Foreign visitors intinerary
does not include real China
haitor s Note: This is the last
of three impression articles
written by Renee Irvin, a
University student who spent a
semester studying at the Branch
Campus of the Beijing Foreign
Languages Institute. She and 14
other exchange students from
Oregon returned from China in
December.
The complexities of daily
Chinese life and politics render
any self-proclaimed “China ex
pert” a fraud. What I can offer
as a summary of my semester in
Beijing, then, is only some
observations on a narrowly
defined topic.
Frequently, China’s English
language paper for the foreign
community, the China Daily,
Photo by Renee Irvin
China’s Great Wall is a popular tourist attraction, but most
foreigners do not get to see everyday Chinese life.
runs the following advertisement for a
restaurant at Beijing’s Great Wall Hotel:
"The duck galantine with pistachios and
French truffles, excellent.
"The succulent lamb filets flambeed in
cognac and saluted with a very special
mustard sauce, exquisite.
"And the chocolate profiteroles filled with
rich vanilla ice cream and smothered with hot
chocolate sauce? Perfect.”
For some, the "China experience” is a three
week luxury tour: A visit to the Temple of
Heaven at 9 a.m., a banquet at Maxim’s at
noon, and a visit to the Friendship Store for
the afternoon is a typical day in Beijing. (In
cidentally, in September an Oregon student
spotted Gov. Vic Atiyeh here in a hotel bar.)
Even for permanent foreign residents in Beij
ing, daily life can still be sheilded from the life
of a Chinese citizen. Aside from the fact that
our living quarters are always isolated from
normal Chinese homes, we are also separated
by wealth. One day’s salary from working at
the office in America is worth the average
Chinese monthly take-home pay. It’s no
wonder that foreigners are far less likely to be
seen at art museums or Mao Zedong’s
maudoleum than at Wanujing, a large shop
ping district.
Certainly not all foreign "experts” spend
half their time shopping for cloisonne vases
and silk. Yet there are other ways through
which a foreigner becomes shielded from
Chinese citizens. Why take an inconvenient
bus — so crowded that the last passenger to get
on has his jacket caught in the door as the bus
pulls away — when a smooth, quiet taxi ride
costs only two dollars?
Most tourists will take home memories of
the good life in China: The Yangtze River boat
cruise, obsequious waiters at the Great Wall
Hotel, and well-behaved Chinese toddlers who
call you “foreign uncle.”
Other daring and crafty tourists will go off
by themselves for one day and later report their
grim observations of life in a totalitarian
system: cabbage piled high on the sidewalks,
coal dust from open furnaces everywhere, and
traffic coming to a halt so that a red-flag
limousine can speed down Chang’ An Avenue
unimpeded.
Both types of tourists have been effectively
isolated from daily Chinese life due to the
short duration of their stay. For permanent
foreign residents, though, getting to know the
Chinese and their daily routines also is dif
ficult. Foreign exchange students are no
exception.
Foreign students may not have budgets to
accommodate duck galantine at the Great Wall
Hotel every Friday night, but conveniences
that make life easier — taxi rides and gift shops
for foreigners only — reduce the chances for
conversations and possible friendships with
Chinese citizens.
By Renee Irvin
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