174 CultureShock! China
EXPLORING CHINA
One of the advantages of a China assignment is the
opportunity that it provides you to really dig in and explore
the country, her culture and her people. There is no better
way to do this than to travel. The difference between
internationalised first-tier cities and smaller cities in the
interior is staggering. Only hours from Shanghai, which is a
neon sign, brand-draped modern metropolis with some of
the world’s best new architecture, you arrive in smaller cities
that time forgot, greeted at the city entrance by towering
billboards of Deng Xiaoping’s promise for a brighter future
and down main streets where every business sign is a hand-
lettered brown board. Exploring China is like peeling an
onion, under each skin that you penetrate is a whole new
next layer to discover.
Over 90 per cent of the people that inhabit China are Han
Chinese, the predominant ethnic group. The remainder are
Mongolian, Uyghur, Dai, Tibetan, Korean and many other
smaller groups that were preserved in remote, isolated
regions or share an ethnicity with the people living across
any of China’s 14 shared borders. Travel in China provides a
wonderful opportunity to understand the different customs,
beliefs, language, food and lifestyles of these people.Planning
With solid planning and a sense of adventure, China is readily
accessible. Preparation can easily overcome not speaking the
language. With 1.3 billion people, there are few parts of China
that are really remote and there is always someone willing
to give you a helpful push in the right direction.Weather
Spanning 9.5 million sq km (5.9 million sq miles), China is the
third largest country in the world, behind Russia and Canada.
With geography that ranges from the Gobi Desert to Mount
Everest, optimal travel time varies with the destination.
Wintertime in nomadic Inner Mongolia brings temperatures
of -40°C (-40°F), while summer at the Great Game outpost
of Turpan, ‘the hottest place in China’, can hit 47°C (117°F).