Matt Schiavenza From the Dragon to the Apple- A Sinophile in New York

Countryside

I spent last weekend hiking and camping in the Yunnan countryside near Kunming, roughly thirty kilometers from Stone Forest. November, with its mild temperatures and clear skies, is the best season for outdoor activities in Kunming, and my friends and I were blessed with two perfect days and one starry night.

We hiked from a small country town to a cave beside a stream, passing through several rural villages along the way. On the way back, we rested in the courtyard of a farmer's house, munching snacks and chatting with the farmer and his family. He was a slightly built man in his early 80s with a wispy beard and a perfect set of teeth: looking not unlike a stereotypical Oriental philosopher. As we sat outside and took in the scenery, my friend complimented him on the beauty of his surroundings.

"This? This isn't pretty. It's poor- and undeveloped," he said, dismissing the land with a wave of his hand. For us city-dwellers who deal with ugly architecture, pollution, and traffic on a daily basis, we were taken aback. Our rural paradise was his backward and poor habitat.

Reading media coverage of China, one could imagine that the entire country is made of up glitzy skyscrapers, newly rich entrepreneurs with shiny black cars, and a Starbucks on every corner. This, of course, is the image the government wants to present. The new China is urban, sophisticated, modern, and developed, a far cry from the dark days of the Cultural Revolution.

Yet the vast majority of Chinese people- more than 700 million in all- remain rural peasants. This op-ed from The Financial Times estimates that 300 million Chinese are below the standard international poverty line, a staggering sum equaling the entire population of the United States. The booming coastal cities to the east are thousands of miles away and light years ahead economically. For farmers like the man we met, the new China hasn't yet arrived.

There's an old saying, most recently seen in the film Little Children, that only beautiful people say that looks don't matter. I think a similar analogy can be made with poverty. I've met several foreigners in China who complain about the rampant materialism of the Chinese and the importance placed on financial success. One even wistfully mused that he would have enjoyed living here prior to the economic reform period, a naive sentiment that nonetheless captures the views of more than a few people. Only people who have never been poor can romanticize poverty.

To be sure, China's rush to modernize- a project begun long before Mao took the reins of power- has severe environmental costs. Finding a pristine atmosphere in China can be difficult, and so those of who have lived here for quite awhile certainly appreciate it. China loses a lot when new cities are constructed, and it wouldn't surprise me to see much of the Yunnan countryside covered in gray asphalt before long.

But economic growth brings prospects of success, and change, and improvement. Those people who haven't tasted it yet cannot be blamed for wanting a piece of it for themselves.