Kunming Through Fresh Eyes
People I know from back home often ask me why I don't take many photos. They are, naturally, curious to see what daily life in a Chinese city looks like, and part of me feels guilty for denying them the opportunity. Kunming, though, is my Chinese home; I live, work, play, and study here, and events that visitors might find extraordinary pass by unnoticed.
Before setting off for Thailand, my parents and I spent five days in Kunming. Most people prefer taking their visitors to more scenic spots like Dali or Lijiang, but it was important for me that my parents caught a glimpse of my daily life. We were under little pressure to sightsee (mostly because there really isn't much to see here), so we spent most of our time wandering Kunming's streets and visiting some of my regular haunts.
My parents are good travelers; adventurous and open-minded. Their observations interested me, and here are some of the ones I remember:
-the sheer volume of commerce. My father wondered how so many restaurants, shops, and barbershops could stay in business. Is it the sheer population size? The low barriers to entry? Or do Chinese people simply eat out more than Westerners? What is the failure rate of small businesses in China in comparison to other countries?
-the Chinese propensity to manage their natural settings. Kunming's Green Lake Park is a perfect example. Every square centimeter of the park seems landscaped, molded, and planned by man, with a paucity of rusticity. Even China's major national parks, such as Emei Shan in Sichuan, are well-paved and stocked full of shops, restaurants, and other diversions. Yet despite this lack of quietude, my parents were charmed by the bustle of the park, particularly with the tai-chi practitioners performing their graceful movements each morning.
-the amount of smoking. Granted, my parents had come from California, where public smoking ranks below public urination in the ranking of acceptable social behavior. They were aware that China, despite recent government efforts to curtail tobacco use, is one of the last bastions of the vice. Yet the amount of smoking evident in bars, cafes, hotel lobbies, restaurants, taxis, and even in restricted places like train stations shocked them. In Kunming, smoking is generally banned in taxis, but drivers will rarely tell someone to stub their cigarette out and often defy the law themselves.
-healthy and active geriatrics. Chinese parks are chock-full of older people (defined as 75+) exercising, chatting, playing games, or otherwise socializing. Could this- and a generally healthy diet- explain why the life expectancy in China remains surprisingly high despite pollution, substandard health care, poverty, hardship, etc? I might be generalizing, but most senior citizens in the US spend an inordinate amount of time in front of the TV set indoors.
-simply how normal China is. The Western media, at its worst, tends to portray China as a Stalinist police state that terrorizes its citizens into submission while menacing foreigners. From their trip to China in 2005, my parents understood that Western media claims were wildly overstated, and their trip to Kunming this year only reinforced that perception.
After a few days, we had exhausted most sightseeing possibilities in the city and spent the last couple of days relaxing. Then, we flew to Bangkok for the second phase of our Asian trip.
