Fireworks factories, coal mines and cute little puppies
HENGSHUI, Jiangxi — “I don’t understand why so many people just want to stay in the village. They don’t want change. They don’t want a better life.”
Eighteen-year-old Miao Jiao — Jo, as I know her — is in limbo, hovering between two different worlds, two different eras. She attends college in Shanghai, an ever-changing city of nearly 20 million that buzzes like one giant neon light bulb. Her hometown is Hengshui, population 4,000, a tiny village in western Jiangxi Province, where the Miao family is one of the lucky ones — they have electricity. She said when she is in Hengshui, she misses Shanghai. When she is in Shanghai, she misses Hengshui.
If you live in Hengshui, you probably either work on a farm, in a coal mine, at a fireworks factory — or you don’t work at all. Until last year, Jo’s father, Miao Chang Xin, worked in sales for one of the many small local coal mines. But like so many small local coal mines in Jiangxi, Mr. Miao’s was mismanaged and went out of business. Now Miao, who had worked at the mine for more than 20 years, is jobless. At 43, Jo fears her father is too old to find steady work. He currently passes time at home making parts for a local fireworks factory on a small hand-operated machine. They pay him RMB 30 — $2.75 — a day.
07.31.2004, 4:39 PM · Jiangxi, Stories, The Trip · Comments (15)
Hengfeng Town: ‘It’s different in China’
HENGFENG, Jiangxi — According to the Jiangxi Statistical Yearbook and State Statistical Bureau, the southeastern province of Jiangxi — which boasts the largest gold, silver, copper, plutonium, uranium, lead and zinc resources in China — has an average annual household income of RMB 4678, just a tad shy of $600 a year. But according to my former student Gerry (Hong Min) and his friends, that figure seems a bit off. It should be a about $120 lower.
Traveling from Hangzhou to northeast Jiangxi’s Hengfeng, a small town of 100,000 or 200,000 — no one seems to know — the great divide that exists in China becomes quite clear. As John Edwards might say, there are two Chinas. Three, if you want to put Shanghai in a category all by itself.
“Do you like hot food?” Gerry asked me as one of his uncles drove us to Hengfeng from the Shangrao train station. “My mother was worried you may not like spicy food.”
07.28.2004, 4:50 PM · Jiangxi, Stories, The Trip · Comments (6)
Train No. 2249: Hangzhou to Shangrao
ON A TRAIN, Zhejiang/Jiangxi — “Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses.”
The scene at the Hangzhou train station has always reminded me of these famous words. For a major transportation hub, thousands of people sure seem to be going nowhere. They sit on the pavement, on luggage, on each other. Just waiting. Those with tickets step right over them.
My seven-hour, RMB 49 ($6) train ride from Hangzhou to Shangrao was comfortable enough. The lady who sold me my ticket said the train was air-conditioned, and at times during the trip it seemed as if it actually was. And I had a seat, which is not guaranteed along such routes. The trip went by rather quickly.
I imagine the same was true for my car companions, whose attention was occupied, almost constantly, with watching me. There were the usual looks, stares and whispers, and more than one person shouted “Hello.” But it wasn’t until I took out my Pocket PC to do some writing that the crowd gathered, peering over my shoulder. My every click was followed by a dozen curious eyes. I decided against taking out the foldable keyboard for fear that one of my admirers might faint.
07.24.2004, 5:00 PM · Jiangxi, The Trip · Comments (8)
