American Gaijin - Travel Stories, Part 1: China

China is a wonderful country and the people are just like you and I. They want to improve their life and that of their family. They believe in education and hard work. Most Chinese are capitalist and want to make more money. If you go to China there is so much to see and do it is impossible to list everything. On my list are the Great Wall, Beijing City, Forbidden City, and Beijing History Museum. My first visit to Forbidden City one could walk around freely and touch anything. There were no guards and as far as I know I was the only one walking around the city. I was quite surprised by this as it is now one of the most visited places in China.

The city of Xian the ancient capital of the first Emperor where the ceramic soldiers are located is a must see. I have not been there but plan to go in the future. Just a visit to these two cities will give you a great feel and touch of China. This is a seven day trip just to visit these two cities, not including your fight time from the USA. You can spend 3 days in Beijing with one day flight to Xian and then 3 days in Xian then one day back to Beijing. I recommend instead of flying back to Beijing fly to Honk Kong and see this wonderful city while in the Far East. As far as good Hotels go there are many new hotels such as the Hyatt and Hilton in China these days. I recommend stay at the big name hotels to avoid problems. China is a very large country and has many wonderful sights to see. It is a must to visit if you like going to exotic places.

Mao Zedong or Mao Tse-tung was the founder of the Peoples Republic of China. He was a true leader of people. He knew how to persuade people to his cause which was communism. When people could not be convinced to join his cause, then force and violence was used by his followers. Mao was a member of the KMT or Kuomintang, a powerful political party, which he tried to persuade to become Communists. Mao led an uprising in Hunan and failed so he was thrown out of the KMT. Mao and others established and built the Red Army between 1928 and 1931 in the mountains far away from the KMT and big cities. Mao led the Red Army during the Sino-Japanese war but the Communists and the KMT continued their civil war while both fighting the Japanese from 1937 until 1945. The civil war continued after WWII and in 1949 the Communists under Mao's leadership had taken almost the entire mainland of China. Chiang Kai shek was forced to leave the country fleeing for his life to Taiwan. Mao never chased him there and just left Taiwan alone. Mao just wanted to control the China mainland. He had his hands full doing that. Mao died in 1976 and Deng Xiaoping became the new leader in China and helped move the country to a more liberal and modern society. Mao's body is on displayed in a mausoleum in Tiananmen Square. It is open to the public for viewing. Under his leadership he has done more to unite China than any other ruler in Chinese history. Under his rule China has gone from a third world country to a major world power.

There is not much to say about the food other than there are many types of Chinese food. I do not like most of them. They are too greasy or slimly for my pallet. One common food is Shark Fin Soup which is a bowl of slimly shark fat. Chinese eat anything and everything possible. Some Chinese foods are quite different and disgusting such as, monkey's brain consumed directly from the skull, bear's paw, snake, baby mice, rats, lizards and a lot of insects.

American made Chinese food is somewhat different than real Chinese food, maybe cleaner, fresher, or something; as I can eat American Chinese food with no problem. One of my favorite is a local Chinese
place called Wong Lee Chinese Take Out. Wong Lee is a real entrepreneur who came here 25 years ago from China to get away from Red China. He started a little take out restaurant after saving his money and has been in business for 20 years in the same location. Wong came from Guangzhou area called Foshan City. His Mother and other relatives still live there. Wong lives in the United States with his wife and two kids. The typical Chinese food Wong makes is noodles with vegetables or rice adding chicken, pork, or shrimp as desired. Typical dishes Wong serves are Lo Mein, Hun- Nan pork, Moo shu chicken, Szechwan beef, Moo goo Gai pan, and Kong Po Chicken. His dishes are adjusted for American taste.

Get to know some local people and really enjoy our trip as Chinese people are very friendly. Watch for Part 2 American Gaijin Part 2 - My First Visit to China.

References: Mao Zedong, www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/COLDmao.htm