Editor’s Note: This is the second of a two-part column by Dr. Don Sanders about his trip as a dairy production consultant – his seventh  pf nine consulting tours there since 2005. In Part I, in the July edition of Ohio’s Country Journal, Doc shared his observations about Chinese agriculture. Here, in Part II, he shares his perspective on Chinese culture.

I am fascinated – and in some cases, puzzled – by the customs and culture of China. Here’s just a sample for you. I warn you: Some are not appetizing.

 One local celebration of summer solstice on June 21 features dog meat, processed for the occasion. Last year 20,000 dogs, let’s say, “contributed” to the festivities.

However, the Chinese government wants the Yulin community to tone down the festival and make it more canine-friendly, according to a local newspaper account. The festival apparently doesn’t fit the image the government wants to portray to the world. Plus, the government seems to be concerned about the lack of federal inspectors to check dog meat for safety.

The government has been joined in its opposition, for obviously different reasons, by 30 animal rights groups.

The festival, however, may not be going away. The talk is to move it to a more remote location, or better yet, cut back on the number of dogs on the menu. Can you imagine our government recommending something like that?

One of the Chinese delicacies that I became accustomed to eating with chopsticks are shitake mushrooms.  That was before I learned they grow under the slats of swine barns. They apparently thrive in this cool, shaded, nutrient-rich environment.

Now it’s safe to resume eating, if that’s what you were doing when you began reading this column.

 GETTING AROUND

While in China I travelled primarily by air, but on shorter jaunts I went by car or high-speed bullet trains. Formerly the bullet trains traveled at nearly 325 mph. but the government slowed them to about 250 mph after a train crash in 2011 killed 40 people.

To enhance their efficiency the trains travel on elevated tracks, eliminating automobile crossings, and they stop only in major cities.

RULES TO LIVE BY

In the world’s most populous country, city traffic congestion beats New York City or Chicago by a longshot. My Chinese program coordinator told me it takes her an hour to drive six kilometers (3.7 miles) in Shanghai. (Elite runners cover five kilometers – 3.1 miles – in under a quarter of an hour.)

Should you take up the challenge to drive in China, here are the rules of the road:

1. Drive in similar fashion to the Dodgem cars at the county fair – but without making contact. Chinese drivers seem to dodge between other vehicles, cutting them off – cars, buses, 18-wheelers. It doesn’t matter. Somehow there’s rarely a collision.
2. Maintain about half the vehicle length of space between you and the next car. That’s plenty. Just be ready to tromp on the brake.
3. Be aware that on narrow six-lane highways, buses and 18-wheelers straddle the lines that divide lanes, using them as a guide, to maintain a straight path.
4. Use the horn vigorously to let other drivers know you are in their space or they are in yours. Also use it for passing on the right or left, or when you’re about to hit a pedestrian. Used frequently by every driver in China, the horn is rarely used to express rage or frustration.
5. Know the layout of the road you’re driving on. For instance, major city highways have six to 10 lanes, with the outer lane on either side reserved for electric motor bikes, rickshaws, bicycles and pedestrians. However, if you can’t find adequate space between cars in a motorized vehicle lane, it’s apparently OK to briefly pull into a bicycle/pedestrian lane to get around another car. Pedestrians are always on guard. Even though a driver could be arrested for entering a pedestrian lane, this offers maimed or deceased pedestrians’ little consolation.
6. Smile at the camera, not that it will do you any good. When you’re driving in China, you’re on candid camera – at intersections and even out on the prairie cruising down an interstate highway. Yes, Big Brother is watching. Seasoned Chinese drivers know where the cameras are. They brake just before one comes in range. In the U.S., traffic cameras are being challenged in court. That will not happen in China.
7. Exercise defensive driving, even though the rules I have covered so far are based on aggressive offense. Nevertheless, defensive driving can save you at the last second. If you keep your eyes open, you’ll see many near misses. When cars collide on Chinese roadways, it’s usually cars traveling at the same speed in the same direction. It’s like a grade schoolboy pecking the cheek of the little girl he is infatuated with. Just like he’s sent to the principal, the offending drivers will have to answer to the cops.

CHINESE (IN)SECURITY

Navigating Chinese security can be as challenging as the roadways.

The ticket agent at the Huehoate airport in Inner Mongolia discovered that the number of my newly renewed passport didn’t match the number on my flight ticket. Since I was being accompanied by a driver who spoke no English, I thought I could end up spending the rest of my career and life in Inner Mongolia, China.

They would not permit me to leave, even though I had already been through Beijing and several other airports without difficulty.

Finally, my Chinese driver decided to call my program coordinator, who called the embassy and cleared up the situation. It’s a desolate feeling when no one speaks English and solutions seem out of reach.

Then halfway through my trip, my email stopped working. I tried every repair trick I know, but to no avail. Some of my colleagues also were experiencing email problems.

But our technical difficulties were like none we’d ever experienced in the U.S. It turns out the Chinese government had shut down Google to prevent rebels from using Google Maps to target strategic places to blow stuff up during a rally in Tiananmen Square. Fortunately, I was oblivious to all this until just before returning home.

At the Beijing airport I had more trouble than usual getting through airport security. Security teams passed my stuff through the screener twice – once with my bags fully packed and then partially unloaded. Among items they removed was a small bottle of Listerine mouthwash, something I routinely pack (not that it’s necessary). They poured some on a stainless-steel table and threw a match on it. Uh, oh! Now I’m sure to be shipped off to a slave labor camp! However, the match went out without a flash.

They also took out my Brut aftershave. The bottle was only half full. They didn’t try lighting it. They just poured it out.

I had no problem with them setting fire to my mouthwash. But dump my Brut? That was oppressive, even by Chinese standards!