KULTURE
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 13, 2005 8A
The luxuries in some people's living standards are overwhelming. Go to the outskirts of any city, however, and you will find extreme poverty.
Four Chinese farmers take an afternoon break from working in the fields near YangShuo. They chat and try to warm up next to a small coal fire
Country of Extremes
Story and Photos by Megan True * Kansan Correspondent
What country are you from?" asks the taxi driver in Chinese as he merges in and out of lanes like a race car driver in The Davtona 500.
"America," you quickly respond tightening your grip on your seat belt and wondering to yourself if there actually is a speed limit in China.
"Oh, America! Michael Jordan, Shaquille O'Neal. The NBA is great! Have you heard of Yao Ming?"
"Of course!" you reply as the taxi driver continues to tell you all about Yao Ming, the center for the Houston Rockets.
The Chinese people are not only proud of their recent NBA star Yao Ming; they are also proud of their culture, history and language. In any part of China, Chinese people are eager to share their culture.
In Guangxi, in a small village called Ping'an in the mountains, the local minority people will welcome you into their homes for 15 yuan a night — about $2 American. There you can experience what it's like to cook your meal over an open fire and
kansan.com EXCLUSIVE
Check out more photos and an online poll inside.
what it's like to use coal as your source of heating. In fact most places in China, except Northern China, don't have central heating or heaters. Heating is considered a luxury in China. Why waste the money when you can just put on your jacket?
Chinese college dorms not only don't have heating but they also don't have showers in their buildings. Most Chinese have to go to public bathing houses once or twice a week to wash themselves. You don't realize that showering every day and having central heating is a luxury, because it's considered a necessity in the United States.
Another luxury in the U.S. is washing machines and dryers. In China many people still hand-wash their clothes. Washing machines are becoming more and more common, but dryers in China are
SEE EXTREMES ON PAGE 7A
Above: Traffic streaks through the nighttime streets of Shanghai, China's largest industrial city. Located on the east coast of the country, Shanghai stands at the mouth of the Yangzi River facing the Pacific Ocean. Left: Chinese Miao girls sing as they greet people into their village in AnShun, China near Gui Yang. Before one can enter the village it is required that you drink bai jiu, a chinese liquor, out of a cow horn, to ward off bad luck. The costumes they wear are traditional Miao costumes. Miao Zu is just one of the 56 minorities in China.