The People of China

I am not sure what to write about the people of China ..for sure there are a lot of people in this country.  Here is some demographics information, from the Issues and Trends in China’s History  on the population of China:

The world's population surpassed 6 billion (6,000,000,000) in October 1999, China's population represented more than 1/5 of this total (20.8%) — one out of every five people in the world lives in China. Today, China's population exceeds 1.25 billion (1,250,000,000), a number that continues to increase minute-by-minute on Beijing's official Ticking Population Clock.   China's population increases each year by approximately 12-13 million people, a number that exceeds the total population of individual countries such as Belgium, Greece, Cambodia, or Ecuador. Annual population growth in China actually exceeds the current population of Ohio, Illinois, or Pennsylvania.

On the day that we arrived in China it was Tomb Sweeping day.  A holiday for the Chinese that sounded much like our Memorial Day.  

Tomb Sweeping day is defined by Wikipedia as:

Qingming Festival is when Chinese people visit the graves or burial grounds of their ancestors. Traditionally, people brought a whole rooster with them to the graves visited but the occasion has become less formal over time. The festival originated from Hanshi Day (寒食节, literally, Day with cold food only), a memorial day for Jie Zitui (介子推, or Jie Zhitui, 介子推). Jie Zitui died in 636 BC in the Spring and Autumn Period.

As this is a day of holiday in China Tianamen Square and the Forbidden Palace in Beijing, our first two stops after arriving there, were filled with thousands of people.  Most of these people were there to see Chairman Mao’s Tomb.  Thousands of people had come in from the country to pass by the tomb of Mao.


As is stated on the Issues and Trends website; China's population is at once its greatest asset as well as its most significant challenge, the greatest resource of this country is it’s people.  It seems that they are always on the move, everyone works, they all seem to love their country, and it is their people which is their greatest asset.  In addition to this these people know hardship, they can cope with it and they can make fabulous things out of nothing.
Below are the photos that I took while in China that I wish to share with you:

Grand Canal Marketplace Suzhou

Without a doubt one of the most fascinating places, full of unique sights, sounds and smells was the market off the Grand Canal in Suzhou China.  Unfortunately this was also one of the places, including the Great Wall, where my camera(s) batteries decided to die.  However I did get several good pictures that illustrate this fabulous place.

In my opinion it is the market place(s) in China that illustrate their adherence to the old traditional way of life in a blend with much of the modern lifestyle that is in evidence in so many ways in the country.  I will say this I have never seen so much and such a variety of fresh food and vegetables.  One of these pictures also illustrates their version of a simple department store,  Wal Mart on a miniature scale.  Do they have Wal Marts? Yes they do there is one in Suzhou which I did not see but I heard was very similar to our Wal Mart.  China has been very fast to change however they have not yet embraced the concept of shopping in that way.  I wonder if that is because of their mode of transportation is still centered upon the use of bicycles and scooters.  However I did see an entire household of furnishings being hauled on a bicycle. 

So here are my pictures from the Market on the Grand Canal in Suzhous.  Spoiler Alert:  you may see some pictures here of animal parts and such that you may find distasteful. 

Grand Canal Suzhou

One of the highlights of my trip to China was our tour of the Grand Canal in Suzhou.   For those of you who are not familiar with the history of the Grand Canal it is here:   (Wikipedia)

The Grand Canal in China (simplified Chinese: 大运河; traditional Chinese: 大運河; pinyin: Dà Yùnhé), also known as the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal (simplified Chinese: 京杭大运河; traditional Chinese: 京杭大運河; pinyin: Jīng Háng Dà Yùnhé) is the longest canal or artificial river in the world.[1] Starting at Beijing, it passes through Tianjin and the provinces of Hebei, Shandong, Jiangsu and Zhejiang to the city of Hangzhou. The oldest parts of the canal date back to the 5th century BC, although the various sections were finally combined during the Sui Dynasty (581–618 CE).

The total length of the Grand Canal is 1,776 km (1,103 miles). Its greatest height is reached in the mountains of Shandong, at a summit of 42 m (138 ft).[2] Ships in Chinese canals did not have trouble reaching higher elevations after the pound lock was invented in the 10th century (during the Song Dynasty).[3] The canal's size and grandeur won it the admiration of many throughout history, including the Japanese monk Ennin (794–864), the Persian historian Rashid al-Din (1247–1318), the Korean official Choe Bu (1454–1504) and the Italian missionary Matteo Ricci (1552–1610).[4][5]

Historically, periodic flooding of the adjacent Yellow River threatened the safety and functioning of the canal. During wartime the high dikes of the Yellow River were sometimes deliberately broken in order to flood advancing enemy troops. This caused disaster and prolonged economic hardships. Despite temporary periods of desolation and disuse, the Grand Canal furthered an indigenous and growing economic market in China's urban centers through all the ages since the Sui period.

Being able to experience the sights and sounds along the canal was unique, one that I shall never forget.  However the “old” canal life may be changing rapidly as living along the canal becomes a target for the rich who desire this waterfront property, therefore some of the things one sees along the canal today, the older building with their character and charm may be replaced with modern China.  

Here are some of my photos from the Grand Canal Tour in Suzhou: