Random thoughts – some weighty, some trivial, some downright silly – from a recent trip to China.

1)      The recession has put a dent in China’s growth. Their economy will grow by only – ONLY – 8 percent this year.

2)      Many of the Chinese I spoke to blame the U.S. for the recession, and say China will lead the world out of it.

3)      Any small problem, multiplied by 1.3 billion, becomes a big problem.

4)      The Chinese I spoke to have no interest in a military conflict with the U.S. They’d rather beat us in the marketplace.

5)      China needs us and we need them, and this isn’t going to change anytime soon.

7)      Chinese officials like to say “there’s an old Chinese expression that…”

8)      For all of China’s magnificent sky scrapers and gleaming airports and subways, more than 700 million people still live in rural areas relatively untouched by globalization.

9)      China already has the world’s largest auto market; the world’s largest telephone market, and the most Internet users.

10)  American companies will start to see China as more than just the factory to the world. With growth in discretionary income, the Chinese are increasingly consumers, too.

12)  China has one time zone – Beijing Time – though it’s larger than the contiguous United States.

13)  China holds $1.2 trillion (USD) in reserves. That, along with all the business we give Wal-Mart, ensures that China is tied to us, and vice versa.

14)  China’s thirst for energy – one new coal plant a week the past few years – mean decades of environmental challenge. But will China also surpass the U.S. when it comes to renewable energy? They’re on the way to being the world’s No. 1 user of wind energy.

15)  Still, China has replaced U.S. as the world’s top carbon emitter; it’s also likely to replace America as the world’s greatest obstacle to climate change accords.

16)  China is putting a lot of resources into producing reliable, affordable electric cars. Will they beat us to the punch?

17)  Think gas prices in the U.S. are high now? Just wait until all 1.3 billion Chinese can afford a car.

18)  China has 118 cities with populations of 1 million or more. How many can you name?

19)  The people were far friendlier than I expected. I’ve heard more rude comments about America in a single afternoon in Paris than I heard in one month in Asia.

20)  It may have helped that several Chinese people told me I was tall. One even asked whether my height made me a good basketball player. I’m 5’10”.

21)  Chinese politicians could teach their American counterparts a thing or two about double-speak, vaguery and non-answers to questions.

23)  The Chinese government doesn’t want a nuclear North Korea, but they want instability in the region even less.

24)  The Chinese government will be patient with Taiwan, hoping their economic growth and hands-off approach to Hong Kong will slowly soften Taiwan’s heart.

25)  Where in the world is an 8 percent rate of annual economic growth considered a recession? China.

26)  I heard the same metaphor from two different Chinese officials and one American analyst: “China is like a supertanker (one said aircraft carrier). It can’t change directions very quickly, and if it does, beware of the wake.”

31)  There are more judges (200,000) in China than lawyers (150,000). And no, that makes no sense to me either.

32)  China executes more people than every other country in the world. Combined.

33)  The Chinese don’t understand the rules of lining up. Standing in lines in China is for suckers. Just push your way to the front.

34)  Want a stock tip? Chinese life insurance companies. Right now only 1 percent of the nation has life insurance. With a growing middle class, that’s going to go up.

35)  The food is good; the extra weight I brought back, not so much.

36)  If you’re headed to the Great Wall and you have the time, check out one of the less-visited sections. The touristy areas close to Beijing are great if you just want to check the Wall off your sightseeing list, or if you need to buy a cigarette lighter shaped like Chairman Mao. But if you want to get away from the crowds, keep driving.

37)  There is more ethnic diversity within China than I expected. Han Chinese are everywhere, of course, but there’s also Hui (Chinese Muslims), Manchu, Uyghur, Yi, Tibetans, Mongolians and others.

38)  Religious diversity too. I saw Mosques, a Sikh temple and yes, churches.

39)  Mandarin rewards the novice, and the Chinese I spoke to patiently accepted my mangled attempts at their language. In some ways it’s easy – you don’t have to worry about tenses, singular-plural or gender (or at least I didn’t) – and a lot of sentences were subject-verb-object. But those tones? Yikes.

40)  If you’re a journalist looking to do some reporting on the mainland, get your visa application in early. Like four months early.

41)  Macau is Vegas without the charm and subtlety.

42)  Stay away from the salads, unless you have nothing planned the next day.

43)  When travelling in an area with pneumonic plague, it’s best to stay away from flea-infested dog carcasses, or so says the local newspaper.

44)  Write about eating shark fin soup and you can expect to get an angry email from a woman in South Africa who supports shark conservation.

45)  No matter how much hand sanitizer you think you’ll need, double it.

46)  There are places in Inner Mongolia that you would swear could double for the Flint Hills.

47)  It’s not uncommon to see two men walking arm in arm or holding hands. They’re just good friends.

48)  Spitting may be bad manners here; in China it’s no big deal.

49)  Find you missed your exit on the divided-land freeway, and you don’t want to drive to the next exit to turn around? No problem, just do as my van driver did once in Inner Mongolia: do a three-point turn and drive straight back into oncoming traffic for a few miles.

50)  Hong Kong will stay relevant as long as it keeps its lead on Shanghai. Its legal institutions, business heritage and knowledge of English will help.

51)  Hong Kong has the best mass transit system I’ve ever seen. Buses, subways, ferries and the airport – they’re all cheap, clean and fast and together they work seamlessly.

52)  Michael Jackson truly belonged to the world, judging by all the mourning they’re doing in China.

53)  The pollution in Beijing is remarkable. Why build all these magnificent buildings if you can’t see them three blocks away?

54)  A lot of personal air pollution going on too, what with all the cigarettes. More cigarettes smoked in China than anywhere else on earth.

55)  For all the environmental costs of growth, China still has some majestic mountain ranges, gorgeous grasslands, picturesque beaches and stunning river bluffs.

56)  Air China had some of the best airline food I’ve ever had.

57)  The Chinese keep their cities safe. While I didn’t take any stupid risks, I never once felt threatened by pickpockets, thieves or worse. The closest I came to getting in a jam was the time I mistakenly said hello to a drunken Australian ex-pat in a British pub.

58)  The Chinese police need to eat more. The officers I saw were all thin young men in baggy uniforms a few sizes too big. They all looked hungry.

59)  China’s state-run media is doing just fine, thank you, building modern newsrooms and launching new products, seemingly immune to the challenges facing America’s free press.

60)  A visit to the Olympic structures is unnecessary – the Water Cube and the Bird’s nest look just like they did on TV.

61)  If you’re a coffee drinker, prepare for a caffeine headache. A cup of Joe is hard to find. But tea, it’s everywhere.

62)  Thinking of becoming a vegetarian? Visit a “wet” market and see all the squirming seafood left out in the sun, the butchered and bloody meat and the eggs dug up after being buried for 100 days (it’s a delicacy). It’ll make you long for a PBJ.

63)  Fermented mare’s milk tastes better than it sounds.

64)  Duck blood tofu tastes exactly like it sounds.

65)  The Chinese like to drink their water hot – you can forget about an icy glass of tapwater. If you had their tapwater, you might want to boil it too.

66)  Who knew the word ketchup is probably of Chinese origin?

67)  You won’t find much ketchup in China. Or French fries. Sigh.

68)  The colonel (that’s Col. Sanders) has invaded China. They’re standing in long lines at KFCs even in Inner Mongolia.

69)  Seventy percent of the Chinese are lactose intolerant.

70)  Watermelon. The Chinese grow more of it than any other country, and just about every meal I had ended with a wedge or two. Who knew the Chinese loved watermelon more than we do?

End.

You may notice  there are no 11   22 27 28 29 30, all right, think of the reason just 5 sec and  please go to here to see the original version)