Can’t believe I forgot these

Not quite sure why I didn’t think of these the other day, but here’s some more CCP that I thought of while riding into Nanjing:

• Roger that, 193643! Qingdao has six beaches. When naming them, the council was looking for names that would reflect their individual nature, famous figures from the area, historical events, the beauty of the Chinese language, and the great imagination that the Party has. So, in no particular order, we have:
  • Number 1 Bathing Beach.
  • Number 2 Bathing Beach.
  • Number 3 Bathing Beach.
  • Number 4 Bathing Beach.
  • Number 5 Bathing Beach.
  • Number 6 Bathing Beach.

  Seriously. Everything is like that – bridges, schools, factories, etc. Everything is just a number, not a name. But it gets worse. If you go into a Post Office, or come across policeman, shop assistants, whatever – all their name badges simply have a number, and not a name. Objects I can handle, but I find referring to people by number deeply disturbing. I’m not sure if this is a Communist thing, or if it goes back further – I suspect it’s Communist.

• Turn it up to 11! Everything in China is done at maximum volume. People who are sensitive to noisy environments will have a rough time in China. It’s not just noisy traffic and car horns, it’s everything. Talking on your phone in the middle of a restaurant? Well, it is a mobile call, and the other person might be a long way away, so better to shout as loud as possible into the phone. Chatting to the person at the other side of the table? Why not shout at them instead, in case they miss something? With construction work taking place over approximately 97.5% of China, it also adds something to the aural mix. Not a lot of peace and quiet here…
• Facemasks as fashion accessories. You’ve probably seen footage of Chinese people wearing facemasks, especially during SARS outbreaks. But what you might not realise is that they are quite commonly worn, almost exclusively by women, to try and filter out some of the crap in the air. Interestingly not so much in the really polluted places like Lanzhou, and Coaldustville, Shanxi Province. But where they are worn, they’re not always plain white surgical masks. I’ve seen all sorts of colours, and even crocheted ones. Don’t think they actually do much about filtering the air, but I guess they make people feel better. I see them as a sort of silent protest against the rape of the environment too.
• “Happy Birthday To You.” China is the only place I’ve ever seen street cleaning machines that blare out loud tunes as they meander along the roads, blasting jets of water into people’s houses. The washing machine I used yesterday that played a tune on startup was quite a novelty to me too.
• Chav China. I don’t know who made this decision, but every school in China has tracksuits as their uniform. So when you are riding through a village around lunchtime, you are suddenly surrounded by hundreds of Chavs on bikes. Very disconcerting. I think someone visited England, saw all the shellsuits, and decided that would make for a good uniform. Dear oh dear. (PS For my much beloved Scottish readers, I am aware that the correct term is “Neds,” however I prefer the alliteration.)

I’m now in Nanjing, after some fun with some unplanned expressway riding on the way in here. I was sure I was going to get thrown off, and indeed I wanted to get off the epxressway, but it took ages to reach an exit. Not that the police cared, they just left me alone. It’s a nice city, except I’m back into pollution, after some lovely riding down here, through nice countryside, with lots of waterways and lakes, and some nice riding along quiet country roads. No more of that as I head to Shanghai though…