We are often drawn to China's youth. Barbara has been doing some of her work here with young people, and so there's a real if brief connection, particularly because coming of age people have been important in both our lives in our teaching and friendships for so long. But of course we are drawn to the kids we see--on the subway with a grandparent, in the parks--and in the museums, such as the (wonderful) Shanghai Natural History Museum at left (kids are the smaller creatures in the photo at left, looking up in some awe at the larger creatures done in real-life size (some even move and make plausible sounds!).
As a former science geek (I went to college to become an astronomer), I found the museum so well done and informative--accounts of the creation of the universe, the plausible origins of human beings (which the little girl in the photo at right is drawn to), the variety of very small and large creatures in the past and present, all were very up to date. The causes and dangers of climate change, endangered habitats and species extinction were all excellent and candid (with the important exception, parallel to "where the story stops" in political and art museums I've written about earlier, of China's major contributions to global warming and environmental pollution).
Parents seem to be very concerned that their children get an education, and those who are able compete to get their kids into "the best" schools, perhaps to better compete in the annual national gaokao (entrance exam for universities). In the photo at left we see mostly grandparents gathering outside the gate of a private school promising foreign language instruction to the children--something I've seen outside several of the sought-after private schools (which, of course, only the more affluent can afford). Getting access to better schools is evidently one of the reasons that rural people move to the cities, in addition to better work.
In the afternoons, I've seen teenagers lining up at popular snack bars (such as in the photo at right).
The snacks themselves, of course, are not necessarily as nutritious as traditional Chinese diets have usually been (especially for those able to afford the full complement of rice, other grains, sweet potatoes, corn, a wide variety of fresh greens (many of which we've only eaten here), and so forth. Western venues (KFC, McDonald's, Starbucks) often serve popular but high-calory foods and drinks (teens seem to like specialty coffee drinks rather than the almost-zero calories of coffee with just a bit of cream or sugar). We see some of the obesity that China is now concerned about, though less than we'd expected to see (lots of walking here!).
Speaking of Starbucks: while exploring an area of downtown Shanghai I wandered into one, and had a feeling that I'd stumbled into what a Star Trek fan might refer to as the "mother ship." Huge! Many things to eat! Many different coffees being roasted! And many, many young folks (here in their 20's), evidently relishing a place to hang out more than just a place to pick up some coffee. At least for the children of the emerging middle class (or newly rich), there seems to be the possibility and desire to hang out together (augmented by social media), creating a relatively new kind of youth culture.
We pause here to look at China's 2016 "population pyramid," a way academics like to represent the shape (and issues!) a country's population may imply. We see toward the bottom (the five-year age intervals from 0-30) that the pyramid has narrowed. That is, the population being born each year was shrinking: fewer kids!
This was partly due to the one-child policy, but also to more education, the cost of urban living, and changes in women's roles. Note in the bottom bar, kids 0-5, the blue or male line is longer than the pink or female line, representing for the younger folks in this posting that there is a shortage of girls and women relative to boys and men: how might this be shaping the dating scene for teens, as well as the "marriage market" for 20-somethings?
The smaller size of the recent birth "cohorts") also means the adult to children ratio has been growing--a couple may have only one child, or even just one grandchild, to "spoil," putting all their resources (and hopes!) into that one kid. This may be part of what fuels the resources available for some (not all) kids to have the leisure time and money to hang out (in spite of the fact that many also may go to some weekend extra schooling). It'll be interesting to see how this all works out: will China follow Japan's path, with such a low birthrate that the population as a whole is actually shrinking, putting pressure on Japan to relax their traditionally very strict immigration policies?
On another note: what's Barbara up to in recent days now that we've moved on to Beijing? In addition to some nice time walking along park lakes with me, she's been continuing her various activities with local folks. In the photo at right, we see her working with doctors and nurses at a local hospital, encouraging them to think about how "Dance Movement Therapy" might be useful in that setting--an additional way of knowing what's going on with a patient, but also of treatment. I got to listen, and appreciated anew her skills and passions in working with groups with her particular gifts.
I'll conclude with this very large window mural above the departure gate at the Seattle airport, our transfer place most often when flying on to China these days. It's about 40 feet wide. I'm not sure what the artist who created it intended or its meaning, but part of what I see is a couple using old-time transportation to make their journey (sun and moon?). In my imagination perhaps I'm the man, holding out my open hands to receive what may be offered in the journey, while Barbara pours out water and wisdom for those we will meet this time. But who really knows, in a larger sense, What It All Means? And to what end our journeys will take us?
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