Wednesday morning we go to visit Lovell’s International Law firm. I can’t believe the number of bikes. There are separate lanes for the bikes and it isn’t unusual to see a man dressed in a suit or a woman in business attire and heels pedaling a bike to work. Traffic was very congested. I’d learned that the Chinese people were docile and avoided conflict. I honestly can't tell by their driving behavior. They are very aggressive behind the wheel and I witnessed more near misses between pedestrians, bikers, cars and buses than I can count. Everyone seems to think they have the right away so chaos prevails on the streets. I just know that I will witness a crash before I leave China.
Mike, an attorney at the law firm, gave us an overview of China’s history. He particularly focused on the capital, Beijing. He was very knowledgeable on China and its customs and practices. All of his responses were consistent with what I learned in Dr. Yang’s class. He discussed the importance of "face" and guanxi when conducting business in China. "Face" is essentially maintaining your reputation and respect. Guanxi is loosely translated as relationships and refers to the networking that is essential to doing business in China. Gift giving typically goes along with the relationship building . I was saddened, however, to learn that Beijing is losing a lot of its heritage at the cost of modernization. The city is very contemporary but pays a high price that it can’t reverse. Once the history is destroyed, there is no way to retrieve it. Some critics complain that the new buildings being constructed in Beijing are dressed in a Western business suit with a Chinese hat.
We also visited a Hutong neighborhood by pedicab, which was a lot of fun. The driver took us through the quadrangles and the narrow alleys of the neighborhood. The Hutong neighborhood is more than 700 years old and is located in old Beijing. We visited a Beijing resident’s Hutong home and learned about life in Beijing.
Day two of the trip and I'm already a little aggravated with the street peddlers trying to seel me souvenirs. They are relentless! You are constantly barraged by someone trying to sell you something. They know the area is a tourist haven and they are determined to sell you something whether you want it or not. I believed this was the first place we learned to make frequent use of the term, boo-yaw. It means, “I don’t want.” I had the feeling we would get plenty more opportunities to use the phrase during our trip.
That evening I attended a Kung Fu show. Unfortunately, pictures and video weren’t allowed inside so I have neither, but it was an excellent show. The show was performed by about 40 monks with shaved heads. They were an awesome sight. They had chiseled physiques, but the discipline that they exhibited was even more impressive. The martial art feats and acrobatics were literally death defying. One monk balanced on three spears held by his fellow monks. The spears were real because they split a melon prior to the monk’s balancing act. One spear was placed on each shoulder and one spear was placed at the belly button. The balancing monk was face down with arms and legs outstretched as his body weight precariously balanced on the spears. If he didn’t remain rigid, the spears would impale his body. Unbelievable! Another feat included breaking slate bars on the outstretched arms, legs, torso, and head of the same monk that balanced on the spears. He was the Kung Fu Master by the way. The story was his ascension to the rank of Kung Fu Master and the training that he underwent in the process. This guy had a body of steel!
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