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| Useful
Advice for Tourists Visiting China |
Social Observations
- Daily Life |
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| The
aim of this section is to give those travelling to China
for the first time an insight into the lives of ordinary
Chinese People |
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Life in General
Village Life
Village Life is quite basic in general, and usually
consists of hamlets featuring dwellings huddled together,
as if for protection. These lie amidst vast fields which
normally grow rice or similar main crop. Hamlets occur
at roughly 1-mile intervals. Each village will control
about 500 acres of dedicated rice producing land. Irrigation
channels and smaller, and yet smaller ditches, channel
water to where it is required. Some of these will have
specific areas where a family will wash themselves,
although most homes now have internal shower areas.
Hamlets will normally have several fish breeding ponds,
and have trees for fruit and wood burning. There will
also be areas for other produce, all run on an allotment
type basis. Occasionally one hamlet may specialise in
growing bamboo for implements and utensils + associated
subsequent farm industry. Most hamlets will have a few
small stands of sweet bamboo, which is used as an excellent
replacement for sugar
A typical valley will also have more commercial concerns
scattered around haphazardly, which may specialise in
breeding: fish, chickens, ducks, geese, or pigs etc.
Main road junctions will have a couple of shacks selling
more general produce, and are also home to motorcycle
taxis. The main roads also support an incredible variety
of bus services, all of which run extremely regularly.
Surrounding hillsides will most likely support managed
timber production. This is used for building local houses,
as are the less common brick and stone factories. This
makes the greater area self-sufficient for all its peoples
needs.
State schools are also present near larger villages
or small towns, and country children will normally attend
the nearest one to their home - often up to 10 miles
distant, although nominally their will be a satellite
school within a few miles. Children travelling further
afield for education will normally be week-day boarders.
Today, education is mandatory for all 5 to 16-year olds,
and 18 is the norm for finishing. However, children
are expected to help the family work the land, and special
dispensation is given around sowing and harvest seasons
Homes are connected by alleyways a yard wide. A typical
dwelling will have a large general room, with bedrooms
on either side. These single story buildings are completed
by cooking and washing areas. They often have a small
outside yard, or perhaps a vegetable plot nearby. Cooking
will invariably be by what I term a 'Chinese Aga', or
basically a solid fuelled furnace with holes in the
top for pots and woks. Modern homes are usually two
stories high, and a lot more spacious. They are built
where derelict houses once stood, and cost around Y30,
000 for a three bedroom version with large balcony.
These plots are normally only available to respected
villagers only.
A typical household will be home to up to four generations.
Today the 20 & 30-somethings will live and work
in the cities, with rarely boys or girls staying home
to continue the family business. However, they do return
for planting and harvest seasons, family and cultural
events.
Often places may not have mains water. Instead communities
will save and pay to install their own water towers,
and water is subsequently piped into all homes. Electricity
is available in virtually all areas of Guangdong. Mains
sewerage is very uncommon. Mains gas extremely rare,
although bottles gas is available in most areas
Certain villagers, normally male heads of family, will
provide other services to the hamlet. For instance,
my wife's father owns one of only two Oxen, which are
used for tilling the fields with a wooden single furrow
plough (With iron share). One of the younger men has
the village's only car - a Daihatsu type minibus. A
couple of other boys have air-rifles, and hunting also
forms a normal part of a boys upbringing. Usually one
person will have turned their front room into a general
store - selling very little except for life's basics
- beer, rice wine, cigarettes, mosquito repellant's,
pot noodles, etc. Finally, each village normally has
a Kung Fu patron, who provides Lion Dance and costumes,
plus associated music etc - primarily for religious
ceremonies and special events. These all come together
and function on a community basis
These hamlets are governed by what we would call a Village
Council. As with China at large, things happen according
to 5-year plans. The Council issues land against payment,
and this generally stays with a family over generations.
Sometimes people move away and new plots become available.
This allows villages to increase their landholdings,
swap land for better locations, and allows in new blood
- often migrant workers seeking a new start in life.
The Council also operates general schemes such as the
community toilets, implementing water towers and associated
pipework, and it has areas for say, volleyball or basket
ball. They also provide community centres and a general
council chamber, complete with benches, and large wok
cooking facilities set in an annex for village events.
This all sounds very organised and 'Grande' - when in
actual fact it is all rather laid-back and casual.
Hamlets usually consist of only a few greater families,
who have worked the land for many generations. You should
immediately note the social impact of this statement.
Therefore, marriages would normally take place within
a small geographical area, such as how far people could
walk or bicycle in order to see each other. Cars and
mains electricity have changed this in more recent times,
and sending children to University is nowadays quite
normal
However, these villages remain very communal places
that are inclusive of greater family and friends. In
many ways they remind me of my formative years in Ireland:
where doors always remain unlocked, and people pop in
for no reason other than to pass the time of day - or
night. The alleyways support troops of chickens pecking
about aimlessly, dogs napping, and a few cats skittering
around. These are occasionally disturbed by a passing
bicycle, motorbike, or scooter. Children wander in and
out of houses looking for treats from distant aunt's.
Boys will go sparrow-shooting at midnight, and return
hours later to cook the results, whilst imbibing quantities
of beer and rice wine. However, at certain times of
the year, most notably harvest and sowing seasons; it's
all hands to the deck - as there is only man and ox
power available! Harvesting rice from the fields and
presenting it ready for sale is extremely labour intensive
- requiring removing the seeds from the stalks, drying
the husks in the sun, and beating them to release the
grain, etc. Sure, they still do all this by hand. Try
to imagine how many thousands of rice plants it takes
to fill a one-hundred weight bag with grain...
City Life
Modern life in any major city in China is remarkably
similar to any Western equivalent. We worry about congestion
and pollution. Drive cars and motorbikes. Commute. Spend
money on hair and beauty treatments. Go out for lunch
and dinner, plus late-night drinks or clubs. Virtually
all produce is available within a few minutes walk,
and life as lived in a rural community detailed above
seems a million miles away. People require the latest
gadgets and mobile phones. Normal people live in apartments,
which feature all things you would expect in the West
- with the only exception being an oven, which Cantonese
have no knowledge of! Rich people live in houses, complete
with private pools and garages.
From a generalised viewpoint, I cannot say city life
in modern China is very different at all regarding virtually
all areas of life
Town Life
As you would expect, most places that we would call
a town = 100, 000 people say; are a mix of the two categories
above. Mostly towns are like smaller versions of cities
(Of course!), but there are elements of village life
thrown into the mix
In general, towns support a lesser degree of Family,
whilst playing host to migrant workers who are either:
not brave enough, or rich enough, to live in a city.
Peasant children may come to a town for education, whilst
their elder brethren come for work. In an average sized
town, most people will know each other; and especially
any Westerners! |
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| This
information is as supplied by the Chinese Embassy in
UK, as dated 20th June 2008, and/or other reliable sources.
Please check this information yourself as it may alter
without notice, and whilst we try our best to ensure
it is correct, please do not hold us responsible for
any errors - this is intended as a simple guide only |
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