Thoughts and Notes

They all seem to assume other read users are as bright and alert as they are, and fortunately they all seem to be. There are no real rules, only guidelines. Traffic moves relatively slowly (even on open highways only about 50 mph) allowing much more time to take a more flexible approach to driving and manoeuvring. Just in Time (JIT) is the norm, as is undertaking as well as overtaking. I saw no road rage or anger of any sort. Horns seem to be used as wake-ups, warnings and thank-you's, but I don’t think abuse. Cars, bikes and pedestrians seem to coexist happily. At junctions people and bikes seem to have a peculiar dominance over motor vehicles BECAUSE of their vulnerability.

We are probably pretty average English "drinkers", but in China we seemed to be relatively alcoholic! It was noticeable in restaurants how it was our table littered with bottles of Tsingdaoe. I really don’t think the Chinese drink a lot of alcohol. But tea is a different story …

Spitting

Every one seems to spits in China. I saw a market trader boxed into just a yard square spot by his own stalls, carefully stand to one side, spit onto the floor, and then move back to the middle again. Unlike in England, it draws no comment or reaction.

It must still be cheaper to employ people than buy a machine to replace them.

At road works and building sites men manually break rocks with sledgehammers and chisels and dig big holes with shovels.

All business premises here have uniformed, smart, bored looking security guards. All restaurants have 1 or more smiling, charming, greeters/door openers.

Machinery is sparse and antiquated, people are everywhere, plentiful, industrious and adaptable.

Beggars in China were mostly obviously physically disabled. There were some healthy looking young children begging in various ways and some mother and young child partnerships. Some of the disabilities were quite shocking and heart rending, and some of the begging was really almost laudable. I mostly gave money to beggars, a few yuen, one exception being the "flower boy" (below), where he was too close to the point of coercion rather than begging.

A boy usually begging outside the hotel, his leg and foot were misshapen and bent round behind his body.

One-legged man (even that leg appeared useless) got around by laying flat on a sort of skateboard and scooted himself round with his hands. I saw him several times cross the main Bell Tower roundabout junction, scooting under the roadside railings.

A man with a badly burnt face, reminiscent of Falklands victim Simon Weston but even more extensive burns.

A man with no legs below the knee, with segments of car tired fastened over the stumps, heavy duty gloves, so he could hand scoot along on a low trolley.

Various partially limbed people.

Young boy (about 11 ?) "giving" flowers to people. He gave me a flower which I couldn’t get him to take back. I new a request for money would be coming sooner or later. He pestered me for several hundred yards with me trying to give him his flower back, and him walking by me saying it was free. Eventually he realised I wasn’t going to keep the flower or give him money and he took the flower, gave me a vehement "well fuck you" and finger sign before leaving.

Young girl, about 6years old who had a small rotating stand on the ground which she gripped with only her teeth, raising herself upside and pirouetting on the stand.

On the subway a man "working" the carriages, on artificial legs singing through a face microphone and small amp backpack.

Again on the subway, a blind women singing, her hands on the waist of and being lead by a cripple on crutches.

A blind man playing an urhu being lead by a young boy who crawled on the floor attached to the man by a rope.

Another Simon Weston type burns victim, but with even more damage, the shiny scarre and stretched skin covering his torso and face.

Lots of mums toting toddlers who made hand to mouth food gestures.

Several bag ladies, on one occasion, after I given one some money, they all converged on me, hounding me for a good hundred yards down the road tugging at my arms and pleading with me.

This was a trip to China for me in more ways than one, I seemed to have inordinate difficulty coping with steps or any unevenness in the pathway, in fact my falling over became something of a standing joke. Among my many stumbles, memorably, exiting from the subway everyone pointed out the step up for me to avoid, which I did promptly tripping over the small metal flange (about an inch high ! ) of the night shutter just a yard further on, and on our trip to the Great Wall I fell up the very 1^st step.