China: Exemplary Efficiency

Those of you who know my politics know that I am a China hawk. It is one country that has aspirations to dominate the world for the foreseeable future and has the resources to pull it off. So, when I got an unexpected opportunity to visit China for the first time, I was excited.

What a deal!

In 2018, I decided to travel to India for a quick five-day trip. On international flights, I prefer to have a flatbed seat— it just makes the long journey bearable. When I started to look for the tickets, flights from Denver to New Delhi were coming out to be in the $6,000 neighborhood. Almost 40% more than what I would find most days! Because I was traveling for a specific reason, my dates were not flexible. So, I started looking for alternatives. I found a flight from Los Angeles to New Delhi with a flatbed seat for under $2,000! I could not believe it. The only catch was I would have a stopover in Guangzhou. My flight from the USA was arriving in Guangzhou two hours after the flight to New Delhi would depart, so I would have to stay an entire day in China. To sweeten the pot, China Southern Airlines said they would put me in a nice hotel in China. I jumped at the opportunity!

I was so excited (literally like a kid in the candy store). The check-in process went smoothly at the Los Angeles International Airport. The China Southern airline doesn’t have their own lounge but they have teamed up with Korean Air, so I got to enjoy the Korean Air lounge. The boarding process was chaos. The kind you typically see in third-world countries. It was free for all for sure. But as soon as I entered the plane, it was a different experience. The business class cabin was on the upper deck with all-aisle access (every seat has aisle access) configuration. The flight attendants were very nice and really tried their best to be helpful. This was a different departure than your typical US or European-based airlines. In my experience, Asian-based airlines tend to have friendlier flight attendants.

I settled down in my seat. It was around 10 pm and I did not want to eat anything, so I told the flight attendant not to wake me up and went to sleep. Los Angeles to Guangzhou is a long 15-hour flight. I try to avoid eating on the plane. Once I woke up they asked me a couple of times if I wanted anything to eat but I said no. Anyway, we are about to land and this supervisor came and asked if my flight attendant was providing good service. I thought that was a strange question but I told her that she was great. She then asked me why I was not eating anything! I just let her know that I did not want to eat and I was fine. She was so apologetic and insisted that I have something! It was the kind of hospitality you see as a guest in an Indian house.

Hack my phone?

Our flight landed on time and off I went to get my passport stamped. They give you a 24-hour transit visa and the process was incredibly fast (I was in and out in 5 minutes)! Oh, before I forget, I am so paranoid about the Chinese government that before I boarded from Los Angeles, I removed all the apps on my phone except my native phone, text, and email. I even changed my email password to 1234 or something crazy😊 Anyway, I walked out of security and there was a transfer desk where they were ready with my arrival packet. They had room keys for a five-star hotel near the airport (Pullman), a metro pass for two days, and a set of passes for different museums in town. It was incredible. A young man walked me out to the shuttle that would take me to my hotel.

I reached the hotel at around 10 am or so local time. I wanted to go see the city so, after a quick shower, I walked to the metro station. The trains in Guangzhou run like clockwork. They were accurate to the second. The station was immaculate. I hopped on the train downtown and got off at a station where they had some nice gardens and a museum. It was a rather warm day but the shades in the garden made it feel cooler. There were families with kids and a lot of old people enjoying the park. It had a nice lake with boating and other amenities. There were some historical statues and I kept walking to the other side of the park where there was a small museum. I decided to go in—China Southern gave me passes for a few museums but this was not one of them. I requested a ticket and gave them my credit card. They would not accept credit cards! I offered them US dollars and they would not accept those. There was this gentleman about my age who was watching all this. So he took some money out of his pocket and was about to buy my ticket. I wanted to make sure I did not take anything for free, so I took a $10 bill out of my pocket. I have never seen anyone run faster in my life! You see, he thought I was some secret police or someone who was looking for people who exchanged currency. So much for that museum.

• 

• 

• 

I continued walking and went into a couple of museums which the pass covered. Guangzhou has a 2,200-year history. It really is a place worth visiting. In one of the museums, they actually accepted credit cards at a gift shop so I bought a few souvenirs. What came next was unbelievable.

Ali Pay anyone?

I was a little hungry so I went to what looked like a nice restaurant. I asked them if they would take credit cards before I sat down. They did not understand what I was asking. I showed my credit card, and they shook their heads no. They showed me their phone and said Ali Pay. I did not have Ali Pay. So I left and looked for a place to exchange currency. I found a local bank. I went inside and asked if they would exchange currency. They said no but the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China has a big building a few blocks away (well I thought they said that… we were all working in hand gestures). I found the ICBC building and went in. Turns out it is a back-office and there were no bank on-premises. They pointed me in a different direction. I found an ICBC branch and went in. I asked if they would exchange currency they said sure give me your account number. Since I did not have an account, I was out of luck.

So, I gave up and continued to the river bank that I really wanted to see. All of a sudden I saw a McDonald’s. I had never been happier to see McDonald’s before. I decided to go in and the same story happened, they would not accept credit cards. Ali Pay or local currency only. Right across the street, there was a five-star hotel so I went in and asked the front desk if they would exchange currency and they said “sure, what is your room number?” I explained that I was staying at the airport and really needed a few bucks just to eat a meal. So they told me to go to a bank they knew would exchange currency. It was only a block away. I walked into this bank. It was a small branch with maybe six people including the security guard. The whole place was empty. I asked a question and the manager was the only person who spoke English. He came out and I said I just want some local currency for $20 for a meal. He said no problem. He brought out this 10-page double-sided form. It was all in Chinese, so he would ask me a question in English and then fill it out on the paper. Once I signed the form, he gave it to someone to enter all the data on the computer! How crazy was that? The whole process took almost an hour. Finally, I got local currency for $20. I actually felt bad for the amount of paperwork that they had to do. That sure felt like a losing proposition for the bank. I was ready to leave the bank and the entire staff came outside to say bye to me. It was amazing.

Anyway, now armed with my local currency, I finally had something to eat. I continued with my sightseeing for a few more hours before taking the train back to the airport. Throughout my walk (I walked maybe five to seven miles), I did not find a single piece of litter on the street. The streets were so clean, you could eat off of it. I have never seen streets that clean. I did not see a single beggar or a homeless person or slums for that matter. I am sure a city of 15 million has all of that, but I could not see it in the city or on the metro line. There was no graffiti to be found on the metro. The train back to the airport was full (it was rush hour traffic), but even then people were orderly and trains were running on time. I had a newfound respect for the Chinese.

When was the last time you were impressed by visiting a country? Do share your thoughts below.