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'China trains more then 12 million construction migrant workers' the China Daily reports. For us Europeans living in our small countries this is a size impossible to imagine.
Just yesterday I had a talk with a Chinese friend who told me that some Chinese who want to invest in Europe were inquiring about the size of European companies: 'Are they really that small?'. Yes we are. Size is one thing that cannot be compared between Europe and China.
When the Chinese Communist Party took over in China in 1949 Chinese society was reorganized in work units: people lived where they worked. Their whole life went on within the walls of the work unit. Housing was standardized with little possibilities or variety. Everything changed after the introduction of the 'Four Modernizations' in 1978. But that does not mean that all of China changed overnight. The legacy of the time before 1978 is still there today. I took this picture last year in Sichuan.
A holistic concept of the universe means that everything is related to each other and infuences each other. Human beings belong to the same system; their actions need to be in harmony with the power of nature. This belief results in a lot of symbolism in China. People try all kinds of ways to obtain good luck. Here a man tries to stick a coin to the Chinese character '吉': 'luck'.
In 2005 the Chinese television organized a contest in the style of the 'Idol' contests in the West. The program was called 超级女声 translated as 'Super Girl'. The Chinese public could vote by SMS. The fact that this kind of program was on brought a lot of reactions. Some people claimed it was the first time the Chinese public could have a democratic vote.
Anyway, Li Yuchun, with her boyish style outfit, wild short haircut, and without any make up, won the Super Girl contest. It marked the beginning of a unisex style in China: very soon lots of in boyish style dressed girls showed up.
A year later I discovered Li Yuchun on the cover of the fancy magazine '我爱' which means 'I Love'. The wild girl of the year before had completely vanished. Being a celebrity Li Yuchun was now dressed up in traditional qipao, holding a calligraphy brush in her hand: back to classical Chinese beauty. That is how modern and traditional China melt together and how the discours of '5000 years of Chinese culture' is being established.
Chinese tourist groups always have a symbol to outline the group. In times when Chinese society was still organized in communist work units, all the people received the same full travel outfit with cap and bag and everything included. Nowadays the outlining of the group is less obvious: here the group has a Micky Mouse badge with number.
伟大领导毛主席永远活在我们心中
Our Great Leader Chairman Mao Lives Forever In Our Heart
Now for sale as tourist gadgets ... times change!
Anti-corruption campaigns in China are as old as China itself. Another one is going on at this moment.
Last week Xu Zongheng, mayor of Shenzhen city was removed for corruption. A few days later Pi Qiansheng, vice-ministerial official in Tianjin was sacked from the Chinese Communist Party. Chen Shaoji, Guangdong province's top political adviser, and Wang Huayuan, former head of anti-corruption in Guangdong who now works in Zhejiang were prosecuted. It might go on for a while. Like always this is not about financial corruption; it's about political power struggle.
您好 Hello
请 I beg you pardon
谢谢 Thank you
对不起 Excuse me
再见 See you later
It is very common in China to educate the people with slogans. In this case the attention is focused on the very basic words of politeness.
I took this picture in the stairway leading up to a teahouse 茶馆 - Mahjong 麻将 place in Chengdu. Since ancient times Mahjong (majiang in Mandarin) - a game where skill, strategy and luck are involved - is a very popular in China.