The conference and trip were great. Our textbook was translated into Chinese for use in Taiwan a few year ago, but it isn't available in mainland China. A Chinese woman told me that they really want our book in mainland because of all the interest in leisure, and especially tourism!
The conference was great for making connections and hearing how tourism and leisure are making great strides around the world with city bids for sport and cultural events, and looking at things like infrastructure for tourism, esp. in the developing world. Really neat.
The big gala and dinner occured the night before we left. Rather than sitting with our cozy American friends, Marta and I sat at a table with my textbook friend, a Chinese woman and all her Chinese friends. Talk about setting yourself up for an interesting evening! Each course of the meal was placed on the lazy susan in the middle of the table, and of course, they expected us to try everything first. They were especially thrilled that we could use chopsticks. Much of the food was quite tasty...other things I kind of pushed around on the plate and smiled a lot.
I asked them how they felt about the situation with North Korea, adding that the newspapers make it sound like China is going to pressure N Korea to get in line. Their response was a little different, pointing out that the situation between the two countries is quite complex and they weren't so sure China should impose so many sanctions. Hum. I smiled and changed the subject.
Throughout the week there was lots of talk about how the Beijing Olympics 2008 will open China's doors to the world. Flying into Beijing you could see the brand new airport being built. Sewer systems are being installed in the city, 150 pollution-spewing businesses have been told to leave the city center, among many other things under construction for the Olympics. One thing that will be hard to address is the air pollution. I couldn't get over it, and everyone told me this was nothing, wait until the winter and spring.
But China seems to have come a long way in a short period of time. I'm reading Wild Swans by Jung Chang. She covers the history of China by describing 3 generations of women in her family up until the 1970s. When you read that, and think about what exists now in China, it's an unbelieveable transformation. Getting to see it with my own eyes is something I'll never forget.
I'm sending 2 pictures. One is of me drinking green tea. In China, hot water is poured over fresh tea leaves into a clear glass. You then strain the leaves as you drink through your teeth, as if eating with chopsticks isn't challenging enough. The other picture is a boat on West Lake where we were staying. You can barely see the mountains in the background for the air pollution.
