New China with Ben Fogle

[borderbilly]

Just watched this on channel 5, very interesting and frightening.

 

[otherclive]

Just watched this on channel 5, very interesting and frightening.

It’s not really showing anything “frightening” that hasn’t been previously covered in media. The really frightening one is many thousands of miles across the Pacific. 🤭

 

[Mr Plodd]

We went to China about 20 years ago. Fascinating trip BUT wherever we went (organised group trip) we had a Govt "Minder" with us. It got a bit "interesting" when he started talking about the 5 autonomous regions of China, one of which is/was Tibet. I mentioned to Mrs P that I thought Tibet was a sovereign nation. Oooh dear me apparently I was very wrong in thinking that! Our minder was VERY quick to instruct me, in NO uncertain terms that it most certainly was not. Our tour guide whispered in my ear to just accept what the "Zampolit" had told me and not to argue as the whole group might get arrested if I continued.

We also saw a small settlement of 10-15 shacks being bulldozed by the Police for some reason and we were told under NO circumstances should we even get our cameras out. So yes its a very security biased, and controller, society.

Apart from that it was a fabulous trip, we saw the Grat Wall, the Terracotta Warriors, the panda rescue centre, the Beijing Olympic swimming venue, a cruise up the Yangtse river on a huge steel ship built to look like a junk (some of the welding looked a tad suspect) and visited the Three Gorges dam which is simply mind blowing and on an incomprehensible scale. We transited through just 3 locks to rise 180 METRES. Talk about being in a concrete canyon looking, we were looking at a couple of lock gates probably 60+ metres high towering about our junk.!!!

All in all a wonderful experience, but there was always that little "undercurrent" and a feeling we were being very closely watched at all times.

One thing did make us chuckle, one of the restaurants we ate in had a "Chinglish" menu and one of the dishes was listed as "Crispy Skin Infections"
No, I didnt sample it, or even ask exactly what it was. Ignorance is sometimes bliss.

Would I go back?? Yes, In an instant!

 

[otherclive]

Tibet even in the early half of the 20th century was never internationally recognised as a sovereign nation, and since then has come under full direct Chinese control. Prior to the brief period in the 20th century when it did have a good degree of autonomy Tibet has principally been under China, and sometimes Nepal.

Whilst I no way support the way China controls its people, or treats minority groups I can only admire their development since the 1950s in hauling millions from poverty and starvation, plus their technological development. I regret that India in the same period, whilst making progress is nowhere near as successful as China as been. Why couldn’t India have become the workshop of the World?