Dream Big!

Posting while on holiday was not part of the plan … but I am excited to share with you my experience of Beijing thus far as I feel it has relevance in this Blog on human motivation.

Let me start by being completely honest with you. China is not a country that even featured on my list of places I’d love to visit. For whatever reason, I have never had much of a fascination for the far East.

My son, on the other hand, has always been keen to visit Asia and for him a five month ‘gap year’ internship to teach English in China has extended to an entire year with him staying on to study the Chinese language. Currently he is in the process of applying for a long term study towards a degree in either medicine or languages.

Confronted by the thought that our erstwhile child might not be coming home anytime soon, my wife Jenni and I decided that ‘the mountain would have to visit Mohammed’ … and here we are.

[box type=\”shadow\”]\”Every great dream begins with a dreamer. Always remember, you have within you the strength, the patience, and the passion to reach for the stars to change the world.\”

– Harriet Tubman[/box]
 

Dream Big (continued)

 

Low expectations

I guess the thing about having low expectations is that you are seldom disappointed. And disappointed I certainly have not been! In fact China, or more specifically Beijing, has wowed me!

This city (of somewhere between 13 and 20m people, depending on what you read) really works. Yes, there are people aplenty and then some … but they are well dressed, well mannered, respectful and friendly.

A harmonious blend of extremes

This is a country experiencing massive economic growth and clear  signs of rapidly spreading prosperity are everywhere. Huge western style shopping malls with every brand conceivable mix it with ‘hole in the wall’ type shops, stalls and eateries that line the ancient Hutong alleyways in the old part of the city.

New and newish cars and luxury vehicles abound on the roads – old bangers are conspicuous by their absence – as do bicycles, motorised scooters, buses, trams and even rickshas, all taking their self respecting places in the frenetic above ground transport system. The intricate subway system is superb – clean, modern, incredibly efficient and inexpensive.

Even the architecture is a harmonious blend of extremes, with dynastic palaces, temples and parks interspersed with massive skyscrapers and modern office buildings, some sporting quite weird yet admirably audacious designs.

A special place

At no stage – and we must have travelled and walked hundreds of kilometres around, through and across the city – have I or my family felt insecure or ill at ease. Crime here is a rarity. Poor people and the nouveaux riche mingle happily with the burgeoning middle class. There is an air of mutual respect, rather than aloofness, entitlement, anger or resentment.

This is a special place and one that offers many lessons for those who are prepared to look past the obvious problems, perhaps the biggest being the almost endemic pollution that goes hand in hand with such enormous population density and economic activity.

The english morning newspaper has surprised me with its newsworthiness and its objective international reporting, albeit somewhat China-centric which is to be expected. The pages of the paper are full of interesting reading and refreshingly devoid of sensationalism and stories of death and despondency that we get so used to.

International superstar status

Probably the biggest insight that I have drawn from China and Beijing is that this is a city and country that has rapidly emerged from widespread poverty and an underdeveloped infrastructure into international superstar status. (An American gentleman I met at our hotel pointed out that when he visited twenty years ago, there was hardly a car to be seen on the roads!!)

An amazing capacity to dream big

It seems like a miracle. So how is it possible?

China is now not merely ‘on the map’. It is taking its place at the forefront of our world.

This is thanks, I believe, to an amazing capacity to dream big, coupled with a fierce determination and hard work, spawned not only by national pride but strong personal self respect.

We can all learn much from China and the Chinese. We are all humans and all equally capable. If they can achieve so much in such a short space of time, so can we.

My eyes have certainly been opened!

 

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