March 3, 2002
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The Great Wall of China
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China
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Despite a short nights’ sleep after an exhausting flight, the
IALP class of 2002 arose refreshed for a full day of
sightseeing.
The Director of the Asian Trade Office of the Illinois
Department of Agriculture is accompanying our group throughout
our Chinese travels. He shared with us some key information
that will help us to better understand the economy and
politics of China.
There are three statistics of “800” we were asked to remember.
There are 800 Million peasants living in China, with 120 to
150 Million of those working as “floating” peasants who come
to the cities if off-season to do construction and other types
of work. These peasants in the past have been the ones that
caused uprising in the past. These are the people the
government is most concerned about as they move forward.
The poor infrastructure and past public policy in China has
led to the necessity of all types of goods and services that
are produced locally. As they move towards a market-based
economy, China struggles to gain production efficiencies while
maintaining full employment. As an example there are 800
breweries in China. This is symbolic of many of the other
industries in China. If they reduce them to a few, it will put
many out of employment. China has always maintained
government-sponsored employment and most people work.
Every day there are 800 “incidents” reported in the Chinese
Press. These are the result of political unrest and rapid
social changes that are reshaping China. |
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Upon arrival at
Nankou northwest of Beijing, the class hopped out of the bus
and headed for the Great Wall of China. While some ventured to
the top of the mountain others satisfied their need for
adventure by climbing half as many steps—most with steps of
uneven heights and deep depressions. |
Climbing the Great Wall proved to be harder
than anticipated.
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Gary Shupe takes time to remember Tiananmen
Square.
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Next stop was in to the heart of Beijing at
one of 80 McDonald’s in the city. After lunch we started our
walk across Tiananmen Square enjoying the sites of kite flying
and a good number of military personnel. This was due to the
Peoples Congress annual meeting coming up later today. Our
tour guide Zhang Fengli or (Jessica) led us through the 14
temples in the Forbibben City. |
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| The Forbidden City was originally built around
1420 A.D. during the Ming dynasty. It was built to symbolize
China’s strength to the rest of the world. |
The IALP class in the Forbidden City
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We capped off the day with
shopping in local markets as each had the opportunity to hone
his or her negotiation skills.
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Chairs: Steve
Arnold, Marty Ahrends and Todd West |
