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[ By | 15 Jul 2009 | No Comment ]

The whole experience of China is still very surreal to me. People ask me how it was, and while I tell them that I enjoyed it, there is only so much I can really tell them that adequately captures my brief time there.
We saw many important sights in China, from the terra cotta warriors of Xi’an to Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City. We visited news organizations’ offices and other businesses – from the Shanghai Daily to the Wall Street Journal Beijing bureau, to a law firm in Beijing. Among …

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[ By | 15 Jul 2009 | No Comment ]

You can hardly go a day without reading a publication or watching a news program that mentions China. The country is rapidly becoming part of the global economy and, because of this, American media coverage not infrequently suggests that China could be a major threat to the power of the United States.
I was excited to travel to China and see for myself just how Westernized and wealthy the country is becoming. It would be inaccurate to paint a picture of China in its entirety from only visiting the touristy Bund …

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[ By | 8 Jul 2009 | No Comment ]

“I have not before been anyplace that seemed simultaneously so controlled and so out of control. The control is from on high – and for most people in the cities, most of the time, it’s not something they bump into. What’s out of control is everything else.” – James Fallows, The Atlantic Monthly
China lived up to my inability to have expectations. My month-long visit introduced me to living stereotypes (the bright-eyed university student praising the government), true originals (the African businessman who envies Chinese thought control) and absolute enigmas (the …

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[ By | 4 Jul 2009 | No Comment ]

Class is over and I am 18 hours from Shanghai in the beach town of Qingdao.  Sitting in my hostel’s common room, surrounded by travelers, I am drawn out of my Chinese stupor by a language that at the moment seems so foreign to me—English.  A month of reporting in China has indeed changed me.  I admit that I came to this country a bit fearful.  China was so imposing, so foreign, and most of all so misunderstood.  I am leaving with an entirely new perspective.  China is an amazing …

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[ By | 4 Jul 2009 | No Comment ]

At a briefing at the Fudan University School of Journalism, a professor of new media told us, “China is a bag of paradoxes. Its so full of contradictions.” During my four weeks of exploring this country in the midst of its massive transition, I have discovered that China is more complicated than I ever imagined, and less predictable than any place I’ve seen. For every stereotype the country lives up to, a conflicting alter-ego view exists as well – just waiting to challenge any Westerner who dares to proclaim,”Now I …

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[ By | 4 Jul 2009 | No Comment ]

My story ideas changed as soon as I arrived in China. There were so many people! The streets were overwhelmed by loud voices, car horns honking, and people walking.
What did people want out of life? Ferreting out the aspirations of youth would give me insight to what the future holds for China. So I developed a theme that would link all my stories: people’s dreams. It went like that until I hit Xi’an. I knew martial arts were very popular so I went in search of the martial arts dream …

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[ By | 3 Jul 2009 | No Comment ]

I am amazed at my lack of common sense.
“Don’t forget to keep a travel diary,” they told me. I remember whipping out my little Associated Press notebook I snagged from a career fair last April and jotting down some thoughts upon landing in the Beijing airport nearly a month ago, but I never kept up with it. Why not?
To my credit, this past month has been one of the busiest experiences of my life. When I wasn’t attempting to actually get to know the city I was visiting through museum …

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[ By | 3 Jul 2009 | One Comment ]

“Whatever you do, don’t bring sandals,” someone told me as I readied for my trip to China. I couldn’t imagine what would be so different about China that I couldn’t wear sandals, but I almost left them behind on the advice of those who’d traveled that road before me.
Meanwhile, while packing, I fretted over simple prescriptions, like antibiotics for traveler’s diarrhea, and how I would explain  myself to Chinese customs officials in what would inevitably be an interrogation upon stepping off the plane.
“Should I bring this book? What about my …

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[ By | 29 Jun 2009 | No Comment ]

Of the three cities we visited, I most enjoyed Xi’an. Not because it was particularly nice. In fact, that’s exactly why: in many ways, Xi’an is kind of a dump. But what a fantastic and wonderful dump!
On one of my final nights in Xi’an I had a chance to speak with a girl who’d returned to the city after studying abroad in Germany. Her English, and presumably German, were excellent, but she had no desire to go to Shanghai or Beijing. They were too busy.
Sitting in that Starbucks, she told …

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[ By | 29 Jun 2009 | No Comment ]

Finally, this trip is going to end. Before coming to China, I was totally prejudiced. I was paranoid about food safety, for example – and I did get sick on the fourth day of the trip, but I was fine for the rest of the time. I was worried about meeting the nationalistic people. Well, they really are nationalistic. But I didn’t have serious argument with any of them. China is not as scary as I imagined, but now it seems more exotic to me than before.
During our month-long tour, …