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Helle and I visited parts of China in June 1989. It was just a couple of weeks after the Tiananmen Square protests and massacre.

Foreigners were advised not to enter China and foreign students and tourists had left. However it was a fantastic time to go as the iconic sites of Beijing were empty.

Main places we visited in China

We started our trip with a flight into Hong Kong

Our room in the famous “Chung King” Mansion – Hong Kong

An empty Tiananmen Square in Beijing as we bussed past

Alone on the Great Wall of China – June 1989

The Forbidden City

There was an airy feeling

Any building of symbolic importance was deserted

We stayed in the foreign student hostel in Beijing as it was abandoned. Mid June would normally be teeming with visitors. We hired bicycles in Beijing and joined the locals – sometimes it got a bit heated!

Recycling in 1989

People selling produce everywhere

Treatment of animals is not that pleasant to witness

The Chinese love their pork

Frogs are a delicacy

In Guangzhou province cat is also a favoured meat

Guilin province in the South is absolutely spectacular

A painter’s paradise

We hired bikes and cycled out in the countryside around Yangshou, near Guilin. It was very rural and stunning.

The Chinese people were generally friendly. However when we wanted to buy anything – eg a ticket at the railway station or buying something in what they called “Friendship” stores they were anything but friendly. We found the sales staff were mostly disinterested and rude. Back in the 80’s foreigners had a different currency called FEC( Foreign Exchange Certificates) to the local currency RMB. Needless to say we had to pay considerably more for everything! Sometimes we got locals to buy for us and we would pay them as it irked us to pay more for the same thing.

This lovely young couple actually shouted us a grand feast in Guilin

Kids are always friendly and great fun wherever you go

Always keen for a pose

The elderly are usually also up for a photo opportunity

A fine looking gentleman shopping for dinner

What a wonderful smile

Life was very different in China back in the 80’s to how we lived in NZ. Like all Asian countries there were lots of street vendors and people just trying to make ends meet selling food everywhere.

Rural life was simple and farming was hard graft.

A very impressive ” state of the art” pram

Some good old fashioned deck chairs

Cycles were the main mode of transport in the 80’s

The enduring memory of Beijing and China was the Great wall of China. I doubt you will ever see it empty again.

I visited Shanghai in 2018- I was disappointed that it was like another big bustling concrete jungle with few signs of the “real China”.

I was pleased we made the effort to see parts of China back in 1989. It was tough going as foreigners were not treated that well and English wasn’t widely spoken. Part of the intrigue of travel is to witness how other people live and certainly China was very different then!

Shanghai 2018

Very little “real China” exists in Shanghai. It appears like another “western” city. We found only small pockets of what China would have been like in past centuries.

Yu Gardens which was absolutely packed!

We took some architects and designers on a trip.

A barber shop from another era!

Shanghai’s Marriage Market in People’s Park

This park is worth a visit in Shanghai – hundreds of parents advertise their single children for marriage on umbrellas!

Suzhou is great – about 2 hours from Shanghai

Very touristy but an enjoyable boat ride down canals in the “old town”

We only had a few days in Shanghai. As an introduction to China it is okay but if you want to see the real China you will certainly need to explore more.

I don’t see us going back to China. I am sure there are some wonderful parts to visit but we have had a taste and there are other places to be.