The Journey of Kim to the Countryside

In all fairness, I warned you this day would come. The day...I actually wrote a serious blog post. I know...it’s crazy.

But anyways....the city of Beijing is extremely modern. For the most part, I can find anything I would eat or buy in America in Beijing (except for Mexican food...I am still working on that one). However, Beijing and many of the cities Westerners would usually visit are not typical of how many Chinese live. One of my professors told me if I wanted to see how a typical Chinese person still lived, I needed to go to the countryside. Granted I probably wasn’t in the true Chinese countryside, but the atmosphere greatly changed just by going eight hours outside of Beijing.

For many, the prospect of modernization and increased globalization has not greatly changed their lives. Yes, to an extent modern conveniences have reached them. A Chinese person living in an urban area will make 3.5 times the amount of money an individual living in the countryside will. China’s economic growth has occurred mainly on the east coast where it is easy to export goods.

As we drove to Pingyao, I looked at the homes closely hugging the hillside. It reminded me of driving through some of the poverty stricken areas of Mexico. The houses were very simple. Many were made of brick with a concrete or wooden roof. In the middle of the Chinese New Year, the homes were covered with colorful red lanterns and signs, but it couldn’t hid the grim and dirty conditions. Trash was strewn about everywhere.

The conditions have improved for the better over the past several decades as rural income has consistently improved over the past several years; however the income inequality continues to grow.

On the way back from the trip, I saw something that seemed to characterize China’s rise over the past several decades. A single crumbling building lay in ruins at the edge of a town, but on the top of the building waved a single, clean Chinese flag. China has many areas where it desperately needs to improve, but it has a very patriotic population who are continuously pushing the country forward. The rural population has been neglected, but they are still extremely proud to be Chinese, and they are some of the most welcoming people you will ever meet.