March 27 - Xiamen, China is a mid-size city on the southeast coast of China. We are told it has population of 2.5 million and is a popular vacation destination for many Chinese tourists. We are also told, and have read that it is considered China's second most livable city. If I were the head honcho in China, I would hesitate before making such a claim, as the place seems unappealing by our standards. It has a long sandy beach which parallels a wide, nicely landscaped frontage road. There are a few modern buildings, but behind the thick landscaping of the main road, we glimpse and older, dirtier looking city that appears to date back to the Mao era. We visit a large and ornate Buddhist temple on a Sunday, crowded with worshipers, burning incense, each staying just a few minutes for their rituals. Outside the temple are a few street peddlers. The city has a major university, which we drive by and see young men playing soccer. We visit a museum dedicated to preserving the history of countless Chinese who left Xiamen searching for a better life - to build railroads in Canada or the U.S. or other promising destinations. Our guide struggles with her Chinglish, much more so than in the large cities of Shanghai and Beijing. We leave this city after just 6 hours here, mostly on the bus, so no chance to get more than a superficial impression. It appears as just another ordinary, non-famous place that is home to a few million people.
March 29/30 - The words 'Hong Kong' mean fragrant harbor. This might have made sense 400 years ago. Today however the special economic district of Hong Kong is anything but fragrant. We've been here before, twice actually, and cannot help but notice the constant growth. Like most cities of its size, it has seriously bad air pollution. Owned by China, it is a thriving economic free zone, home to some extreme wealth and a rising middle class, seven million residents and growing. Low taxes, a very business-friendly, shopping-friendly culture. It is a concrete jungle, a temple for capitalistic worship. Nature lovers need not apply.
Real estate costs far exceed salaries, so only the very wealthy have more than a few hundred square feet to call their own. Hong Kong claims the title of the world's busiest port. It also has a mind-boggling amount of retail stores. If shopping is your thing, Hong Kong is for you.
It has an attractive skyline that lights up every night in a cool laser light show, accompanied by music. Their economy is supported by the twin pillars of democracy and education and Hong Kong citizens place high value on both. We visit our son's warehouse and get a glimpse into doing business here. China is just over the border - 45 minutes by bus, so citizens of both places routinely cross that border for shopping or work or just for fun.
Then, after two days of this international city, we sail away, glad to get a break for a while from visiting noisy, polluted mega cities. We are rural people at heart, happy with clean air, surrounded by nature, no longer interested in joining in the hustle/bustle of big cities. If there was the slightest uncertainty of our personal preference for living close to nature, the rapid-fire stops in Manila, Taipei, Seoul, Beijing, Shanghai, Xiamen and Hong Kong certainly cure us of any doubt. There are city mice and there are country mice. We are country mice.
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