Mondaywrap01september2014

Always Free

ISSUE NO.13

MONDAY WRAP Western Province Chinese Association September 01 2014

Temple of Heaven, Beijing

Litchi Bay, Guangzhou

Terracotta Warriors, Xi’an

‘Going native’ in China

Kirstyn Liang

As a South African-Chinese person, I have always thought that, because of my ancestral nationality, I knew enough about Chinese heritage and culture. I was raised with good family values, manners, a sense of reciprocity, taught to work hard, ate Chinese food often enough, and was a part of the Chinese community in Cape Town. When asked if I had ever been to China I felt no shame in simply saying “no”, as well as adding that I did not feel a particular inclination to go there. Travelling overseas meant going to Europe or Britain, but when I was given the opportunity to go to China I grabbed it with both hands (although with few expectations) and I am so pleased that I did.

Mandarin is offered as a subject at the University of Cape Town, and functions in conjunction with the Chinese Confucius Institute. The institute was established in 2004 and aims to promote Chinese culture and language. Its headquarters is in Beijing, but it is affiliated with many different universities and colleges worldwide. Cultural exchange programmes as well as summer/winter camps are offered to many students annually, and every year the UCT first semester Mandarin class is given 20 spaces to participate in the June/July summer camp. Apart from the plane ticket, the trip is completely subsidised by the Confucius Institute. It runs for 2 weeks, including 1 week spent in Guangzhou and the other split in half, with 3 days in Xi’an and Beijing respectively. This year our group contained 17 students in total, only 3 of which were from Chinese origin (Michaela Tsuen, Lili Ming, and myself), along with 1 Taiwanese and 2 Korean students. The remainder were all of Western origin, simply wanting to learn about and experience China.

For the first week we were placed at the Sun Yat-sen University of Guangzhou, also known as Zhong Shan (Ёቅ). We stayed on campus at a really fine hotel, and dined in the cafeteria with the local university students. Second language teachers from the language faculty gave us daily lessons, which consisted of both spoken communication and character reading/writing classes. The afternoons entailed cultural sessions, in which we learnt calligraphy, paper-cutting, music, tea-drinking and thai chi. The evenings were ours for exploring the town, and we made some incredible memories partaking in karaoke, a boat cruise, bargaining with the stall holders at markets, and experiencing China’s night life. The lessons and openness of the locals gave us confidence to try and speak Chinese while shopping, ordering food, and making new friends. They were all extremely accommodating and patient with us, and even though our skills were rudimentary, these interactions were some of the most rewarding parts of the overall experience.

Week 2 was mainly made up of tours and sight-seeing, as Xi’an and Beijing possess many renowned wonders. Our hotels in both cities were four star, and we were taken around on a bus by various tour guides. In Xi’an we rode bicycles on the Ming City wall, explored the Huaqing Pool, and visited the Terracotta Warriors – often called the Eighth Wonder of the World. We also saw the Bell and Drum Tower Square, the Big Wild Goose Pagoda Square, Ci’en Temple, and the Museum of Shaanxi Province.

Beijing’s highlights were the Temple of Heaven, Tiananmen Square, the Summer Palace, Beijing Hutong, and the Badaling section of the Great Wall.

After being immersed in the Chinese culture and lifestyle for a fortnight, many of us could not help but feel that, in many aspects, life in China was just better. We were all surprised at how avidly we had embraced the Eastern way; the uninhibited and untainted nature of the people, the efficiency and reliability of public transport, the countless and somewhat spontaneous public activities which young and old jointly participated in, and the heart and liveliness of the nation itself. Even some of the students with no Chinese background found that they related to this way of life more than that of their own society, and are adamant to return sometime in the future. China and its people truly have so much to offer and, in my opinion, much to teach the West. Although I was only able to dip my toes in, the taste that I received was enough to make me realise that there is so much more to China than what we perceive. I now feel sincerely proud to call myself Chinese, and strongly encourage travellers who are naturally inclined to go to the West, to instead consider wandering into the East.

Tiananmen Square, Beijing

Great Wall of China

Whole group at Tiananmen Square, Beijing

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