(You may need to turn up the volume to hear the Moonlight Sonata.)

Thank you for entering this page! You must be interested in knowing more about the way people live in China, and in gaining a bit more knowledge about Chinese culture. Perhaps you are here simply because you clicked accidentally on a wrong link. In any case, you are welcome to stay and look at what I have written about the life in China. I created this page in hopes of giving people a clearer view of a student's life in arguably the most demanding and life-draining, though profoundly rewarding country in the world for education. Although I could not do much of a commendable job, I still strove for presenting to you the most descriptive and insightful work possible .

You will find on this page many facts mingled with opinions regarding the lives of Chinese people (with the focus on students). One thing that I must state strongly is that because I lived in China for less than 12 years, my experiences will only let you see China through a relatively narrow perspective; despite my limited knowledge about my own country, I do hope that I can still provide to you some relevant and interesting information, answer or illuminate the answers to some dilemmas, clear up some misconceptions, and so forth. Delineating the lives of people in China (or any other country, for that matter) can not be done with a page, a book, or even a library. To learn about life in any foreign country, one must live in it. Therefore, this page is nowhere near finished, nor is it complete in any aspect. Nevertheless, I sincerely hope that my writing will give you a general, and somewhat insightful view about Chinese culture. Enjoy your visit. Please feel free to e-mail me about your feelings or comments on anything I have written, if you wish. Thank you. (I hope you will not mind the desultory manner with which the following paragraphs flow. In addition, you may encounter occasionally a mix of first person, second person, or third person points of view in the same paragraph. I apologize for any inconvenience or disturbance this might cause, but I wrote the way I did to be more effective in conveying the information to you.)

Fortunately (in some ways), I grew up in Shanghai - the largest, most industrialized, and most frenetic city in the country. Not only does Shanghai embrace technological superiority, its economy has also been consistently soaring. The population of Shanghai is about 10 million, making the city the most populated one in China. I often reminisce about my fulfilling childhood in Shanghai… We had always heard that America was a wonderful place, a "heaven" with "gold mountains", characterized by high living standards and vast opportunities for making a great deal of money. After living in the new country for a while, we did find the U.S. an ideal place in which to enjoy life. Nevertheless, the language barrier made many things very rough for us, though fortunately, I caught up fairly quickly owing to my relatively young age for learning a second language (I wasn't quite 12 then); since my father spoke English well, my parents also managed life quite easily. We moved quite often in the first few years, travelling across the country (we have lived in CA, TX, and two cities in WA). Finally, my family settled in this medium-size house with huge front, side and back yards. It is located on a busy street in Renton, WA; the noises from the cars passing by help breaking the utter silence that would otherwise invade and frighten us to some degree (in China, there are loud noises everywhere, making the sense of community overwhelmingly alive). The 1998-1999 school years marks my 11th grade year at a local high school.

It's probably best to first discuss the ways of greeting among Chinese people. When it comes to guests and strangers, people shake hands; otherwise, they say "ni hao" - meaning "hello" (Japanese people bow, and they do so almost under all circumstances). After exchanging some common greetings, the conversation then takes pretty much the form seen everywhere, meaning that it can go any direction. Chinese people are much more inclined not to engage in physical affections in public. You will not frequently see on the street people hugging or kissing. Although times are changing, and many aspects of social life are becoming increasingly westernized, valuing and treating love sincerely will always characterize most Chinese citizens. One fact that substantiates this aspect of Chinese culture is the extremely low divorce rate in China compared to that of most other countries. Moreover, the typical Chinese woman is a submissive introvert whodressing freely. While watching TV as part of the English-learning process, I came across a program that aired a "Miss Universe" beauty contest. There was a contender from almost every well-known country, and both Hong Kong and Taiwan had a representative, but not China, not then, and probably not in the future. Not only would most of the female citizens of China respect the traditional Chinese values, the government also would not permit China to be involved in any morally unacceptable events, measured by China's virtues. But again, times are changing and China is opening up more than ever before. Things might change.

For holidays, we celebrate many that are similar to the ones recognized in the United States. China celebrates numerous of holidays, which include (some of the translations may be a bit off from their precise meanings) the Spring Festival (the most grandiose holiday in Chinese culture - its date various because it follows the Chinese lunar calendar), New Year's Day, National Day (October 1 - the day on which the People's Republic of China was born), International Women's Day (March 8), Labor Day (May 1), International Children's Day (June 1 - every child's favorite because he or she has no school and can play all day), National Army Day (August 1), and other special holidays that are accompanied by the eating of very unique and delicately made foods, such holidays include the Iris Festival and the Mid-autumn Festival (which falls on 15th day of the Chinese lunar calendar - on this day, one can usually observe a serene, full moon). During the Iris Festival (I saw in a phrasebook the translation of the name of this holiday) people eat what's called Zong Zi: rice with typically meat inside; it gets wrapped in a certain type of large leaves and further tied with a long string circling around it a few times before steamed and taking a final form of a slightly deformed triangular pyramid (each side resembles a spherical triangle). On the Mid-autumn Festival people eat "moon cakes", which take the shape of wide cylinders with an insignificant height - thus looking like the full moon. Moon cakes are made up of incredibly delicious stuffing (they could be any of the many kinds of manufactured dairy, bean, and other products) with specially manufactured flour on the outside. Chinese characters are inscribed on the top side of the cakes. One thing that you may find inconceivable is that some of these moon cakes can cost up to hundreds or even thousands of RMB yuan (over a month's salary for the majority of the population). Such circumstances occur typically among the most wealthy businessmen or people who are profoundly indebted to others. (One can usually buy some moon cakes with 20 RMB yuan or so; however, the prices of all goods have been escalating at an astounding rate...) One unique holiday of prominence - especially to the students - is Teacher's Day. On this special occasion, students present gifts and other means of thanks and gratitude to their teachers, who dedicate so much time and energy into nurturing them, the hope and leaders for the future. Education has always been paramount in human civilizations; it is thoroughly ludicrous that some people look down at teachers and admire the wealthy business people.

The children in China respect their parents very much, as they have been taught all their lives to revere all people who are older than they are. Most of the Chinese children obey their parents servilely (regardless of the degree of eagerness or disinclination to the work), unlike in the U.S., where parents have minimal control of the kids. Chinese parents have significant control of their children that privacy is seldom a known concept to the children. Although this fact may seem likely to deepen any existing crevices, or create them, between the relationships of the children and the parents, it in reality tightens their relationships by the deeper understandings of each other. And because of the one-child policy, Chinese families are exceptionally close; there are never sibling rivalries or such related conditions.

In the U.S., kids start working at an early age and pay much of the costs for clothing and activities by themselves. In China, it is a different story. Students devote about 80% of their free time to school work while the remaining 20% to leisure activities (watching TV, playing with neighbors, having fun at theme parks, etc.), housework, and other miscellaneous things. Students do not work until in college or later. When we work for our parents, we do not expect much reward (but in the U.S., kids get money from their parents by working for them, which would be considered absurd or even immoral in China) because the family functions as a natural whole instead of a group of different entities doing business, in which one does one thing when another pays for the action. Every member of the Chinese family does as much as possible to maintain and ameliorate the already halcyon relationships (although sometimes one might grumble about the amount of work needed to be done), in a joint effort to bask even more in the joys of life. (Of course, in some wealthiest families, kids may actually get money for doing something.)

In all honesty, and wishing not to offend the reader in any way, most American kids do not respect at all their parents and in general, older people. America is a free country, thus people can live in many wild ways as they wish, knowing that they possess such superficially wonderful, though in reality ultimately virulent freedom. Absolute power corrupts absolutely, so does absolute freedom. When my mother and I first came to the U.S., we were shocked to learn from my father that kids in America could call 911 if their parents beat them. Most kids in China are punished physically all the time; however, that is how everyone learns from his or her mistakes and knows by heart not to do them again. In the end, the children who received more punishments from their parents are often the ones who love and respect them more. Quite unbelievable, isn't it? Comparing the typical Chinese child with the typical American child, who is the one that has less freedom, gets punished much more (both physically and verbally), but becomes a person closer to his or her family when he or she grows up? "A good medicine tastes bitter." If kids have so much freedom and are not brought up confined to strict rules, the undesirable results then infest the country, such as America: horrifyingly high percentage of drug usage, teen pregnancies, and crimes.

In China, kids do practically anything ordered by their parents. Many Chinese students, by the age of 13, would have learned how to cook and would do the cooking for the family as time permits. The lack of free time is due to the arduous burden of school; by late elementary school, one must work for countless hours everyday. While doing homework at night, the students may sometimes fall asleep from the unbearable exhaustion (this occurs more often in middle school and high school). Chinese kids must make much more contributions to the family than the American kids do, whether they like it or not. One significant fact about all generations of a particular Chinese family is the propinquity of their residences. (Unlike in the U.S., where one could have an aunt living in New York, two uncles living in Florida, a grandma living in Kansas, while he or she living in California.)

While in school, many rules, formalities, and conventions apply to the students. The first thing that comes to mind is dressing; although some schools require uniforms, all demand that the student each wear a specialized "green tie" or "red tie" (it is thin and of the shape of an isosceles triangle with a low altitude), which is granted to the student by the school. Only lower classmen in elementary school wear green ties; all students of higher classes wear red ties. Here's the catch, students do not obtain red ties at the same time; the best students (in both character and academics - though the latter is actually of less importance for receiving a tie) get to wear them first, and then the lesser qualified, yet the even lesser qualified, and eventually everyone is given a tie by third grade no matter how much he or she lacks in character (unless, of course, the person fails to pass a grade). The ties signify honor, and are thus treated gently and kept neatly by the students (only one tie is given for each student, and it is to last till the student graduates). In the morning, all students gather and align themselves neatly and accordingly in the playground to sing together China's national anthem. Afterwards, they do a regular set of exercises and then march back to class. Magnificent and heroic music accompanies all of the mentioned activities. It shall be mentioned that being one of the two persons who raise the national flag everyday is of paramount honor and fulfillment for a student. The flag is raised everyday by different students (who have been chosen by teachers and administrators); it is also incumbent upon the students that they take down the flag at the end of school that day.

During the day, whenever a bell rings to signal the beginning of a class, the talking, laughing, and possibly fighting all come to a sudden stop and the students quickly settle themselves into their seats and get ready to learn. As the teacher comes in, a student leader exclaims a terse phrase synonymous to "stand up!" and everyone concurrently follows the command; immediately afterwards, the whole class greets the teacher with a traditional greeting that means something like "Hello, teacher.". During set periods in the day, students practice eye exercises (done to relieve the unbearable amount of tension built in eyes after long periods of writing or other work) as they listen to recorded instructions from the intercom; oh, they also get snacks two times a day ;). Although school is hard, it's also fun; the students do a lot together and become genuinely good friends.

In China, education is painfully stringent and forced. Students have no choice but to work, work, and work; it's almost adequate to put many Chinese elementary schools and Caltech (California Institute of Technology - reputed for having the hardest-working students in the U.S.) side by side as far as the work load is concerned (relatively speaking, that is - based on the age of the students and how much work they must do compared to their American counterparts). Students would frequently need to do chores so that they would make their parents happier and more proud of them. Parents try their hardest to let their children enter the best schools (by tutoring their them or making them take music lessons, art classes, etc.) the same time the children are becoming practically homework machines from school work. The work load is unbelievably heavy in all schools; an elementary school student in China would get an equal amount or more of home work than a high school student in the U.S. does, even if the American student is taking many AP classes. (The preceding statement is substantive; I have experienced the schooling in China.)

Every year, elementary school students take final exams in language arts and math (and usually English) to proceed into the next grade. If you fail the tests, you get to take a different set for a second chance. If you fail those, then you will repeat your current grade until you pass it. Fortunately, due to the joint effort of the assiduous students, teachers, and parents, very few students fail. However, the rule still applies to all students, including first graders. It becomes extremely vital when students take the finals in fifth grade (graduating from elementary school) and ninth grade (there are three years in Chinese high schools). Your scores will determine what school you will be attending. If you end up in a mediocre school, not only will you parents be in drastic frustration, disappointment, anger, sorrow, and despair, other people, such as neighbors, will view you in a new shade. The pressure and stress are similar to what the motivated American 11th grader experiences when he or she applies for the top universities, but much more overbearing. China has a meager number of higher institutions of learning considering its vast population and the high academic skills of the average Chinese student. Thus, competition in school is more than fierce, it is immeasurably challenging. The most paramount day for K-12 students is the day of the college entrance exam, Gao Kao (literally, "higher/upper exam" - an exam that determines whether you will qualify to move up from you grade and enter a higher institution of learning). The Gao Kao exam is an exceptionally tough exam that tests knowledge and skills in language arts, math, all the natural sciences, Chinese history (AP U.S./European History is nothing compared to this), and English. While the high school years may be the best years in life for most American students, as far as social life is concerned, they're the worst for Chinese students.

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