An U

nbia

sed

Opi

nion

An U

nbia

sed

Opi

nion

Contents

~1~

Development / Obtrusive

Vibrant / Unavoidable

Culture / Obscure

Innocent / Naїve

~2~

Obtrusive

Development

~3~

Shan

ghai

city

cen

tre, C

hina

“ The entire land had been manhandled into these monotonous shapes; rivers the same approach.

China has been left looking very unnatural. A road cuts the land and I am

left feeling very uncomfortable.”

Development

Obtrusive

“The Colour was for the city so it seemed, as was the life of China.”

“5 minutes of a psychedelic fantasy.”

~6~

The

Bund

, Sha

ngha

i, Ch

ina

Obtrusive

~10~

“Lit in many different colours, a beautiful show is created for everyone to watch

in ore. It really was something spectacular and all I can say is it could only

happen in China.”

“Jinan is a city of bright colours, endless smells and wonderful people.

Jinan would not be easy to forget.”

Jina

n sq

uare

city

cen

tre, C

hina

~12~

Vibrant

~13~

Unavoidable

Vibrant

“Life in China feels very structured.”

Unavoidable

~18~

“A cultural market, selling everything and anything.”

Vibrant

“It was so exciting, the thrill of the purchase far more exciting than the

actual final bought product.”

Unavoidable

Cultu

ral m

arke

t Yun

aun

Gar

dens

, Sha

ngha

i, Ch

ina

~22~

Vibrant

“Every moment there has been something new, something I have never seen before.”

~24~

Culture

~25~

Obscure

~26~

Obscure

“Unlike anything I have seen before, this place was filled with tat! Stationary, gifts and cheap jewellery, how she ever

made any money was beyond me and everyone was selling the same things .”

~pg 28~

Jina

n St

reet

s, S

hand

ong,

Chi

na

Culture

“Culture hit me all at once, sight, sound and impossible to avoid the smell. The imagination could not stretch far enough

for the foods I saw and the aroma... was exotic .”

Obscure

~32~

“Pleasant colours and smells was the theme of today.”

“China comes to life most when creating food, in every street market and every meal.

Full of flavour and excitement and made to perfection.”

Culture

“China is not beautiful country, from above it is grey and polluted but it is not what China

looks like that makes it the country it is. China is China because of the people who live there, their attitude to life and

their respect for living .”

~34~

~35~

Naїve

Innocent

~36~

Baot

u Sp

rings

, Jin

an, C

hina

Innocent

“Not quite a religion, more a way of life, love those nearest to you first and share the love the further you go

and with the people you encounter.”

Naїve

~40~

“People were dipping their feet into the spring fed lake, filling their bottles with

the fresh water. This is the only place in Jinan where it is OK to drink

straight from the tap; I also filled my bottle.”

“The integration of art and style, filled with a unique charm, ethnic style

and modern flavour; I was left stunned and speechless.”

1000

Bud

dha

Mou

ntai

n, J

inan

, Chi

na

Naїve

“Tony is all too aware that it is very unlikely we will ever meet again,

even if he wanted to come to England the government have made it too difficult

and expensive for this to be possible for him, until now I was completely unaware how

easy it was for me to travel .”

Innocent

~44~

“He loved his country and was proud to be a China man .”

Beiji

ng, C

hina

Perceptions of China – Before 12/03/12

People / Ren wu /My perception of the Chinese people is they are very busy hard working people. Skilled at controlling emotions but often feel the need to keep their opinions to themselves. I get the impression there are strict rules to follow, political as well as religious. I think the Chinese to be very humble but possibly not so welcoming, very protective of their home and possessions.

Food / Shi wu /I understand the Chinese food to be very noodle and rice based. There is a low ratio of meat to veg-etable in dishes. I imagine their dishes to very experimental, with little produce going to waste. The approach to food is very sustainable.

Religion / Zhong Jiao /I know very little about the Chinese Religion. I believe it be a large variety while Buddhism to main the religion. Religion is taken very seriously and as a visitor to the country it is obviously expected that we show a lot of respect and follow their rules. I imagine there to many temples filled with beau-tiful colours and fantastic architecture.

Architecture / Jian zhu feng ge / I predict the architecture of the cities and towns to be very different. Within in the cities I imagine the buildings to be huge. Rising far into the sky. The building will be modern, probably mostly white and silver in colour and have modern quirky features that only the Chinese would create. Whereas in the towns I imagine the very opposite, small humble towns, building made of only sustainable materials, very fragile and intricate. The same applies for the interior, a modern interior to the city buildings clean and simple. While the homes in the towns would be very simple with some beautiful colours but little furniture.

Culture / Wen meng /The Chinese culture is very innovative; they are very modern, usually making the first progressive movements in technology. Though I think they still rely on traditions for morals and a basis to life. Population plays a huge role in their culture, over population means many couple have only one child and often it is boys that are wanted. The Chinese are meant to be very intelligent people usually excelling in many areas, Music and Design. Technology and mathematics.

Copyright of Bronwen Rees

Perceptions of China - After 16/04/12

People / Ren wu /The people of China is what makes China what it is. They are incredibly hard working, especially dur-ing school. Adults work six days a week with little holiday. Though they remain happy and appreciative of their lives. The people come across as very humble and naïve, giggly andsurprising incredibly welcoming. They want to share their culture, their food and are eager to talk. They are very generous but dislike to receive themselves. Chinese people gives the country its per-sonality.

Food / Shi wu /Mainly noodle and riced based, many vegetables in soy sauce, quite salty. There is a such a huge variety; from local cuisine to various dishes from other provinces and countries. Also street food. The dishes are experimental using every part of the animal, this is a very sustainable approach. A lot of the food is fried or boiled. Sweet dishes are very uncommon and when eaten, are eaten with the main meal. Food is very prepared very quickly and shared between everyone while sitting on a round table.

Religion / Zhong Jiao /There isn’t actually a religion in China, the people follow Confucianism. Not quite a religion, more a way of life and a sensible approach that actually seems much more logically than many religious beliefs. To love those closest to you first and then spread the love the further afield you go, while always just having a respect for others. Confucianism states that children must remain close to their parents and when old enough and capable the children need to provide for their parents in return for all that was done for them.

Architecture / Jian zhu feng ge / The cities of China were large, not particularly modern, they formed squares, on the outside of the squares were the tall building flats or offices, hidden among these squares only accessible by gated entrances, were little houses with courtyards, grey in colour and quite poor looking. Each gate had chinese lettering above the gate, each saying individual phrases and are there to protect the fami-lies inside. The buildings were not advanced but instead were dull and crowded together. The more traditional buildings belonged to emperors tombs, they were colourful, always hand painted with beautiful watercolour pictures, very intricate and delicate. The roofs were gold in colour and the buildings red.

Culture / Wen meng /The chinese culture is very traditional and not modern. Life for a chinamen is planned from the be-ginning, a child will work hard throughout school life, go to a well respected university and will study a course that allows them to gain a good job. Once graduated they are expected to desire wealth and a successful career. They are expected to be able to provide for their parents. Money plays an important part of the culture although they are not open about this and prefer to encourage hap-piness and love over wealth and fame. They are taught to think very logically and orderly, personal creativity is discouraged. Many students have no interests or hobbies because they have to study so hard to get university therefore a lack of opportunity to pursue an interest.