It's brilliant to have reports like this that show reality. Scotland is great but everywhere is expensive - but Tibet, which we are taught is 'primitive', is obviously now way ahead of Scotland and with 5G most of the UK. What I find fascinating is the way that people who are still largely agrarian have adapted to the latest technology. I believe the future is impossible without China - which is why the USA and UK Governments hate it.
It's been a while since I've seen your articles, I was starting to worry if they had taken you away. Nowadays as the American government loses all its sensibility, it's getting more and more dangerous for people like yourself who speak the truth.
I'll be travelling in China in August, mainly in Guizhou.
Last summer I spent two weeks following the old silk road, some chinese people were surprised westerners can travel freely in Xinjiang..I was impressed how organised is the country for mass travel...and people are super friendly and helpful even despite the language barrier..
Now let me play Devil's advocate: why so many Chinese (and Japanese) are so obsessed with face masks? Are they not aware they are useless if not damaging?
I grew up in Guizhou, a beautiful but impoverished region back in the 70s and 80s. August in Guizhou is a treat as the temperature is on average 10 degrees coolers than the rest of the country.
The place has changed a lot since my childhood and features some of the most impressive infrastructures in the country. A mountainous provinces, Guizhou now boasts 5 of the 10 highest bridges in the world. It also has some of the least explored sceneries in China and excellent food.
as for face masks, it's a bit of cultural idiosyncrasy in North Asia where women highly value fair skin, much as caucasian women value tanned skin. Hygiene is also a factor.
Yes, I am looking forward to cooler weather, a culturally diverse place (I have read that after Yunnan, which I visited almost 20 years ago on my first visit) is the state with more ethnical groups, and a bit off the beaten track. I'll fly into Changsha and visit Zhangijaje too, then heading South.
sounds like a fun trip. Zhangjiajie and Changsha are very popular destinations these days so expect summer school holiday crowds. Still the food in Hunan is fabulous if you are into spicy hearty cooking.
Welcome to China. I'm glad you enjoyed it here. I've never been to Guizhou but I've heard nice things about it. To answer your question about the masks, they serve primarily as a way to protect the uninfected, first by warning others to stay away from them and to reduce the spread of infected droplets into the air. It's mostly useless for the infected person but it's beneficial for society. Of course, the best thing to do would be to stay home and avoid spreading it at all, but for practical reasons that's not always possible.
I call this the golden age of photography as there is so much good stuff out there and even phones are good cameras. I am a Photoshop junkie and love working with them.
Western propaganda also serves as gatekeeping to encourage folks to stay on the Jewish physical and mental plantation, so they don't explore the world and find out the truth.
written Tibetan is Sanskrit. It is indeed very under used, even in Tibet as historically only the educated class can read and write the language, which meant the landlords and the monks
So Tibetan uses Sanskrit characters for the written word, like English and French both use Latin characters for their respective language. Fascinating.
On your posts, I really enjoy reading them. It's good to get a different perspective on China, besides the usual fare that the MSM shovels.
At your recommendation (I believe?) I am reading Keyu Jins’ “New China Playbook”. It is dated 2023, so it is pretty new, but the way things go in China – from what I can tell – a lot happens in 2 years.
In a certain way your account of the trip to Tibet feels like an extension of it.
the New China Playbook was a good summary of the economic policies pursued by the government, especially the local governments. As everything else written about China, things change quite rapidly and some of the analysis is already dated. I think the central government is even more focused on specific bottleneck technologies and industries compared with the early 2020s. Also if anything, competition is even more intense than before - not just for industry but also for services. It seems the only business able to hold up (even increase) prices are non-tradable services not subject to broad-based competition.
It's brilliant to have reports like this that show reality. Scotland is great but everywhere is expensive - but Tibet, which we are taught is 'primitive', is obviously now way ahead of Scotland and with 5G most of the UK. What I find fascinating is the way that people who are still largely agrarian have adapted to the latest technology. I believe the future is impossible without China - which is why the USA and UK Governments hate it.
好久没有看到你发的文章,我都开始担心是不是被他们抓走了。现在美国政府彻底疯掉了,像你这样敢说实话的人越来越危险。
It's been a while since I've seen your articles, I was starting to worry if they had taken you away. Nowadays as the American government loses all its sensibility, it's getting more and more dangerous for people like yourself who speak the truth.
thanks for being concerned. Thank god I don't live in the US:)
Thank you, very interesting.
I'll be travelling in China in August, mainly in Guizhou.
Last summer I spent two weeks following the old silk road, some chinese people were surprised westerners can travel freely in Xinjiang..I was impressed how organised is the country for mass travel...and people are super friendly and helpful even despite the language barrier..
Now let me play Devil's advocate: why so many Chinese (and Japanese) are so obsessed with face masks? Are they not aware they are useless if not damaging?
I grew up in Guizhou, a beautiful but impoverished region back in the 70s and 80s. August in Guizhou is a treat as the temperature is on average 10 degrees coolers than the rest of the country.
The place has changed a lot since my childhood and features some of the most impressive infrastructures in the country. A mountainous provinces, Guizhou now boasts 5 of the 10 highest bridges in the world. It also has some of the least explored sceneries in China and excellent food.
as for face masks, it's a bit of cultural idiosyncrasy in North Asia where women highly value fair skin, much as caucasian women value tanned skin. Hygiene is also a factor.
Vanity dies hard anywhere:)
Yes, I am looking forward to cooler weather, a culturally diverse place (I have read that after Yunnan, which I visited almost 20 years ago on my first visit) is the state with more ethnical groups, and a bit off the beaten track. I'll fly into Changsha and visit Zhangijaje too, then heading South.
sounds like a fun trip. Zhangjiajie and Changsha are very popular destinations these days so expect summer school holiday crowds. Still the food in Hunan is fabulous if you are into spicy hearty cooking.
Welcome to China. I'm glad you enjoyed it here. I've never been to Guizhou but I've heard nice things about it. To answer your question about the masks, they serve primarily as a way to protect the uninfected, first by warning others to stay away from them and to reduce the spread of infected droplets into the air. It's mostly useless for the infected person but it's beneficial for society. Of course, the best thing to do would be to stay home and avoid spreading it at all, but for practical reasons that's not always possible.
Thanks for sharing. Its a bit of a holiday just reading about yours. The photos are outstanding.
thanks. all I have to do in both places is to point the camera. the pictures take care of themselves
I call this the golden age of photography as there is so much good stuff out there and even phones are good cameras. I am a Photoshop junkie and love working with them.
Dear Sir,
You are dearly welcome. Thanks for sharing these trips with your nice family...
It's unusual and very interesting indeed.
And I agree with John Webster saying: "I believe the future is impossible without China - which is why the USA and UK governments hate it."
Super interesting! Thanks.. but more pics would be welcome, especially drone shots.
Thank you so much for your enlightening post, yes as we know the West is super expensive and infrastructure is crumbling whilst China is ascending.
Western propaganda also serves as gatekeeping to encourage folks to stay on the Jewish physical and mental plantation, so they don't explore the world and find out the truth.
Is Sanskrit still in common use in Tibet? I thought it was an "under-used" language, like Latin or Gaelic.
written Tibetan is Sanskrit. It is indeed very under used, even in Tibet as historically only the educated class can read and write the language, which meant the landlords and the monks
So Tibetan uses Sanskrit characters for the written word, like English and French both use Latin characters for their respective language. Fascinating.
On your posts, I really enjoy reading them. It's good to get a different perspective on China, besides the usual fare that the MSM shovels.
At your recommendation (I believe?) I am reading Keyu Jins’ “New China Playbook”. It is dated 2023, so it is pretty new, but the way things go in China – from what I can tell – a lot happens in 2 years.
In a certain way your account of the trip to Tibet feels like an extension of it.
the New China Playbook was a good summary of the economic policies pursued by the government, especially the local governments. As everything else written about China, things change quite rapidly and some of the analysis is already dated. I think the central government is even more focused on specific bottleneck technologies and industries compared with the early 2020s. Also if anything, competition is even more intense than before - not just for industry but also for services. It seems the only business able to hold up (even increase) prices are non-tradable services not subject to broad-based competition.
Thank you for this illustrative commentary and comparison.
Also, great photos!