I traveled Emirates Airlines via Dubai bound for China, my first trip to the most populated country in the world.
Now look, I have been blessed to have travelled twice in 2010 to the USA, but nothing could have prepared me for this overseas trip.
I was once told that New York is the city that never sleeps – they stand under correction as I strongly believe China is the country that never sleeps!
According to the Xinhua National Bureau of Statistics, China has a population of 1.2 billion people. So it must be true what I've heard a long time ago –Did you know that if all people in Mainland China would jump for one minute at the same time, there would be a disastrous earthquake and considering that Chinese people are scattered all over the planet, the figure also probably explains why more people speak Chinese than English.
What else did I pick up?
The country's GNP is 7.3 trillion Yuan, life expectancy is 71 years, urban population is 30 percent, illiterate population is 12 percent, portion of national budget spent on defense is 10 percent, and farmers' annual income amounts to 2,162 Yuan.
During my 14 day stay in China I visited the following provinces:
BEIJING:
Beijing), also known as Peking is a metropolis in Northern China, and the capital of the People's Republic of China..
The interesting thing I noticed about Beijing is that it’s a major transportation hub, with dozens of railways, roads and motorways passing through the city.
NANJING:
Nanjing is the capital of Jiangsu province, China, and has a prominent place in Chinese history and culture.
Nanjing has always been one of China's most important cities. It served as the capital of China during several historical periods and is recognized as one of the Four Great Ancient Capitals of China. Nanjing was the capital of the Republic of China before the Chinese Civil War in 1949.
Nanjing is the second largest commercial center in the East China region, after Shanghai.
ZHENGZHOU:
Zhengzhou, is a prefecture-level city, and the capital of Henan province. It also serves as the political, economic, technological, and educational centre of the province, as well as being a major transportation hub for Central China.
INNER MONGOLIA:
Inner Mongolia is located in the northern region of the country. Inner Mongolia shares an international border with the country of Mongolia (alternatively known as Outer Mongolia) and the Russian Federation. Its capital is Hohhot and the largest city is Baotou.
The majority of the population in the region is Han Chinese, with a substantial Mongol minority.
Every meal became extra memorable because it was a meal full of exotic food. Since this was a first in a lifetime experience, I decided to break my own rules and indulge in every single meal which of course resulted to 2kg of extra weight later!
Time always attaches people to places, and in fourteen days, I felt that in China.
It's a long and storied attachment that grew ever since I stepped on Chinese soil.
And now that my journey has taken a full circle, I couldn't help but be swept by a wave of nostalgia. When the airplane took off, I closed my eyes, recited a prayer of thanks, and saw an aerial view of polluted Beijing for the last time. Up there, things appeared to be tiny, and yet I know, the country I just left was both fast and slow, old and new, commercial and spiritual, quiet and noisy.
It is a country very much different from my Western colonial background, but very similar, too.. Without even knowing it, I realize now that a part of my checkered psychedelic life was very Chinese. But aren't we all?
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