China's not what you think it is… or is it?

[This essay was originally posted to a blog on Weebly. In transferring it I have updated and made corrections where necessary.]

We all have images of what a particular country is like, but when we actually go to these imagined places, they seldom match our expectations.

This is true of China, and how.

For example: Most of us pictured lots of bicycles, and people wearing those Mao suits. Or maybe willow trees drooping over ponds, with a moon bridge in the background. You can still find this stuff--mostly in tourist traps.

More typical these days are high-rise buildings, new cars, and lots and lots of pavement.

On the other hand, it isn't all modernism. The Chinese are VERY Chinese, and new ways of thinking don't take hold as quickly material progress.

So I was surprised last week to see a piece promoting an extremely "modern" concept in the Shenzhen Daily.

Lila and I first hooked up because we're both vegetarians. Vegetarianism is still not common here (despite centuries of Buddhist tradition), so we considered this piece to be a good sign:

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) campaigners Ashley Fruno, right, and Christina Cho, left, pose during a protest in a street in Guangzhou, in southern China Thursday Sept. 25 2008. The two wore outfits made of real lettuce leaves and held signs reading: "Turn over a new leaf. Go vegetarian" as they encouraged locals to become vegetarians.
(AP Photo/Color China Photo)

Encouraging, right? And a COMPLETE departure from what most of us think of when we think of China. Not only that PETA is here promoting vegetarianism; not only that two girls could stroll the streets in nothing but lettuce leaves; but that the government-monitored press would publish such a progressive piece of news.

But then, in researching the background of the piece, I found the photo and caption that the local paper DIDN'T publish:

A security guard tries to take away a sign from People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) campaigners Ashley Fruno, right, and Christina Cho, left, during a protest in Guangzhou, in southern China Thursday Sept. 25 2008. The two wore outfits made of real lettuce leaves and held signs reading: "Turn over a new leaf. Go vegetarian" as they encouraged locals to become vegetarians.
(AP Photo/Color China Photo)

So, like life, China is usually somewhere between what you expected and what you feared.

Still, hooray for the demonstrators. All sentient beings will surely benefit.

(Full disclosure: I write an English-learner's column three times a week in the Shenzhen Daily, which originally published the first picture, but not the second. Links to the photos are gone.)

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Comment(s):

Vanessa:

We didn't exactly get wind of this info until you posted it...so thanks are in order.

In other related news, it's a little disappointing for vegetarians to know that one of the few vegetarian restaurants in Guangzhou closed. :(

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