GUANZHOU in China : What A City !!!

Partha Pratim Majumder

“ India has always had a weak state and a strong society. Because political authority was either toodistant or irrelevant to its daily life, we never allowed state power to be so concentrated , as in China, that it could reach deeply and change its basic social institutions……………….. hence India is of relatively political disunity while Chinais of one strong empire ………….. . whosesuccess has been scripted …………… by an amazing state that has built incredible infrastructure .” - Gurcharan Das, Former CEO, Procter & Gamble -  eminent author and columnist, The Times of India

AS TOURIST, WHAT I SAW IN 2011:

• As tourist, my stay in China only confirms the above statement and beyond. China, unlike India has come a long way from a past of third world country stigma to a “Progressive State” having spic and span cities for servicing all the continents with the incredible infrastructure built so far. This is complimented by the passionate makeover of its people to enable the materialistic development meant for their growth , which as Asians, we should be proud of
• I moved around in the city called Guangzhou, capital of Guangdong province to attend a global conference and fair in “Green Technology”. The fair was participated by 1146 LED manufacturers showcasing 1780 types of products for the overseas buyers of all continents in the fair complex at Pazhou (floor space of 6Lac sq. ft.) in Guangzhou. 
• This fair complex is the largest in China and 3^rd largest in the world
• Interestingly, we are all aware that Guangzhou is a state capital like Kolkata, Patna, Chennai, Bangalore whereas Beijing is like Delhi , capital of the China. In terms of available infrastructure, we can easily distinguish between the country capital & other cities in Indian context accordingly. In fact , there we fall trapped in the wrong.
• Actually, all the cities in China have been allowed to grow to similar height more or less giving adequate importance to decentralization of main activities belonging to China’s national life through endorsement of separate identity / function to other cities . So, while diplomats & govt. functionaries of the world step in Beijing, business tourists folk around in other cities like Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Hong Kong that showcase trade & commerce at global level. This equality speaks about the rationale that looms large to do away with the issues of inequality and inner conflicts based on progress and growth roadmap. In Guangzhou, Asian Games tournament was held in October, 2010

There lies the master stroke of China policy makers and administrative bodies that has been causing a change for last one tto two decades ---- radical in nature

· During my stay in China, all TVchannels and newspapers was vocal about the amazing fact that Japan was superseded by China to become No.2 inthe world after USA in terms of economic & industrial growth in 2011

WHAT CHINA WAS IN THE LAST DECADE ?

I could not resist placing the excerpt of a report “Changes in China over the past decade “of Ms. Katie Ross on 2^nd July 2009 in www.chinainsight.info

Thisreport is so tangibly clear and focused with insight on the transition that Ihave seen the outer face during my tour …….. manifested naturally as resultant output :-

Bicycles, pollution and rice paddies : A decade old drawing :

Those three elements defined my memory of China priorto this trip. My parents and I went to Hong Kong in 1997 and Mainland China in2000. I remembered streets where bikesfar outnumbered cars and where entire families piled onto a small, one-gearbike. I remembered the grey haze that seemed ever present in the cities. And Iremembered lush, green rice paddies of the Guilin countryside farmed by asingle farmer manoeuvring a steel plough behind a water buffalo. That is how Iremembered China , a decade back.

But now after 10 years, another trip…………. and immense changes in China.

New &  emerging China :

I have a new impression of China. I’m not the only onewho has noticed changes; China’s progress over the past decade has caught theattention of many including NPR’s Rob Gifford, who wrote about the developmentsin his book, China Road. According to Gifford and many other analysts, Chinahas undergone immense changes in its economic, political, and social systems inrecent years that have changed the face of the country and its role in globalpolitics.

The economic changes that have occurred in China areastonishing. Even though China is not a democracy, but it is very much a capitalistic society, andover the past 10 years, that characteristic has become much more pronounced.Small farms are being combined to form larger ones and the job once done by aman, his plough and his water buffalo isnow done by high-tech equipment.

According to a report in Architectural Record, the Chinese consume 54.7 percent of the concrete and 36.1 percent of the steelproduced in the world. I witnessed the immense usage of these products as I sawcountless cranes and buildings in the process of being built in every city wevisited. China’s economy is no longer dominated by agriculture; it’s become abooming industrial superpower.
   

GLORIOUS TURNAROUND :

Politically, China has transitioned from a reclusiveCommunist country to a nation that is now seeking the limelight on the globalstage. This week marked the twenty year anniversary of the student protests at Tiananmen Square. In 1989, student protestors voiced their disapproval of the  government’s authoritarianism and calls for economic change. The Chinesegovernment violently put down the protest killing over 7,000 people. Little hasever been published about the massacre that is available to Chinese citizens. However, China is beginning to move away from thisisolated approach and rather is thrusting itself into the global spectrum. The2008 Beijing Olympics were a perfect example of China’s desire to break fromits long-term hermitlike existence. China spent billions on its own “coming outparty” with the 2008 Olympics where it invited the world to see it as a clean,beautiful, stable country ready to compete with the rest of the world’ssuperpowers. China is now a powerful global force to be reckoned with.


Since Mao’s days :

China has come a long way. Where once cycles and bikesmay have taken up space on the street, now there are BMWs, Audis, and Mercedes.Ten years ago, expensive European cars were commonplace in Hong Kong, but notin Mainland China. Since then, many hutting communities have been levelled togive space for becoming super power.

Nuvo-Riche : New economic wave

A new status-aware upper middle class with stronglikes over high standard of living has emerged and huge emphasis is being puton prestige and appearance. People long for exclusivity: expensive cars, niceapartments, designer clothes, and membership at private golf clubs. China seemsto be more Western than I remembered it before.

Often on the trip, I felt like I could have been in alarge United States city with the designer shops, nice cars, and hugeskyscrapers. The Chinese social sphere is moving away from the farmer-basedmajority of Mao’s time to a competitive, materialistic one where exclusivityand prestige are top priorities.

Everyoneknows that behind this economic up rise,China repositioned as super business hub also servicing whole world with their merchandise &    products.

China: synonym of change

China has undergone immense changes over the pastdecade, but then, I’ve changed a bit, too. I’ve gone from a wide-eyed,white-blond haired girl who happily smiled in countless photos with Chinesestrangers to a young adult more fully able to appreciate the Chinese language,culture, history, food, and people.

I look forward to returning to China again someday towitness its further evolution.

WhileMs. Katie Ross says it all , the following are my interesting observations seriatim :

1. Chaa : In India, tea is called either “Chaa” or “Chaai” – in Chinese household, it is called “Chhaa.”
2. Girl power : During “Security Check”, women are entrusted for conducting physical checking of male passengers as well as female passengers.
3. Sign language : In small stalls selling household items, few sets of English words only may be heard from the sales girls like “Sorry, no discount” / “Thank you”/ “Very beautiful”. Beyond that, pls. do not try. Sign language is the only language to communicate.
4. Mechanical guide of vehicle : While moving around , you will be caught in the riot of uninhabited flyovers moving to different directions and you ‘ll need to know the way to your destination but no man around at all. What to do? – Open your GPRS attached with the car / write the address / destination in Chinese language , then enter/ the screen will guide you without fault to your place seamlessly …… you shall need to watch and follow
5. Billboards & hoarding : The entire city is spotlessly clean – not only the roads but also the walls of buildings as you ‘ll come to know a serious paradoxical truth that when China is the largest manufacturer & exporter of big Led screens to the entire world, there is no single such screen or hoarding from the advertisers before the public eyes in the whole city. Oh Lord ! What about the visibility issue related to image building ? In Indian cities, have we ever come across such clean city skyline ? I wonder.
6. Roads without two & three wheelers : Can we ever imagine in India ? At first sight, I was amazed to see that only four wheelers flowing like fish on the buttery smooth roads , mostly one ways. I asked myself about the existence of prolific road partners like cycles, two & three wheelers. I was more amazed to know from a local guide that in Guangzhou only, four years back, govt. administration came up with a strong directive that owing to enormous traffic + law & order problems caused by more than 1.00 Lac two wheelers driven by local youth and endless immigrants Taiwan, Taipei, Korea and Hong Kong, all such vehicles were prohibited to ply. A deadline of 3 months was put for compliance. That ‘s why, I found three major vehicular forms were on (a) four wheelers (b) Volvo type large well looking buses (c) Volvo type large tram type wired buses. About cycles ? The no. has gone down to a few only , for which an earmarked small lane is kept on all roads.
7. Metro Railway : efficient and elegant : As user and commuter of Kolkata & Delhi Metro in India, this is by far the best of all. It does not only have centrally air conditioned, high scale facilities and inter connecting multi tracks but also entire glass wall covering stations and automated signage on the floor directing passengers for smooth interchange. I found a strong aroma of professional and administrative acumen at the underground to make this modern transport system very effective.
8. Love for black colour apparel : Ladies and gentlemen are fond of black dresses, mostly with western cut, suits and leather jackets.

• Boulevards, corner gardens but no hawkers : Most of the roads conveniently meet boulevards and corner gardens or hanging bridges with overflowing green leaves, whereas the subways are cleanly maintained with few drawings by children. I did not find a hawker throughout but certainly one beggar only, sitting in the carriageway of a pedestrian bridge
• Indian food joints : In Guangzhou, few such joints like one Sharma ji’s dhaba or Taste of India are available for Indian veg & non-veg items.
• Chinese Industry : It’s manufacturing industries are so big and diversified that 30% of its land has been exhausted. Now, they are planning for vertical sets of eco friendly buildings suitable for IT & ITES. In Green Technology, there are 1200 + manufacturers supplying all the countries , of which India is no exception.
• Director’s wife as a car driver : During our visit to a manufacturing organization at 8 am, we were taken by a car to the said factory by a lady driver. She used GPRS to know and follow the route unlike a regular driver. Later on, we came to know that due to paucity of the driver in the early part of the day, the wife of the Director volunteered in the interest of her company. Is n’t that something new to us ?

My knowledge base tells me that what the fundamentals are : China islarger in size & population, character is no different than India’s and maladiescould be no different as well.

Even then, China is today recognized to be no.2 in the world and next to USA, no. 1 .

Success can be the best revenge , is n’t it ?

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