What was your favorite thing about China?

The people and the food.

During our travels I found the people in China to be very welcoming, friendly, and beautiful. I felt comfortable the moment we stepped outside of the Beijing Airport. I was perhaps most impressed with how social everyone seems to be. Public gathering spaces are abundant and well utilized by people of all ages. Despite the language barrier most people I encountered were very engaging. The mention of the social aspect of China offers a great segue into the food.

The food was absolutely amazing, which I reiterated ad nauseam throughout this blog. During our 3 weeks in China we tried hundreds of different dishes. One meal alone could easily have a variety of 10 different things to try. The great array of plates on the table was commonplace because we almost always ate as a large group. As you may have seen in the photos, there is typically a ‘lazy susan’ in the middle of the table and the dishes are spun around and shared. There are usually some favorites and some competition for those favorites; which is entertaining at the least and certainly important for group relationship building. The point of all this babble is that in China not only do they eat phenomenal food but they often engage in group meals that are very social. In the U.S. we often eat in isolation or sit in front of our computers at work and wolf down lunch. The professionals we interacted with in China were pretty much appalled at our working lunch attitude in the States.

What was the best part of the trip?

I can’t even begin to say how lucky I felt to have the opportunity to travel through China with a purpose, and with such a great group of people. We were constantly on the move attending meetings, visiting relevant sites, eating amazing food, and traveling to new places. I really appreciate the members of the What If group and all the people we met during our journey.

My favorite part in many ways was our visit to Alashan. This region is located in Inner Mongolia and it is not as common a place to visit as Shanghai and Beijing, kind of off the beaten path if you will. I certainly don’t want to downplay our time in Beijing or Shanghai as I thoroughly enjoyed (and would return to) both of those places. But Alashan was magical and I pretty much felt privileged to be there.

I also really enjoyed keeping this blog. Thanks for checking it out!

What did you learn?

I learned a great deal about China’s water resource and environmental issues. I also learned a lot about how things work in China. A generic statement to be sure, but a Central Government operates a lot differently than what we are accustomed to in the United States. There are good and bad things about a Central Government. An obvious disadvantage, among many, is the suppression of information. One advantage though, is that policies that benefit the population can be put into action much quicker.

I was really excited to learn about the emergence of NGOs in China. I wrote about this already, but I think NGOs could ultimately be the driving force of major change in China. I also think NGOs have great potential to build bridges with other countries and allow international cooperation in solving environmental and social problems in China. This would have positive repercussions throughout the globe.

I would be negligent if I didn’t mention the great deal I learned from the group I traveled with. While we are all professionals involved with water resources, our backgrounds and specialties are different. It was nice to be part of such well rounded discussions.

Last, I learned (or was reminded) that I have incredible family, friends, and colleagues who supported and inspired me during my trip.

The end.

Be well,

Bill

Since I don’t have any photos for visual stimulation I added a Google map of our general travels. China is a huge country so it was nice to draw some lines and plot some points to see where we visited. Click here to check it out.

We also had some time to have an open exchange with the Chinese delegation. It was nice to have a chance to ask candid questions and was a great opportunity to learn more about the perspectives of our peers in China.

A highlight of my day was getting to ride the Shanghai light rail during rush hour. When the train arrived and opened its doors there appeared to be space for about 3 people. Somehow 15 people were squeezed in like sardines. This may sound terrible but it was something I wanted to experience. It was certainly more packed than Chicago’s Blue Line during rush hour, but somehow much more civil and relaxed.

We are now on our way back to Beijing and will spend two days there before flying to the States. I plan on taking a lot of photos and posting them to the blog.

In the morning my group explored the following question, “What are the long term policies that have realistic chances to make significant gains in fighting environmental degradation?” There were a lot of great ideas shared. I offered the United State’s experience with the Energy Policy Act of 1992 as an example to learn from and expand on. This piece of legislation, among other things, created new standards for plumbing fixtures such as toilets, showerheads, and faucets. Water use in the United States greatly declined because of this.

One thing I was very excited to learn about on this trip is the emergence of NGO’s in China. There seems to be a paradigm shift in regard to how policy is influenced here. I am hopeful that NGO’s may provide a bridge in which the U.S. and China can work together. We discussed this a bit as well today, and I plan to explore it more in the future.

In the afternoon we worked on creating a curriculum for a website that would inform young professionals about global water issues. We had quite a brainstorming session and came up with a lot of great ideas. This is a very multidisciplinary group and we are learning a lot from one another, and each person has unique input.

Not a lot of pictures to share today. I did eat a duck foot during dinner, but I didn’t have my camera with me. Hope you are well.

-Bill

Today began with two nice presentations. First was Ping Zhuan from Eason International, a consulting firm specializing in environmental projects that conducts a lot of work in China. Ping talked to us about water issues in Southeast China, and we all learned a lot. Most of the speakers we have heard from thus far have been tied to the government in some way, so it was very refreshing to hear from a representative of the private sector who could speak with more candor.

Following this we heard from Zhijun Ma on the Chongming Dongtan Nature Preserve and specifically the issues associated with migratory birds there. After the talk we went and visited the wetlands, which are located on Chongming Island which is about an hour drive from Shanghai in good traffic.

Also, it was of our group member’s birthday today. Happy B-day Mike!

The words “industrial park” are very misleading, at least in terms of how we tend to define them in the United States. The Suzhou Industrial Park was established in 1994 in a joint collaboration between the Chinese and Singapore governments. It is a kind of futuristic city where people can live and work in the highly successful industrial complex. One hundred of the Fortune 500 companies have a presence here. The SIP has a focus on environmental protection and efficiency. I was also happy to learn that they require fare wages for workers and that each company is reviewed annually to ensure its employees are being treated properly.

The Suzhou Industrial Park had a sterile feeling to me, it is like a giant suburb full of futuristic buildings. It seemed to lack the beautiful and vibrant culture that is everywhere else we have been in China. That aside, I think they are trying to create an economically successful city and do the right thing in terms of environmental and social justice.

We were briefed by Xu Shao Jie, the Deputy Director of the Environmental Protection Bureau of SIP. He talked to us about the Eco-civilization Demonstration Zone of Suzhou Industrial Park. He and his associates were gracious hosts and we greatly appreciate the time they took with us.

After this visit we went to a Chinese Garden in Suzhou proper, toured a silk factory, had dinner, and drove back to Shanghai.

As I mentioned in the first post, last December I received a fateful email from one of the Alliance for Water Efficiency’s Board members, Joyce Coffee. The email was in regard to a fellowship program for young professionals in the field of water resources. The program would send 12 representatives from China to the United States and visa versa. I was fortunate enough to get approval to apply, and was then lucky enough to be accepted. The program is called Water Here, Water There International Fellows, or is also referred to as the What If program. It is conducted by the Association for International Practical Training (AIPT) and funded by the State Department.

I am grateful to the Alliance for Water Efficiency (AWE) for letting me take part in this life changing experience, and I am working as much as I can while away from my desk. This is a pivotal time of development in my professional career and I want it to benefit AWE as much as possible. I am also indebted to the AIPT for creating and facilitating this program, and to the State Department for funding the group’s travel and other expenses. The purpose of the What If program is to explore international partnerships that can yield future opportunities for research and other collaboration. I am certain that this will be realized.

I would also like to thank all my friends, family, and colleagues who have supported me prior to my departure and during my travel. Your encouraging words have truly inspired me.

Cheers,

Bill

Chinese symbol for water.