Don't make generalizations about China

The author and Uncle Hong at the Bai Cheng beach in Xiamen, Fujian province. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn ]

I am Siti from Malaysia and am currently in Xiamen as a visiting professor in the School of Journalism and Communication. When I first told my colleagues that I was going to live in China for two months, many offered different reactions. Some would say, 'I hope you enjoy your life there', and some, 'I hope you will get clean neighbors' while some others said, 'Surely you are counting the days to come back home'.

That feedback never scared me. To me, China is a very large country and it is wrong to generalize the country into a single statement. Maybe it is true that some of them might have had various experiences when visiting China, but I was very positive about life in China at that time, and held tight to the principle that, 'If we are good to others, people will treat us well'.

That concept works! When I first arrived Xiamen, despite the challenge in language as I don't speak Chinese, I smiled at many people, and they responded by smiling back, even though I wear a head scarf. The treatment from my landlady is also incomparable. She always gives my two-year-old son food and toys, and when I bump into her, she hugs my son and says, 'piau liang'(means beautiful in English) repeatedly. This corresponds positively with my previous reading about Xiamen, that the people are civilized and well-mannered. There was also a lady from another part of China who gave my son a toy when he was playing with her five-year-old son at the Bai Cheng beach. This can be the proof that generalizations about China are just not right, and contradicted my colleagues' impressions.

Uncle Hong, a person who suddenly volunteered to give us a free tour at Gulangyu Island after a short conversation on the bus, while we were on our way to the international dock. Hong, 84 years old, likes my son so much that he decided to cancel his meeting with his pals and went back home to get a camera and meet us in front of a building in Gulangyu. He said he lived on Gulangyu Island for more than 10 years and now, as a retired civil servant, he fills his time by taking photos around his community and has even won several local and national level awards.

He spent more than half of his day with us and guided me, my sister and my son to a local garden. That was indeed a very touching experience, especially when he shared the difficulties in his life, such as in the 1960s when he was exiled to the remote countryside for almost 23 years.

And the relationship continues. We met again but at Bai Cheng beach and he gave me a copy of the pictures through Diana, one of the senior journalism students at Xiamen University who has been my 'lifeline' here in Xiamen. He touched my heart again by travelling to Xiamen city to develop and print the pictures for us! Now, I am in the state of generalizing, 'I love China' because the place and the people really moved me!