Life and Travel in China

I used to be amazed by the progress in China, then it terrified me, and now I don't know how to comment on it, it's shocking! Sometimes I try to imagine the mega-tons of steel, concrete, glass, aluminum, etc. that are used in the construction of subways, skyscrapers, tunnels... It happens that I visit a city 1-2 times a year. It turns out that at that time two metro lines were added, four new skyscrapers were built, and the shopping center was extended by a kilometer-long underground passage. The speed of construction and reconstruction is simply shocking! In Poland, it is often impossible to build a subway, and in Shenzhen, for example, trees were cut down, the sidewalk was moved, a new surface was laid and the street moved an entire lane. A wall is being built nearby and deep excavations are being made for the subway. I am not saying that it is very ecological, but in China, if something has to be built at the expense of greenery, at the expense of demolishing other, older buildings, it is not subject to any discussion. I'm only worried that one day nature will take revenge for all this, because in the Middle Kingdom many areas are at risk of floods, earthquakes, typhoons and tsunamis.

China has 'relaxed' one-child rules. Now many couples can legally try for a second child. In fact, many people (some I know personally) already have a second child who is not registered. Currently, to obtain consent for a second child, you need to prepare 16 different documents! The regulations are different for different regions, it all depends on whether the first child is a boy or a girl, whether one of the parents is an only child, etc. In the Middle Kingdom, a child is a 'little emperor'. I see how much grandmothers and grandfathers adore their grandchildren, compete with each other in taking care of the little one, buy various wonders, special jewelry, shoes, organize paid professional photo sessions, etc. However, it comes to a situation that these spoiled grandchildren, sons and daughters do not want the 'competition' of their siblings. It may sound absurd, but in such a materialistic world, older children are already worried about the division of property, and some declare directly that they will kill their newborn brother or sister. Scary but true.

I remember that a few years ago, during a visit to China, several Poles mentioned how they say they work for a bowl of rice. They said that they probably worked, but for a golden bowl of rice. I was just reading about the salary ranking and it turned out that now Poles in the European Union work for the proverbial 'bowl of rice'. Observing wages in China, I come to the same conclusion. In cities, office work, for example salespeople, forwarders, etc., earn a net salary of approximately PLN 3,000-4,000. More experienced employees can confidently count on higher salaries. In factories, more qualified workers also earn about PLN 1,600-2,500 net; it is worth adding that the employer provides food and accommodation. Of course, there are no such burdens on salaries as our ZUS or taxes. So it looks like people in Poland earn less than those doing the same work in China. Sad, right?! We have become cheap labor not only in Europe, but in the world.

I come to the conclusion that if it were not for the tradition of eating together in the Middle Kingdom, families would spend very little time together. Most often, joint dinners are a time that the family spends together, it is a sacred ritual. I remember being in China for the first time in 2003, when a young Chinese woman from Shanghai was very keen for us to get to her parents' house for dinner as quickly as possible. We were late after visiting the factories in Changzhou - the traffic and traffic jams were already taking their toll. We were surprised by the punctuality of meals, but this is a tradition in China. Looking at my Chinese friends aged 30-40, I see how much they work, how often they are away from home - business trips, meetings with clients, fairs in Europe and the USA, customer visits... they spend a lot of time in offices, constant overtime, lots of meetings. However, when they are there, in China, dinner is usually the time they spend with their immediate family. Sometimes parents and children, sometimes also grandparents, uncles and aunts. On weekends, they manage to spend time together over dinner, although they also have various activities: gym, swimming, park, some competitions, tai-ji, dancing, and the children go to school and extra lessons, training. Usually, however, they are able to devote this one or two hours to a shared meal and conversations with their loved ones. This is what's cool about China and I'm afraid that in this crazy, accelerated world we all live in, the Chinese won't have time for it either.

China, the Chinese have everything... educated people have no problems with working in large and medium-sized cities. The job offers great opportunities, because in the Middle Kingdom, large orders, large quantities and large amounts of money are usually involved. They have everything except freedom. Freedom is good for the soul, but bad for the economy. If China were democratic, it would simply cease to exist, various provinces would break away, there would be smaller and larger conflicts, society would be very divided and there would be huge stratification. On the other hand, it's nice to be free, to think and say what you want, to express your opinions, read the opinions of others, and choose your representatives. Although, as recent events in Poland (the tape scandal) show, not every country benefits from freedom and democracy. You may wonder whether it is better to have a free and poor country or to live in a country that has no freedom but is an economic power? Is it better to have the opportunity to speak or to have money to feed your family? It's strange that these two issues are mutually exclusive... although there are of course rich democratic countries. It's a pity that Poland is not among them. What worries me is that salaries in China are starting to be higher than in Poland, it's probably a bad sign.