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26 Jul 2007

Hong Kong, Shenzhen and China (English)



I am back to the mainland, the motherland almost it seems. After a brief stop of about 8 hours in Hong Kong to obtain my visa to enter the People's Republic I arrived in the flourishing business city Shenzhen.
It is not as humid here as it is in Taipei, but there are not as many air-conditioners as on the island, so it still is pretty hot. One great rule (I really mean great) is that air-co's may only cool down to about 28 degrees. Sounds hot, but it is cool and a great measurement to reduce energy waste. The air-co's in Taiwan are so cold that it is almost nicer to stay outside in the humidity.

I am here to visit a friend and I can stay with a family. This is great as it is the opportunity to see more of the real China. Actually Shenzhen is a special place compared to other cities. It really is a melting point of all the different cultures within the great Chinese empire. People from all over the country come here to make a better living as business men or working in factories. All of them bring along their own customs, dialects and traditions. The real people of Shenzhen are barely existing, as the real Shenzhen is nothing but a small fishing village, located north of the great Hong Kong. That is one reason why the term 外地人 (people from a different region) is not used here, there simply are too few 本地人 (people from here) to use it.
The sphere might be somewhat close to New York or other immigrant cities during the time of maybe the late 19th century, when the US where the place to be for those hoping for a better live and making a fortune by working hard or even being smart. Of course the same downsides can be found here and there, today as well as back then. Quite some crime and a huge gap between poor and rich. But I was told that the actual presence of police officerers every 200m helped to reduce crime in boom-town Shenzhen.