What words come to mind when you think of China?
Think for a moment.
Here are mine: People everywhere. Cheap crap. Hong Kong. Knock-offs. Prawn crackers. Great Wall. Jackie Chan. Smog. Red.
A few weeks ago, I was invited to explore Shanghai, Hangzhou and Suzhou for five nights. It was a guided familiarisation trip with Air New Zealand and Wendy Wu Tours.
Do you know someone who has been to China recently? Have they said "oh man, it's way different now" or "wow, it was not how I expected"? I know those people too. But I couldn't truly appreciate what they meant until I was there.
Here are the words that come to mind now: People everywhere. Clean. QR codes. Skyscrapers. Electric. Quiet. Safe. Friendly. Crowded. Futuristic. Jack Ma. Enormous.
Look, I'm not living under a rock. I know China has seen immense development and growth. I've watched the videos. We all have.
I could write about a hundred reasons why you should visit, but I'm not going to do that here.
Because there is a much more valuable lesson to be learned.
Nothing compares to going and experiencing it yourself. Nothing.
You can't hear the gentle humming of BYD electric cars from your sofa. The peculiar taste of daikon and lotus flower isn't found at your local Chinese restaurant. The sheer size of the place is unfathomable on a 2D TV screen at home.
This isn't just a case for China, although I do think you should go.
It's a case for going, full stop.
Pictured above: Shanghai. A taste of the old amongst the new.