The Chinese aren’t known for their planning skills, so when I found out at 4:00 pm on Friday, October 18th that I would have a surprise five day weekend, I wasn’t that shocked. Expecting the unexpected is something you quickly become accustomed to in China. My site-mate, Kelly, and I decided to make good use of this gift and take a trip. Only twelve hours after learning about our long weekend, Kelly and I got off a train in Guilin, while the city was still covered in the darkness of night.
Guilin, and our ultimate destination of Yangshuo, are located in the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, only eight hours south-west of the Hunan Province. These cities are known to backpackers and tourists as beautiful areas to see China’s famous karst landscape. Karst topography is created when, over millions of years, the ground water dissolves a majority of the bedrock (often limestone), forming mountain-like towers from the harder stone that remains. Unlike most of the other cities I’ve visited, these towns were both flooded with not only thousands of Chinese tourists, but also foreign visitors of all ages. I must admit that it took a while for me to get used to seeing non-Asians at every turn.
Due to the abundance of both Chinese and foreign tourists, many locals are able to make a living selling their wares on the streets. They aren’t shy about approaching travelers to pressure them to take a look at their gourd flutes, DVDs, bracelets, scarves, or whatever else they might have to pawn off. One quickly tires of saying”不要,谢谢” (Bù yào, Xièxie), which literally translates as “not want, thank you”. It’s not just goods though. Coercion also comes from people who would like you to take on a bamboo boat cruise on the Li River, to the Super Water Buddha Cave, or be your guide for the day. Chinese fan? 不要,谢谢. Knock-off North Face jacket? 不要,谢谢. Weird profile cut-out that makes me look like I have a huge bump on my head? 不要,谢谢. Ear cleaning? 不要,谢谢. Osama Bin Laden T-shirt? 不要,谢谢. Taxi ride? 不要,谢谢. I don’t think I’m the first person to become mildly annoyed with then number of times I was forced to say “不要,谢谢” during a visit to Yangshuo. It can be become a little overwhelming and I began to think that these people didn’t see a person, but rather a dollar sign (or a yuan sign) when they looked at me.
While eating lunch with our bicycle tour guide, Daniel, my outlook took a 180˚ turn. I was feeling a little irritated that Kelly and I were tricked into/ forced to buy him lunch at a rather expensive restaurant, when I asked Daniel if he was married. He said he was and that he had a six year old son. He later added that his son lives in a village about 8 km from the town of Yangshuo with his parents, while he and his wife rent a room in the town. Work was hard to come by in the small village and so Daniel and his wife decided it would be better for their family if they sought employment in Yangshuo. There just isn’t time for them to ride their bikes back and forth between the town and the village everyday and there’s no one in the town who is able to watch over the little boy. Daniel and his wife work everyday, trying to find tourists who would like a bicycle tour guide, unable to see their son for months at a time. Then, in the off season when there are fewer tourists, they move back to the village and try to find employment picking fruit. Their lives are neither certain, nor easy.
There I was, feeling sorry for myself because I had to spend an extra ¥10 ($1.50) on this tour guide’s lunch after I already paid him for his guide services. And there he was, fighting every day to make a living, to stay alive, and to give his son the best life he can. Could I be more of a jerk? The least I could do for this very kind man was to buy him a nice lunch and not mentally whine about it.
Lunch with Daniel gave me an entirely new perspective on my need to say 不要,谢谢 time and time again. I’m still not going to buy everything offered to me. Not by a long shot. However, I am going to think not about how it can become irritating to be approached by local vendors, but rather about the person behind the goods and services, that person’s family, and their well-being while saying, “不要,谢谢.”
Guilin, and our ultimate destination of Yangshuo, are located in the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, only eight hours south-west of the Hunan Province. These cities are known to backpackers and tourists as beautiful areas to see China’s famous karst landscape. Karst topography is created when, over millions of years, the ground water dissolves a majority of the bedrock (often limestone), forming mountain-like towers from the harder stone that remains. Unlike most of the other cities I’ve visited, these towns were both flooded with not only thousands of Chinese tourists, but also foreign visitors of all ages. I must admit that it took a while for me to get used to seeing non-Asians at every turn.
Due to the abundance of both Chinese and foreign tourists, many locals are able to make a living selling their wares on the streets. They aren’t shy about approaching travelers to pressure them to take a look at their gourd flutes, DVDs, bracelets, scarves, or whatever else they might have to pawn off. One quickly tires of saying”不要,谢谢” (Bù yào, Xièxie), which literally translates as “not want, thank you”. It’s not just goods though. Coercion also comes from people who would like you to take on a bamboo boat cruise on the Li River, to the Super Water Buddha Cave, or be your guide for the day. Chinese fan? 不要,谢谢. Knock-off North Face jacket? 不要,谢谢. Weird profile cut-out that makes me look like I have a huge bump on my head? 不要,谢谢. Ear cleaning? 不要,谢谢. Osama Bin Laden T-shirt? 不要,谢谢. Taxi ride? 不要,谢谢. I don’t think I’m the first person to become mildly annoyed with then number of times I was forced to say “不要,谢谢” during a visit to Yangshuo. It can be become a little overwhelming and I began to think that these people didn’t see a person, but rather a dollar sign (or a yuan sign) when they looked at me.
While eating lunch with our bicycle tour guide, Daniel, my outlook took a 180˚ turn. I was feeling a little irritated that Kelly and I were tricked into/ forced to buy him lunch at a rather expensive restaurant, when I asked Daniel if he was married. He said he was and that he had a six year old son. He later added that his son lives in a village about 8 km from the town of Yangshuo with his parents, while he and his wife rent a room in the town. Work was hard to come by in the small village and so Daniel and his wife decided it would be better for their family if they sought employment in Yangshuo. There just isn’t time for them to ride their bikes back and forth between the town and the village everyday and there’s no one in the town who is able to watch over the little boy. Daniel and his wife work everyday, trying to find tourists who would like a bicycle tour guide, unable to see their son for months at a time. Then, in the off season when there are fewer tourists, they move back to the village and try to find employment picking fruit. Their lives are neither certain, nor easy.
There I was, feeling sorry for myself because I had to spend an extra ¥10 ($1.50) on this tour guide’s lunch after I already paid him for his guide services. And there he was, fighting every day to make a living, to stay alive, and to give his son the best life he can. Could I be more of a jerk? The least I could do for this very kind man was to buy him a nice lunch and not mentally whine about it.
Lunch with Daniel gave me an entirely new perspective on my need to say 不要,谢谢 time and time again. I’m still not going to buy everything offered to me. Not by a long shot. However, I am going to think not about how it can become irritating to be approached by local vendors, but rather about the person behind the goods and services, that person’s family, and their well-being while saying, “不要,谢谢.”
***
If you’d like to see photos of my trip, please follow these links: Yangshuo and Long Ji Rice Terraces and Guilin. (Thanks to Kelly for providing all the photos. My camera is currently out of commission and will be for the next few weeks or so. I’m trying to get it repaired here in Zhuzhou, but it’s proving to be more difficult that one might have thought. In the end, I may just end up having to buy a new one. Whatever happens, there will be pictures!)
Ashley,
ReplyDeleteYou are visiting such wonderful places and learning so very much about life. I just wish I could bottle your thoughts and share them with so many people, because we are the rich Americans. Continue having a great time and learn more.
Mom