China: where farming and rice paddies are laden on every hillside; where Christians are persecuted for their faith in some areas and communism has heavily influenced the society; where oriental dress is common and education and family are extraordinarily important; where there are cities to rival any in the United States; where tea was stolen by Fortune; where the 2008 Olympics were held; and where many of my friends in school are from. To many people, China is a far off and distant place filled with rolling hills and rice paddies as far as the eye can see, a country where communism has taken hold, and the place where everything we buy is made. Many people do not see the real China: cities to rival those in the United States, the appeal of communism to many people, the work of the registered and unregistered church, the Western influence, the Buddhist temples and Christian churches, and so much more. The vision that many Westerners have of China is from books and movies that show the countryside but not the city, the bad things of communism but not its appeal to many people, and the persecution of the church rather than the registered and unregistered church system. The China that I saw was quite different than I what was expecting. I was not expecting large cities heavily influenced by the West, overtly Christian churches and ministries in Hong Kong, social welfare run by the church in Mainland China, or the influence communism still has on both Hong Kong and Mainland China.
One of the first things that struck me after we landed in the Hong Kong International Airport was the size. Hong Kong is huge, with buildings so tall they are almost hidden by the low lying clouds, bus and subway systems so extensive they span nearly the entire city moving millions of people every day, clusters of government housing buildings 30 or 40 stories high, and commercial businesses and banks everywhere. There was very little open space, no rice paddy to be seen for miles, and almost everyone was dressed in a Western style. There were no women in long traditional gowns with painted faces and fans, no men in traditional dress or military garb. The Western influence in clothing is astonishing, yet why should it be? Nearly all the clothes we wear are made in China: why should the Chinese people not wear them too?
As we traveled through the city for the first time, there were some things that were quite obviously different from our Western culture. The traffic in Hong Kong drives on the left side of the road, for example. It’s quite unnerving to go through a traffic circle (or rotary, as we call them) backwards! There is a large population in Hong Kong (over 7 million people), but there are not very many cars on the roads. In fact, most people do not even own a car because you can get wherever you want to go by the mass transit system – by bus or by subway. This mass transit system is one of the best in the world, if not simply for the fact that it moves millions of people every day.
If it’s not clear from what you see around you that you are in a different place, all you have to do is listen. Listen to the people speaking around you. In Hong Kong, nearly everything is in two or three languages – the signs, the subway stops, the menus in restaurants – first in Cantonese, then Mandarin, then English. Occasionally there will only be Cantonese and English, but many times all three languages will be listed. Listening to the people around you on the subway or on the street, you’d be deaf if you didn’t notice that they speak quite differently than we do. Cantonese and Mandarin are tonal languages, and so the expression of the word is as important if not more important than the word itself. A high falling sound and a low climbing sound of the same word can have quite different meanings, which renders Cantonese and Mandarin quite different from English. Many English speakers can pick up a few words in French or in Spanish, but not in Cantonese or Mandarin. The language sounds so different that any non-native speaker has a lot of difficulty with communication.
Hong Kong is much more Western in clothing, appearance, and feel than Mainland China. On our train ride to and from mainland China and Hong Kong, we saw what many people believe is China: rice paddies and rolling hills as far as the eye can see, men and women working in the rice fields in traditional hats and less Western clothing, dirt roads rather than paved highways, and small villages rather than large cities. The city we visited was a large city, with towering buildings and cranes helping to build more towering buildings, tall apartment complexes and banks, commercial buildings and many little shops on the streets. An initial observation of the city reveals that they drive on the right side of the road on Mainland China, but that the rules of the road are subject to the driver’s feelings. The double yellow line is optional, five cars can fit across the three lanes, and the largest vehicle has the right of way. Cross walks don’t exist; pedestrians cross wherever and whenever they want. Motor bikes can go anywhere they want on the road, including the sidewalks and the wrong side of the road. Needless to say, it is a scary experience driving in China. The people in China are not that different from those in Hong Kong. The Western influence is here too, but not as much. Though many people dress in Western clothing, there are some that dress slightly more traditionally. The spoken and written language in Mainland China, though similar to that of Hong Kong, is a slightly simplified version of Cantonese known as Mandarin. The characters are slightly more lax and there are only five tones instead of seven. There are also many more dialects of Mandarin in Mainland China. Particularly in the mountain regions in Zhangjiajie, the language sounds very different depending on where you are and what minority group you are hearing.
Despite their similarities, China and Hong Kong are very different. Though they are considered one country, there are two systems. The Chinese rule of Hong Kong is one of carefully planned and executed order. China does not want to crack down too hard on Hong Kong are less harsh, lest they create the mood for a rebellion and lose their Western jewel. The orders in Hong Kong come from Beijing, but the people are under less strict rule. Similarly, the people in the minority regions and those who live in the countryside in Mainland China are also under less strict rule. Mainland China still has the one child per family rule, but that rule does not exist in Hong Kong. Even so, it is difficult to enforce in Mainland China in the rural areas in particular. Those in positions of governmental authority or those in government work are watched quite closely and could be in great danger if they disobeyed this or any other rule. Hong Kong has freedom of religion – real freedom of religion. There are overtly Christian ministries and schools, churches meet freely and without fear of persecution. In Mainland China, the situation is slightly different. Though they have freedom of religion, it is freedom within a constraint. There are two types of churches in Mainland China: the registered church and the unregistered church. The unregistered church (also known as house churches or underground churches) are the ones that most people are speaking of when they talk of Christianity in China. These churches are those that are not registered with the government and are at risk of persecution in many parts of Mainland China. The printing of Bibles is legal in China, although many underground churches still ask for missionaries to bring them in. Christianity in China is much different than many people think. There is actually a protestant registered church in China known as the Three-self church. It is registered with the government and operates under certain parameters. The Three-self church is characterized by its self-governing role, self-supporting finances, and self-propagating work.
Much of the work done by missionaries and those of the underground church in China is to fill in the gaps that the government does not in the area of social welfare. While we were in China, we worked with two different organizations that do just that. Both organizations work with groups of people that have been overlooked by the government: terminally ill children and mentally handicapped children and young adults. The work that these organizations do is incredible – from taking care of dying children so that they die loved to providing work and income for those who are mentally handicapped, these organizations are working as the hands and feet of Christ. No child should be left to die on a street corner because they are mentally handicapped, nor should any child be dumped because they are terminally ill or need an expensive operation. These organizations take these children and love them, care for them, and provide for them purely out of the goodness of their hearts and their Christian character.
One of the things that stood out to me was that even in China, where Christians cannot be as overt about their faith, God is working. Through people, through social welfare agencies and through actions, God is being revealed in China and His work is being done. In the West, we have the tendency to talk about our faith but not necessarily live it out in what we do. We know that faith without actions is dead, but many of us in the West don’t live out our faith. In China, they have to live out their faith because they are limited in speaking of it. We would do well to learn from and imitate them in many ways.
I am so glad that I was able to go on this service learning trip with Malone. Though at times the trip was hard – emotionally, physically, and spiritually – it was worth it. I’m grateful that I got to meet so many wonderful people in both Hong Kong and China. I certainly will not soon forget the work that they are doing and the people they are working with. The work that Dave and Cindy are doing with River Grace and all of their other various ministries is incredible, and I pray that they will be able to balance their time and energy as well as look to what God has for them in the future. I am so thankful for Howard and Ave and their kids, Jacinda, Lance, and Trent, and for the work that they have done with MMM and other teams that come to Hong Kong. My prayer is that they are able to go back to New Zealand and to continue to serve in awesome ways there. I am grateful for May and her work with MMM and pray for her transition as Howard leaves and an interim leader takes over. I feel so blessed to have worked with Crossroads, two social service agencies in China, Christian Action, the social services in Hong Kong, the alcohol and drug rehab center and the Graduate School/Seminary. Each of these ministries and people now has a special place in my heart, as does the country of China.