Finally, it looks like spring has taken hold after some fits and starts. The sun is shining early in the morning and I guess it will be a warm day. But I have added some pictures of Houhai park, another one of the emperor’s local hangouts, that I took in the last cold days of winter.

As everyone knows, there are over 1.2 billion people in China. One could take a map of China and start drawing a line from Dongbei, previously known as Manchuria, continue a little west of Beijing, south through Sichuan Province (known for its spicy food) and ending in Yunan Province on the southern coast. Around 94% of China’s population, or over 1.1 billion would live on eastern side of that line. From a glance at a map, the space all those people live in looks about the same as the western US.

Why do most people in China live in on the eastern side? The eastern side is more temperate, flat, fertile, lower elevations, and oceanside. Two great rivers, the Yellow river in the north and the Yangtze river in the south, which flow out into the Pacific Ocean created a lot of good land for agriculture. The western side of China is famous for the Gobi Desert and the Himalaya Mountains. I suppose it is much harder to live over there.

So what it my point? It is that China is even more crowded than it looks on a map. China looks to be a decent sized country on the map, but in fact most of it’s huge population lives on the eastern side.

I think this massive population density has an effect on culture. But I am still trying to figure out what kind of effects. One hypothesis is that it makes people feel more at ease approaching one another and having less personal space. Chinese students in universities may share a room with as many as 8 other students. No wonder I see them studying late into the night in empty classrooms around campus. Where else can they find some quiet space!

I was sitting at an outdoor pavilion on campus yesterday when a student sat next to me. Though I was enjoying my own peace and tranquility as the dusk approached, she in all seriousness suddenly asked me in English “What do you think of the people first policy?” Well, I don’t know what the people first policy is.

But this is not the first time I have been approached like this. I guess Chinese students want to A) Practice speaking English B) Are interested to know what foreigners think C) Hoping to make new friends D) Out of their minds E) Both A and B are correct

I guessed E. This student then went on to ask me many questions about policies, what things are like in my country, and finally to explain to me, though I really didn’t care to hear it from her, what was happening in China.

Finally, she walked off. I tried to use Chinese the whole conversation. I am becoming adamant about using Chinese. I want to practice too!

Anyway, when you come to China, prepare to see and meet alot of people. And as I have said before, expect the unexpected.