still has on the lives of the Chinese. Relics such as the Terra Cotta soldiers, the Great Wall and the Temple of Heaven are still cherished today and are prime spots for Chinese tourists. And as the Chinese are allowed more freedom in their private lives, they are returning to many of the traditional customs which communism had abolished. In the more rural areas of China, such customs have never died away, but have remained strong throughout the twentieth century.

Continuity
Although Modern China is rapidly changing and adapting to the rest of the world, there are some facets of Chinese life which have been maintained and are not likely to change any time soon. Traditional China still plays a very large role in the lives of the Chinese. In Beijing for instance, such famous relics as the Temple of Heaven have been preserved for hundreds of years or more. The Chinese know now that it is not the mark of the center of the Universe, but every year thousands of Chinese pour in from all over China to see it. They have a deep respect for their history, and will continue the admiration for Traditional China they have experienced for thousands of years.

Another issue in Modem China about which the Chinese have a strong feeling is their dedication to Chairman Mao. He was so successful in his attempt to deify himself that even Deng Xiaoping, his successor, didn't dare to insult him for fear of angering the people. Today there is more openness in criticizing some of Mao's actions, but the common people prefer to remember Mao as a great man and almost as a God. Hundreds of thousands of people have visited Mao's tomb to view his body, and flowers and other small tokens are left before his statue in the mausoleum. As the memory of Mao the man fades away, the memory of Mao the God becomes even stronger among the people of China.

While all the changes of the twentieth century for China have dramatically changed the lives of people in the cities, people in the more rural and uninhabited areas have managed to preserve their lifestyles to a large degree. In Inner Mongolia, many groups remain semi nomadic, living in yurts and breeding horses. This differs greatly from the technologically advanced cities where people watch television and drive cars. These Mongolians are living a lifestyle that for the most part could have been found thousands of years ago. They are continuing this way of life in spite of the changes going on in the world around them.

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Contradiction in images, by Amanda Brown-Inz, Edward R. Murrow HS
Can you believe I saw the following two things on the same day?