Random Thoughts and Highlights: China

1. The Great Wall should be re-named the Great Haul, because that is a work out if I've ever seen one. It's not flat at all, it's up a mountain side and the sheer number of people pushing and shoving is manic! Also, if I see one more chick with stilettos climbing the Great Wall, I'm going beat her with them. Sheesh... talk about inappropriate footwear.

2. Someone needs to fix the sign on the Great Wall Entrance. Really?? This is the freaking GREAT WALL!!

3. Black Folks, just a heads up... The Chinese word for "um" or any other filler word you can imagine is "NAGE". It's  pronounced "nay-gur", but phonetically is sounds like the N-word. Be prepared to hear this more times than you'd think was possible if you take a trip there. As a matter of fact, listen to anyone's conversation around you and count how many times they say "um", "well", "uh", etc., then fill that in with the N-Word. Crazy huh? If you could have seen my face the first time I heard it... "Oh, so China is gonna be like this.." After the 50th time, I had to ask somebody because it was getting out of hand.

4. Tiananmen Square is really a site to see! My first conscious memory or thought of China is wrapped up in that historical image of the man waving the flag in front of those tanks in Tiananmen Square. I recall watching this on television with my parents, so to actually be there and read about the historical consequences and reasons for that event was like completing a full circle for me. Further, the grandeur of the square, the Forbidden City and all of the surrounding buildings is a tangible glimpse of the scale of China's ambitions; they think BIG!

5. Black folks just a heads up: I have never in MY LIFE had so many people stop, stare, point or ask to take pictures of me. I felt like P-Diddy or Manute Bol and I needed a day rate - seriously. I held babies. I posed with uncles, grandmothers, and teenage boys and in the end I came to two conclusions. First, Black Americans need to travel to China more! It's 2011 and there isn't a place on earth where we should still be viewed as an anomaly. Secondly, the Chinese need to learn the act of subtle gawking. I'm just saying...

I don't know these people!

This little boy wouldn't stop pointing!

Took a picture with the entire family!

6. Shanghai is so cool! In every country I've been in, I've found at least one city or area where I could say, "I'd live there"; Shanghai is that place. It reminds me of New York with its central park, museums, coffee houses and shopping areas. It even has a financial district and the skyline is incredible. The nightlife is amazing as well. Shanghai gets an A+++ from me.

7. Beijing's arts district, 798, is a must see. They don't advertise it heavily in "tourist magazines", but it will give you an entirely new perspective of China. It's a blend of Soho, SF's Haight Street, and Denver's Lodo all rolled into one. The shops are amazingly creative loft spaces and the streets are filled with art. It is the literally the largest public art display that I have ever seen and it needs to be on everyone's must do list.