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Nick’s Trip to China Pt. 2

June 12, 2017

There are, of course, plenty of facts and figures on China but while I was there recently I sought the opinions of a returning American tourist, and one of our local tour guides on the changes they found most notable over the last 20 years or so.

The American tourist first visited the country in the 1990s. She commented on the much improved orderliness at airports, where the handling of luggage had become vastly more efficient; the absence of pushing to get on buses at the bus-stops; and the sheer size of the buildings that have risen, more akin to New York City than the former colonial structures. She noted the significant decrease in ‘hawking and spitting’ in public; a somewhat unpleasant old habit that might have been related to the very high level of cigarette smoking. There were also fewer people wearing the “pajama” outfits so common under Mao. Simple conveniences like toilets have improved and are much more western, at least in the cities. Development has spread on an enormous scale, and the main theme might well be an increased sense of order everywhere.

The comments from my new-found Chinese friend were rather more specific. Twenty-three years ago, his annual salary was approximately $500 per year. Today it is $15,000.  A pancake cost 2 Yuan then, but now costs 6 Yuan.  A ticket to visit the Forbidden City is up 300-fold. Living standards are clearly higher with the number of cars in Beijing now 5.3 million versus 1 million. The choice of cars is impressive. Right by our hotel in Beijing were showrooms for Aston Martin, Ferrari, McLaren, Maserati, and Hummer!  Houses and apartments are bigger. Previously 3 or 4 generations might share a small 500 square foot dwelling. Today that space has almost doubled. Twenty years ago, you needed both money and Government issued coupons to buy anything.  Today there are no limits.

It is traditional for a bridegroom’s family to provide generous wedding gifts. Forty years ago the gifts might have been a bicycle, a sewing machine, a radio and a watch. Twenty years ago the “three new treasures” were a color TV (that could cost up to 5 years of salary), a washing machine and a refrigerator. More recently, the preferred gifts have become a home (or at least 30% to 40% down payment), a car, and money. We were told that eligibility for a male suitor consisted of the “5 Cs”: cash, credit card, condo, career and a car.

He describes his life and standard of living as better than before, but he is much more stressed because of the pressures of an increasingly materialistic society.

My own observations are more immediate. The number of cranes busy building more high-rises was striking, as was the number of construction projects for new highways and railway lines. The activity suggesting yet more growth was frankly staggering. The data shows that China has used more concrete in the last three years than the U.S. did in the previous century. Despite more consumption, the savings rate is close to 50% of GDP, and the last recession was over twenty-six years ago. China is clearly a country to watch.

Nick Hoffman

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