Final thoughts on China

We hadn't bought any souvenirs from China other than the few things we picked up in Beijing, so Saeeda and I decided to use our last morning in China to explore the old town portion of Shanghai, an area of winding streets and old temples centered around the Yu gardens which also boasts tons of souvenir stores. Obviously, we hadn’t learned our lesson from Beijing, because we insisted on trying our luck at bargaining again. I’ve realized that bargaining is a blood sport in Asia, and the tourist is the game. You can only hope to come out even, because you will not win. We came across some old Communist-era posters we liked, and were quoted a price of Y120, which we rightly knew to be expensive. We countered with Y20, which was met with disgust. I thought by walking away I’d at least hear a reduced price, but there was nothing. A few stores later we were vindicated when we saw the same posters for Y60. But that was our only victory of the day. It seemed that every time we bought something, we’d find it for cheaper a few stores later, or that every time we tried to hold firm on our offering price, it was always us that gave way and had to increase our offer. I’m in bad need of a Negotiations class.

A little walking around brought smack into an area where all these elderly gentleman were exercising on some cool, retro gym equipment. Take that Venice Beach!


As we left the old town area, we'd come across these restaurants with glass windows into their kitchens where you could see the chefs prepare the dough. The lines outside these places were ridiculous, and populated with the locals, so you knew the food had to be good.

However, food in general has been hit or miss for us because the Chinese love their pork, so instead our last meal in China consisted of a dim sum meal at Jade Garden, which is a Shanghainese chain of restaurants located in the commercial area of town. Frequented by foreigners, Jade Garden had an English menu and vegetarian, shrimp and beef options. Everything was delicious.

The journey to the airport was uneventful, and our flight was on time. My final fun China signage picture is included below, when I came across this at the check-in counter. Wouldn't it be painful to try and hand carry crabs? Who does that anyway?
As we took off, I knew that several of my preconceived notions had been changed for the better. The Chinese people that we came into contact with were friendly, warm, and inviting, and together constitute a powerful force that will propel China into one of the most powerful nations this world has ever seen – there’s no question about that. They have the requisite cultural bedrock that unites them, and are led – for better or worse – by a government that can move mountains within weeks if it so wishes. But there remain significant challenges. That same government is going to have to relax its restrictions and allow free-markets to work more of their magic to prevent a mid-flight stalling of the economy, and to allow the Chinese people to grow and learn about becoming citizens of the world. Pollution, income disparity, and political freedom are just some of the issues China must struggle with in the immediate future, but if its people are any indication, then I’m positive that this struggle will be a successful one.