Beijing,
China: China has become a part of American everyday life but for
most of us we do not know too much about China and their life and
culture. It has been my opportunity to travel in China for the past
six years. Every trip I gain new insights into this country and the
Chinese people. In many ways they are so much like the people in our
country. I find them to be very family oriented, hard working, and
modest in their dress.
For
most people the Chinese way of life is a big surprise. Even though
their government is a communist government, their economy is based on
capitalism and entrepreneurship. They are the biggest producers of
household goods in the world. Items are produced here and shipped to
countries around the world. When you buy something in the store I
would say eight times out of ten it has been produced in China.
On
one of my earlier trips I was invited to visit a factory. It was a
factory that produced cords that connected computers. It was owned
by a man in Springville, Utah. Most of the employees were woman
between the age of 20 and 30. I would say for every ten woman there
were three men.
China
has such a big workforce. They have 1.3 billion people. For every
person in American there are five people in China. Here are some of
things that I have observed on my many trips.
Families
are a key part of society: The people here are very tied to
their families. In the years past, as many as five generations have
lived together in the same home. On this trip I rented a room from a
Tibetan family. I ate breakfast and dinner with them. It was so
interesting to see four generations all living together. Everyone
seemed to be involved in each other’s life. I saw the grandpa
often holding the young children and caring for them. In China it is
the way for the grandparents to take a major role in raising the
children. In one family I ate with the little girl who was crying
for her 82-year-old grandma to go to bed with her as they said that
the moms and dads need their sleep to work. Their grandparents
raised many of my friends. It seems so different for us but for the
Chinese that is the way that it is done. Woman retire at 50 to 55
and men from 55 to 60 and they are free to take care of the
grandchildren. As I go about I see more children with grandma and
grandpa that I do with their mother and father.
Education
is very important in the life of the Chinese: All Chinese
children have free education from kindergarten through the 9th
grade. There is a lot of pressure for the Chinese student to do well
in school. The higher education that is possible for them is based
on the scores they receive on the test that are given in school. The
better the test score you get on the many test that they give you the
better education you will be able to get.
Good
and healthy foods are at the center of their lives: There is
much more variety of food in China than anywhere I have traveled.
However, the variety of food varies with the region of the country.
In the north, there is a lot of wheat grown and they eat a lot of
noodles made from wheat. In the south, rice is the main staple and
they have some form of rice with every meal. They even make noodles
out of rice and call them rice noodles. When I have been in the
south, a main staple they have almost every day is a bowl of rice
noodles with a little meat and lot of vegetables. Vegetables are at
the center of every meal. They must have more than ten different
kinds of greens. When my Chinese friends come to America they often
complain to me that the American diet did not have enough vegetables.
Soup is a dish that is served at every meal. When I ask them why,
they say that it is good to fill up on soup, as it will not make you
fat.
China
is a culture with 55 minorities and a country that has one main
language, Mandarin, but hundreds of dialects. China is the oldest
culture on earth going back over 5,000 years. In summary, China is a
country rich in culture and varied in history.
Want
to Travel to China: If you
are interested in going to China and would like to be in one of
Dian’s groups email her at info@dianthomas.com
or call her at 801 277 4332.
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Dian Thomas was blessed with the good fortune to be born near and raised in
the remote, breathtaking Manti-La Sal National Forest in southeastern Utah,
where her father was the forest ranger. She took the skills she learned in the
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Easy. Her appearance on the NBC's "Tonight" show with Johnny Carson
boosted her into the national media scene, where she became a regular on
NBC's "Today" show for eight years and then ABC's "Home Show" for six years.
After more than 25 years of media exposure and 19 books, she now shares her
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A former Relief Society president, Dian is currently serving as a visiting
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