Will China become the most visited country in the world soon? (Europe, travelling)
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My wife had a valid Visa and was staying with me for two years in US, went to india to deliver my son there. She was coming back to US when my son was 4 months old and she was stopped/not allowed to board (she was on no-fly list) the plane in dubai. After all this pain and hassle, She was the last person to board with an infant in the Plane!!!
A woman with an infant on no-fly list. seriously?
Indeed. I assume that burgler09 was being sarcastic...
Not really. China like other Communist countries secretly do background checks on all foreign visitors when they apply for a Visa to their country. That's a little known secret. If they see in their investigations you work at or have some knowledgeable background in what they are looking for you may experience what we did. Also if you get caught discussing politics with a commoner they may get arrested and you may get booted out.
I can't beleive that. I got my business visa in basically a day. How long would they have to do a background check? Going through passport control at PVG was very simple and quick even though I have some strange visa's in my passport.
Anyways, now in China:
Dicussing politics - I get the feeling my Chinese business collegues would be very bored discussing politics, as it's probably the furthest thing from their mind.
Accessibility for a tourist - suprisingly easy. Most signs are mutli lingual at least in Shanghai. Traveling the metro is no problem. It's a bit tricky dealing with taxi drivers.
Freedoms, or the perceived lack of it - All modern (and expensive) western shops can easilier be found on the 1 mile pedestrian stretch west of The Bund. Propositioned several times by Chinese prostitutes. Busy with Chinese middle clase shoppers - young people in jeans and colorful sneakers. Metro had video screens in the cars and stations - did you see political messages promoting the workers movement? Nope - mostly they were fashion advertisements. I did a test on the hotel internet to see if the infamous Chinese internet blocking blocked "Free Tibet" site. Nope, no problem (could be some allowance given to western hotels). The modest Chairman Mao statue looked strangely out of place on the Bund Riverfront. An archaic reminder of China of the previous century.
Everywhere they are building - enourmous and modern skyscrappers.
I can't beleive that. I got my business visa in basically a day. How long would they have to do a background check? Going through passport control at PVG was very simple and quick even though I have some strange visa's in my passport.
Anyways, now in China:
Dicussing politics - I get the feeling my Chinese business collegues would be very bored discussing politics, as it's probably the furthest thing from their mind.
Accessibility for a tourist - suprisingly easy. Most signs are mutli lingual at least in Shanghai. Traveling the metro is no problem. It's a bit tricky dealing with taxi drivers.
Freedoms, or the perceived lack of it - All modern (and expensive) western shops can easilier be found on the 1 mile pedestrian stretch west of The Bund. Propositioned several times by Chinese prostitutes. Busy with Chinese middle clase shoppers - young people in jeans and colorful sneakers. Metro had video screens in the cars and stations - did you see political messages promoting the workers movement? Nope - mostly they were fashion advertisements. I did a test on the hotel internet to see if the infamous Chinese internet blocking blocked "Free Tibet" site. Nope, no problem (could be some allowance given to western hotels). The modest Chairman Mao statue looked strangely out of place on the Bund Riverfront. An archaic reminder of China of the previous century.
Everywhere they are building - enourmous and modern skyscrappers.
Live, Suzhou, China
UPDATES: More testing on websites. Now I am getting some blocking and I noticed that, when I first arrived a couple days ago that to much searching for questionable sites would result in deactivated service. I was going to cuss out the hotel for loss of wifi - only to find out that was modus operandi/how the system works. Now I find twitter blocked. Facebook blocked. When I told an ex-eastern bloc communist friend that I got into "Free Tibet" he said, "yes it's OK, but they are registering what site you are visiting".
Anyways, I wanted to clarify my previous post. Freedom, particularly financial freedom, has increased tremendously in a decade. But don't get me wrong - this is not a free country.
As far as China becomming the most visited country - it won't happen, for a variety of reasons - tourism is not the governments focus, they are too busy building the countries manufacturing infrastructure. -getting a visa is too much of a pain for the normal recreational visitor. -language is still an issue outside of western hotels and resteraunts -and the people are too reserved to fully accept tourists(although it's changing), some due to cultural reasons, but also due to government influences.
I've vited China 3 times: 1988, 2003,2004. In 1988 we had to be accompanied by a communist party representative everywhere. It wasn't bad though because she was cute and she got us in everywhere without having to stand in line (and the lines were long). I managed to buy and smuggle a Chinese flag out of the country, which I still have. For some reason they didn't let flags go out of the country. I have no idea why.
In 2003 and 2004 everything had changed. Parts of China were so Westernized it felt like Japan. However, if you go to small villages like jiaoqing, xingping, or yangshuo you can still find old, rural China (complete with the toilets that you squat over instead of sit on like Western ones. I hated that part).
In 2003 and 2004 everything had changed. Parts of China were so Westernized it felt like Japan. However, if you go to small villages like jiaoqing, xingping, or yangshuo you can still find old, rural China (complete with the toilets that you squat over instead of sit on like Western ones. I hated that part).
Location: The western periphery of Terra Australis
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Squat toilets are common all over Asia, although in most city areas and tourist areas western style ones are readily found. I wasn't aware squat toilets were so prevalent in Japan though because it was developed, but there you go.
As a kid I used to find them 'gross' too (and I've seen some dirty ones) but when you think about it they're less gross in a way, because you're not in contract with a toilet seat where other's have sat. As long as you don't wet or soil yourself it's fine and squatting is a more natural posture for um, doing number 2's.
the key is pricing. China is far far away from USA and europe which comprises of most of the tourists. it is cheaper for american to fly to europe or for a britisher to visit new york/disney. I heard they are making a big Disney in China. The three big Airlines of China are also growing at a frantic pace. Hope the air fares become cheaper.
Location: The western periphery of Terra Australis
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Quote:
Originally Posted by munna21977
the key is pricing. China is far far away from USA and europe which comprises of most of the tourists. it is cheaper for american to fly to europe or for a britisher to visit new york/disney. I heard they are making a big Disney in China. The three big Airlines of China are also growing at a frantic pace. Hope the air fares become cheaper.
Don't ignore the Asian market, many of which have the disposal income to travel...not to mention us in the Southern Hemisphere . Asia is fast become affluent and inter-Asian tourism is growing like crazy. For a long time I think say the Japanese ignored China because of the political situation but I think that will change. Other Asians love to visit China, the mother culture of much of Asia. Many Australians are also visiting China, much closer than Europe or America.
Many Europeans don't mind travelling a long distance. Many have flocked to South East Asia and to a lesser extent India for many decades now, and with China opening up it's becoming a hot destination. For someone in Eastern Europe China is just as close to the West coast of the United States. Vancouver is also closer to Tokyo than it is to London.
This is the thing, and an expansion to my above posts now that I am back in an airport in the US and express myself in a free manner.
China will NEVER be a primary tourists desitnation and I hinted at the reasons above. Sure it has all the components - bilningual in key tourist/business areas, infrastructure, western stores and outlets, key historic sights and beautiful temples and gardens. But China does not really want tourists, they want business, and even with that they are ambivalent. Sure they will take the toursits dollar, but they are struggling with a conflict. The conflict is this: You are dealing with a totalitarion government. Have no doubt. And all the modern skyscrappers, lights, western shops...are simply lipstick on a pig.
Let me explain - as a visiting businessman I couldn't take a crap without the government knowing about it. I always had to take my passport. To check into a hotel you show and register your passport. That is nothing new, they do that in Europe, but if you were to stay anywhere, at a chinese friends house, you are required to register at the nearest police station, and it is seriously enforced. To take a train trip and buy tickets to the next town - show and register passport. To leave luggage - show and register passport. People were watching us in the hotel and noting our activities, People at my company plant were reporting our activities. My internet, emails, phone calls, were undoubtedly monitored. The internet was obvious - at each hotel you register your name as your password for "hotel wifi" when you get online. Yeah right - the intention was obvious. THeir are romours that hotel rooms are bugged, but I doubt I was important enough for that. But forget whatever illusion of privacy a visitor may have - either in public or private.
Imagine this intellegence infrastructure multiplied by all these visitors. China would be too paranoid to encourage and open their country as a tourist free for all. They are too paranoid, but it's not even the western capitalistic influences they care about - western stores are OK, McDonalds and KFC - OK, prostitution - they have a blind eye to. Discos with western music - ok. But what the government fears is losing control of power, and that's what they fear from visitors.
By the way, on my last night in China I could no longer access CityData forum after one post, I will lead it to the reader to figure out what that meant.
Dd714 Thankyou for verifying my previous posts, things haven't really changed have they, apology accepted.
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. Asia is fast become affluent and inter-Asian tourism is growing like crazy. For a long time I think say the Japanese ignored China because of the political situation but I think that will change. Other Asians love to visit China, the mother culture of much of Asia. Many Australians are also visiting China, much closer than Europe or America.
