July 10, 2010 - Beijing, China

Pinyin: ni de geren wen ti jie jue le ma?

Translation: Do you have your personal problems solved?

Meaning: Are you on track to get married?

The chaos of China's family planning history makes sense; especially in regards to their present debacle. In the 1950's, only 500 million people inhabited China. In 1957, one of Chairman Mao's advisers, Professor Ma, recommended a plan to ensure the population didn't outgrow food production. Chairman Mao was offended by this proposal and threw Professor Ma in jail for 20 years - believing more people make a stronger country. Women who had six or more children during Chairman Mao's reign received a honorable title.

As China's population shot out of control, in 1980 the One Child Policy was instituted. Some interesting statistics:

+ Today's family structure is a 4:1 ratio - 4 grandparents, 2 parents, and 1 child.

+ Life expectancy in 1949 was 35 years of age, today it is 71 years.

+ Today, China has more than 1.3 billion people (23% of the world's population).

+ There has been little discussion of the preferred male child, but as children born under the One Child Policy reach marrying age, there is a 119 men: 100 women ratio.

In China the man's family pays for wedding. In the U.S. the women's family foots-the-bill. Jokingly (or seriously), some families hope their son will marry a U.S. wife so they can find a bride and not have to pay for the ceremony. Theorizing China's population will begin to decrease in the 2040's, increasing to a Two Child Policy is currently being discussed.

Today we attempted to observe a less commercialized side of Beijing. Beginning with a morning walk and boat ride through Purple Bamboo Park, we ended up at the home of Xhang Yan. As a Communist Party Member and journalist who covered Chairman Mao from his early days to rise of power; Xhang Yan also learned English at a young age, through befriending American Flying Tigers.  The Flying Tigers were U.S. Air Force pilots who helped China fight the Japanese invaders during WWII. Believing his life journey couldn't be more fascinating, Xhang Yan became the first Chinese correspondent stationed in Washington D.C. after the 1979 normalization of U.S. and China relations. For the last 30 years Xhang Yan has traveled and written about the United States for the multi-language magazine, China Today. We've read a couple of his articles, however, his most insightful observation of U.S. culture is our need for standing-in-lines. Xhang Yan questions why we wait patiently for-our-turn, when there are only two people in line. Today Xhang Yan has four grown children; three live in the United States, and most of his grandchildren have been born in the states, thus are U.S. citizens.

With last summer's Olympic Games in Beijing, the streets, hotels, restrooms, restaurants, etc. have been westernized - with an Asian twist. Hot Pot lunch at Haidilao Restaurant, felt "more L.A., than L.A" with large purple chandeliers, posh birdcage booths, and sharp-dressed noodle-dancers. With China's globalization, former Communist factory workshops have become the trendy location for historically suppressed artists to express themselves. While meandering the quintessential 798 Art District alley's, the impact of Chairman Mao, the color red, the yellow star, and the feeling of isolation among the masses was unmistakable.

Making comparisons to the U.S. - We ate lunch in L.A., walked the Taos art district, then completed the day with a Vegas-style Legend of Kung Fu show.