China - The Next Superpower

I have just returned from visiting two places - Beijing and Tianjin, and Wuhan in Hubei province over the last 7 days. For those of you who have no idea where these places are, go check it out on a map. Look for Beijing and if you move south east from it a little, you will see Tianjin. To find Wuhan, look for Beijing and then head south until you see the Yangtze River, or better known by its Chinese name as Chang Jiang.

Both places are worth a visit. Beijing is a city of history, stretching back to thousands of years. Wuhan too has history, stretching back to the warring states - ie to a few hundred years BC. In Wuhan, I felt particularly exhilirated to be on the banks of one of the world's longest and fiercest rivers.

I came back convinced that China will become a great power within most of your lifetimes, and that its influence will extend to the whole world. We will all do well to appreciate the country and learn about it as early as possible.

China has become more interesting for me because I now am able to hold simple conversations in Mandarin. This was not the case before. I have spent a year brushing up on my language. This gave me the confidence to be a little adventurous. I put on my track shoes and ran around the streets of Beijing - not advisable because the pollution can get to you, and if not the cars will - and on two days ran a large area of Wuhan. This was nice because Wuhan has many lakes. In Wuhan, I had a little problem because amongst the older people, they conversed in their local dialect. Sounded a little like Khek and Hokkien mixed. But they all knew enough Bu Tong Hua to get by. With my primitive Mandarin, I even got to know locals in Wuhan. One of them even showed me around town on the back of a small motorbike.

What did I learn from all this? I learnt that the people in China are very ambitious and hungry, and are determined to improve their lives. Just one anecdote for now. When I ran for an hour plus along the backstreets of Wuhan, I noticed that the three most common shops in the back alleys were 1) Food stalls - little surprise here 2) PS2 outlets - they allow you to play games by the hour 3) Rental Bookstores. Imagine. Bookstores being as common as foodstalls and an entertainment outlet.

I also felt at home. Being Chinese, I did not get stares or anything. Even when they do find out that you are a Singaporean, they treat you like a Chinese rather than a Lao Wai or Gui Lao (derogratory terms used to describe Caucasians) . In diplomatic circles, Singapore is the only country in the world that is able to readily use Mandarin to engage our counterparts in China. This must be a plus for us, although it can be a minus too....

But on balance, learn Mandarin and learn to love it. It will become the second most important language in the world, if not already.