Why would anyone visit Jiangmen?
Our mindsets can be really funny, when you stop to think about them. Funny, and sometimes pathetic!!
For years I had an idea of China that was burned into my mind from things I had learned many decades ago. I know how those images got there… it was the textbooks and news items of a generation or more ago. Images linger in the mind… and, if one is not careful, they are never updated. They persist… unchanged… and in such ways we choose to define our world. Yes, we are so confident that we understand REALITY, right?
So, for years, I had very little interest in China. I won’t recount the images… but, if you (the reader) are anywhere near my generation or come from my culture, you probably share most of the same images.
Ahh… it is true… the Beijing Olympics truly did force upon our minds a whole new fantastic set of images. It was very confusing for many of us, was it not? Somehow China should not be staging such a successful event… on such a scale… and with so many medals won by Chinese athletes!!!
And so from time to time we are forced (if we are lucky) to confront our old ideas, and do some mental updating.
But as much as I understand what I think I am saying here I still keep being surprised in China. I continue to venture into new places, with these preconceived images in my mind. Invariably, I set myself up for another surprise.
One of the reasons I make contacts around China is that I try to promote our university English programs to Chinese students and professionals. In this way and others, I establish contacts with people.
In February this year (2009), I chose to visit a contact I had made in Jiangmen. Yes, it was only an hour by bus from Guangzhou. I love to explore China “off the beaten path” as I keep saying. So, why not visit Jiangmen? I chose to travel there on a Friday and return to Guangzhou the next day. I imagined that would be plenty of time to visit an unknown small centre in rural Guangdong.
I may tell you more about my visit there in future blogs, but for now I will just give you a link to my photos taken in DongHu Park, Jiangmen. If you are looking for one good reason to step off the normal tourist routes in China and visit a place like this, maybe you will discover the reasons I chose to return to Jiangmen the second time.
Please take time to view more photos on my on-line photo album…
Best for China (Windows Live): Ron’s DongHu Park photos
Best elsewhere (Google/Picasa): Ron’s DongHu Park photos
Posted oringally Tuesday, May 12, 2009 by Professor Ron
Latest update: 2009/11/27