CHINA
Country Overview:
“Love the food, hate the government”
I arrived in China in May 2013 and left August 2020. I taught English for awhile, did my master’s of politics & foreign policy at Tsinghua University, worked for a year at China Today, and then two years at Xinhua News Agency. I spent most of my time in Beijing, but also traveled to Shanghai, Wuhan, Inner Mongolia, Shenzhen, Panjin, Guangzhou, Tianjin, Qingdao, Xi’an, Sanya, Macau, Taiwan, and Hong Kong.
Had the day off so I thought, why not hit up the Great Wall?
Traveled to Mutianyu and it was super cool. The best part were the Chinese people dressed up in traditional military outfits saying in broken English, “Good morning, buy a beer!! It’s the Great Wall!!"
28 hour Visa Run
The adventure began at 4 pm on a Monday afternoon when I saw the bus I would be taking. Sleeper Busses are built for 5ft. Chinese people and it was one of the most uncomfortable 12 hours of my life. Minus sleeping in the middle of a desert in a parked bus with 30 other strangers until sunrise. On the way back I thought I would be clever and take an 8 hour taxi. Chinese guys are skinny right? The 2 FATTEST Chinese dudes I have ever seen in my life pile in the back of this taxi and we are on our way. My trip ended at 8pm on Tuesday when my taxi dropped me off and with a sigh of relief I let out an audible, “fuck that”. Next time I need to renew a Visa I’m flying.
On the way to Mongolia, around 2 hours from Beijing, guess who saw the Great Wall of China? It’s a terrible foto, but still, what have you done lately?