Have you traveled to China or Taiwan? If so, what were some interesting experiences or observations that you encountered? If not, would you like to vacation there if you had the opportunity?
Yes, I have been to China and loved it. The food was so much better than what we have here. Having Blond hair, I was stopped repeatedly to have my picture taken as it is believed to bring good luck. I have lived in NYC her but still was not prepared for the overwhelming number of people.
I have not had the opportunity to travel to China or Taiwan. I certainly would like to. One of my friends is leaving for China in two weeks. Her daughter a school teacher will be having her first baby in June, a sweet baby girl.
Iāve been lucky enough to have visited China twice, and both times were fascinating. The first visit was in the 80ās, and the people were still wearing the Mao outfits. The only bright colors in a mass of people would be the babies who wore bright pinks and yellows etc. I saw one old woman with bound feet. She was leaning against a theater wall, waiting for someone to help her walk. The sight of those tiny bound feet is shocking and to my Western eyes, truly repulsive. The poor, bound in so many ways woman. We were advised to bring our own chopsticks because hygiene was less than optimal, and weād sterilize them in the bottle of hot water the hotels provided. The food wasā¦not good, for all the chefs had fled the country. I took along a book-light because you could not read by the tiny, dim bulbs. We had a driver and a car, but cars were rare and our driver flashed the lights on and off (at night) to save power or something. Dogs were for sale in cages along the roads, for food. When we returned in the late 90ās, the country (or at least the large cities we visited) had been transformed. For better or for worse, the ubiquitous bicycles were replaced by cars. Our hotel room was electronically up to date and then some, so rather than that one dim bulb, my husband could download files and contact his stateside office. There were excellent restaurants (and we didnāt have to bring our own chopsticks). The people were wearing whatever they chose, and there were beautiful shops (and, yes, a gigantic MacDonaldās) I was and I remain in awe of what they accomplished in little more than a decade, bringing an enormous country into the 21st century. I wish I could go back again and see what a quarter century more has produced. So in my two trips I learned that their past was amazing (the clay warriors! The forbidden City! On and onā¦) but so is their present. Oh, and I was also in Taiwan and visited the fabulous museum that has the art that was āmade safeā according to Taiwan, ālootedā according to China. However labeled, it is stunning. There was a time-line running around the main room, and I remember an exquisite piece of porcelain under which the time line read āat the time this was made, British people were painting their faces blue.ā
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I visited China in 1993 and have previously shared some experiences. Our tour was tightly controlled. Over ten days we had about 20 minutes of free time to roam the street(s), otherwise we were not to leave our guide. Factory tours would openly show horrendous working conditions, i.e. rug weaving using slanted scaffolding at best. OSHA would have shut down the facilities. At the end of each tour we ended in a gift shop, not unlike my experiences in the US. Many people stood around to help the four of us. Government control everywhere.
One guide was university trained and held a M.A. degree in library science. The govt gave her the position of escorting English speaking tourists. She was hoping for a library position. Another guide was a young man who had attended college in the U.S. He was the one who already had one child, divorced his first wife, and had received permission to have a second child with his new wife, the child being her first. Some women were assigned a job to record menstrual cycles among the females in their villages. Part of the population controls.
I was overwhelmed by the number of people everywhere. We, too, were photographed due to our unique look. Other times people pointed, stared and whispered among one another.
Iāve no doubt 2025 is quite different, yet the government still is strictly in control.
I lived in Taiwan in 1988 through 1990, lived in Hong Kong for 3 years and traveled to PRC. When I first moved to Taipei, it was shortly after Chiang Ching Kuo died and martial law was lifted. It was treason to support any political party but the KMT. It was illegal to import anything from a communist country. Taiwan was protectionist, but fascinating. The Taiwanese people are generous, interested in foreigners,love to gamble, superstitious, and capitalist at their very souls. At formal dinners they used to place bets on what Iād eat, how many times I went to the restroom, etc.
In PRC, I (blond) was approached at the Beijing airport and escorted through my own private customs line. There were people who maimed their own children to make them better beggars.I noticed there are no treasures in PRC because the Nationalist transported all of Chinaās history to Taiwan and store what isnāt on display at the National Palace Museum in o b shelters deep within Yangmingshan Mountain.if not for Chiang Kai Shekand the Nationalists, the history of China would have been destroyed during the Cultural Revolution.
That is why the world has a moral duty to protect Taiwan.
I have not visited China or Taiwan. My granddaughter just returned from a two week trip to Beijing and other cities in that area. She was on a tour to promote the sport of pickle ball. From what I can tell, her visit was carefully orchestrated. I doubt she saw the real China. Seeing the Great Wall and the Forbidden City were interesting but a touristās view.
That was my experience in the 1990s. Not a lot of openness then or now.
Thank you, Judith, Nan, and Vivian.
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Iāve not traveled there and at this time I doubt I would go. I have a passport and we had some travel plans but we are feeling uneasy about leaving and fear problems returning. However, one of my dearest friends is a linguist and frequently visited China and Taiwan and has brought me gifts from those countries. Many years ago when The Field Museum hosted the āSplendors of Chinaās Forbidden City, The Glorious Reign of Emperor Qianlong ā we made a family trip to see it all and it was an amazing exhibit.
I havenāt been to either one of the countries so really canāt judge about vacationing there. We have friends that have Chinese/Taiwanese heritage who have offering to be our tour guides. I still am unsure about going there.
I have always travelled through books. After 12 schools in 12 schools, I was just not interested in pursuing foreign travel. I regret this some now that Iām in my 70s, but I am a self-proclaimed hermit, and we hermits just donāt get out much.
Books though have taken me to many eras and many places. For that Iām truly grateful.
When I visited YUNNAN in Southern China I met a number of people who said. that before Mao, no one could read in the villages but now, everyone can read. Lijiang , Shangri-La, WW2 heroism and the Flying Tigers are draws for Westerners but there are many ethnic minorities, so there is a complicated diverse population visited by Chinese and Western tourists alike.
I was teaching in Taipei at the time. Taipei is a vibrant exciting modern city and so to take a train into the very ancient China is exhilarating.
I havenāt been to China or Taiwan but would enjoy visiting to learn more about the history. I also really enjoyed reading the other responses of travelers on this thread - thank you for sharing!!
Iāve never been to China but always wanted to go. When my husband was active duty USMC and we were stationed in Okinawa, Japan, we traveled to Hong Kong. This was before Hong Kong reverted back to Chinese rule and was still under British authority. Our flight layover on this trip was to Taiwan but I was only ever in the airport so that doesnāt really count. LOL. I would have loved to visit China.