By Satyajit Banerjee Like almost everyone else in India, I thought I had a sense of China. Like almost everyone, I believed that apart from the glitzy large cities much of the hinterland was backward and shared the standard Indian clichés of a nation of largely unhappy, repressed people. So when I got an offer […]
By Satyajit Banerjee
Like almost everyone else in India, I thought I had a sense of China. Like almost everyone, I believed that apart from the glitzy large cities much of the hinterland was backward and shared the standard Indian clichés of a nation of largely unhappy, repressed people. So when I got an offer to work there in January 2016, I was ambivalent about leaving my comfortable university job. Besides, I was barraged by the scepticism of my friends and family: Gosh why China, you have to be careful, you can’t trust them. I declined the offer despite my curiosity for exploring the country further. A year later, when the offer resurfaced, I thought perhaps this was destiny and took the plunge.
My four years in China were a revelation. Every prejudice I had turned on its head. The first obvious thing that strikes you is the physical infrastructure. Yes, the big metros have nice airports in India today but an obscure city like Kunming, my first point of entry, had an impressive airport. My 2-hour road trip from Shanghai to Wuxi, a town 130 km away, seemed like snaking through an urban megalopolis, with corporate parks, malls, housing complexes interspersed with parks and gardens, briefly crossing open countryside before zipping through neat urban areas again. Impressive 8-lane highways crisscrossed my path.
Wuxi Calling
Wuxi (pronounced Wushi, since X is sh in Chinese), with a population of 6.5 million, is a sprawling city with six lane-roads all across, and an additional lane on either side for electric scooters and bicycles (Wuxi has no gasoline-run scooters or motorcycles). In many ways, it is typical of cities in large swathes of China, with landscaped parks and gardens and waterways, teeming with recreational facilities. It is developed in all directions with no such thing as an affluent part and a poorer part of the town.
As in all the urban renewal blitzkrieg of the last three decades, much of the interesting older parts of the towns were razed making way for a spanking new city. Luckily, sections of the old town have been preserved and make for a fun outing on weekends.
Public transportation is cheap and super comfortable. Air-conditioned electric buses cost only 2 RMB while the extensive and modern metro system connects the sprawling city with three different interconnected lines and costs between 4 RMB and 8 RMB for a trip (1 RMB = Rs 10 approx). Enormous railway stations connect Wuxi with high-speed trains across the country. A trip to Shanghai costs under 40 RMB and transports you there in 38 minutes, with speed reaching over 300 kmph. There are long-distance modern bus stations attached to the train stations. Travelling in public transport, whether within the city or across the country, is a pleasurable experience.
Yes, surveillance is all-pervasive, and citizens carry their Citizen’s Card with them everywhere (like an Aadhaar Card). The government knows at all times about your whereabouts but people don’t seem to mind
Busting Myth
The myth about unhappy people under a repressive regime was dispelled quickly. I comment only about large parts of China and not about minorities living in the outer provinces. I interacted with students, teachers and people across different strata of society. They are concerned about their own happiness and would hardly have the patience or interest in issues such as ‘Mandir wahi banega’.
Hundreds of millions of people have high quality housing, sewage and modern toilets, heating and air-conditioning, easy access to flowering parks and gardens, cheap comfortable public transport and abundant food. They are thankful to the Communist party for making their lives comfortable and sincerely believe that their model of governance delivers. I found them non-interfering, polite, andlaughing easily. Even during the height of the border tensions between India and China in Doklam, I did not experience any negative reaction from anyone, except an occasional curious ‘Are you Indu?’ from a taxi driver.
Managing Pandemic
I missed the crucial months of the pandemic in China between January and March 2020, since I was in India, making it back to China only on the last flight out of India in March end. It was a revelation to see how China managed the pandemic. After the horror stories of Wuhan, I found an efficient well-managed programme to contain the pandemic, which seemed all under control by April. I was put under house quarantine, with a sensor on my door which would beep should I open it and the police would be notified.
However, there was enough community support system to deliver food and groceries at the doorstep, the door opened under the supervision of the housing complex support staff. I would have to register my daily temperature onto a government site via a QR code. There were stories about how a Chinese native who was put in self-managed quarantine decided to visit the grocery store. The police telephoned to warn him about the violation.
Government that Knows
There are cameras at every street crossing and every information is placed in the national information grid. The face recognition software automatically alerts the police of any violation. Yes, surveillance is all-pervasive, citizens carry their Citizen’s Card (like Aadhaar Card) with them everywhere. You cannot travel anywhere or make any reservations or visit a museum without the card. The government knows at all times about your whereabouts. And, people don’t seem to mind.
The government is confident of citizen support because it has successfully lifted hundreds of millions out of poverty in a time frame unprecedented in human history
Every resident in China has a health code called the Xikang Code. It used to be scanned everywhere during the pandemic. Should you visit a friend at a housing complex where someone in the complex subsequently is diagnosed with Covid, your Xikang code will turn from green to orange, the police will call you and you will have to quarantine yourself. The same applied to flights. Should any passenger on any flight contract the disease, all passengers would be quarantined via the information on the Xikang code. By mid-April, public transportation was fully operational in Wuxi but people continued to wear masks without any fuss. By May, the city was back to normalcy.
The government is confident of citizen support because it has successfully lifted hundreds of millions out of poverty in a time frame unprecedented in human history. But it is wary of an outbreak like Covid, which would disrupt life, derail economic growth and foment public discontent. Hence, the sharp measures to control any outbreak as recently experienced in Shanghai.
Welcoming, Musical
Tourism is a huge industry in China. During their national holidays, more than a billion trips are made — the largest movement of people anywhere. Hotels are excellent, very reasonable and plentiful. The tourism infrastructure is fantastic. With translation apps, it isn’t very difficult for foreigners to communicate or make reservations.
The entire nation listens to music, which is soft and soothing, typically western melodies with Chinese lyrics. many drivers wear wrist bracelets with Rudraksh bead lookalikes, which they twirl during traffic signals while listening to soothing music
Domestic tourism too is booming and citizens pay good money for the facilities. So China has little need for foreign tourists. But I must mention, one needs to stay in the regulated paths in any national parks or tourist destinations. Unlike in the US, you cannot simply vanish into the countryside. China has fantastic sights to enjoy, staggering canyons, towering mountains, raging rivers, caves and historical sights. And lively bustling cities and seaside resorts. Sanya in Hainan will put Goa to shame.
China is perhaps one of the safest countries on the planet. I can never remember feeling unsafe anywhere at any time of day or night. There are no guns in China and citizens have little to fear. The police are extremely helpful, the common citizens have a great sense of comfort with the police. I have also been intrigued by the sense of calmness among taxi drivers.
While monetary transactions via mobile are increasing in India, it is all-pervasive in China. From paying 2 RMB to a street vendor or 20,000 for a major buy, phone payments via WeChat or Alipay are normal. One can do without credit cards or even cash, phone is all you need. Also, e-frauds are almost unheard of in China.
From paying 2 RMB to a street vendor or 20 000 for a major buy, phone payments are normal. One can do without credit cards or even cash, phone is all you need
Education Abroad
China has a very large number of international schools and sends a very large number of students abroad each year. University admissions from China contribute to the extent of $10 billion to Australia’s economy yearly. After being associated with student assessments most of my working life, I am often puzzled over the high grades received by Chinese students at the International Baccalaureate examinations when such quality of work would be awarded much lower grades for IB students in India.
There is a fascination among the Chinese to send their children to universities abroad. However, America, the preferred destination for long, has fallen out of favour. My interaction with students evoked some interesting observations. For long, the West believed that the economic boom and the exodus of students each year to the universities there would make China a more ‘liberal & progressive’ country.
While the Chinese love their university excursions abroad, they also strongly network and socialise with only other Chinese. They eat mostly their kind of food (every large university has a large Chinese population and all the local Chinese ingredients are easily available). And they return with their love for their country intact. My students even complain that Australia is ‘boring’ and that entertainment facilities are not that well developed as in China!
While the Chinese love their university excursions abroad, they also strongly network and socialise with only other Chinese
Change Creeping In
However, a gradual change in attitudes is visible. With the cry for ‘socialism with Chinese characteristics’ by the central leadership, I have seen the vibrant international culture in institutes diminish. Involvement of the Communist party in schools has increased with vigorous recruitment drives among students. My friends in the consulates have complained that the erstwhile bonhomie between the Indian cultural wing and their Chinese counterparts has declined as anti-Indian rhetoric by the CPC has accelerated. Government media plays a huge role in shaping public opinion since most people simply do not have access to outside media, nor do they particularly care to (VPNs are illegal for most ordinary citizens). I surmise, with some regret, that the glorious phase of China embracing internationalism is on the decline.
Without going into political narratives and international relations, I have tried to articulate an anecdotal account of my stay in China. It has been a privilege to have a sense of how a fifth of humanity lives and I feel richer for it.
(The author, with extensive experience in college and school education and administration, taught in India, the US and had a stint in China. Photos provided by the author)