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Misguided Guides
I have taken my share of tours in this vast and ultimately compelling country, and have come into contact with all shapes and sizes of tour guides. They range from free-lance volunteers hoping to practice their English, to professionally trained language experts who have been at it for decades. Attitudes and personalities also vary greatly, and while most take some pride in providing good service, there are still many who interest themselves in little more than earning commissions off the rich Americans in the “antique” dealerships, carpet factories, and silk markets.
There is an official tour guide manual in circulation that is used nation-wide which covers nearly every aspect of China that would be of interest to foreigners, including the dos and don’ts of revealing the negative aspects of society. Instruction is also given during training as how to address (or better yet, avoid) sensitive issues and present the country in the best possible light. While expected to adhere to a definite “party line”, I have found it interesting how a few guides take the rules with a grain of rice, throw caution to the typhoon, and infuse their own biases and opinions into their ongoing narration regarding every topic under heaven.
There is a small (by Chinese standards) city in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River called Shashi, well-known domestically for its ancient walled city, strategic importance during the Three Kingdoms period 1200 years ago, and a well-preserved, 2000 yr old mummy called Mr. Sui. The local tour guide, an ex-English teacher about 40 years old and who called himself Preston, had passable language skills, and did a competent job at introducing the local sites. However, we provided quite a shock when he began filling in the dead time on the bus between stops with his own ad-libbed commentary:
-- “See the graffiti on the wall over there? ‘Dai Ban’ along with a telephone number means you can call and order any kind of forged document you need, like an import-export license, graduation certificate from Peking University, a marriage certificate, or anything else. The quality is very good, and it is cheap!”
-- “This is the Shashi City hospital. It is famous for burn victims. And Shashi people also have a high number of sexually transmitted diseases, so they all come here for treatment. The doctors and nurses are very experienced with this”.
The tourists in our little group sat on the bus dumbfounded, and when I pointed out that it was not in his best interest to show only the negative side of everything, he obviously ran out of things to talk about, and he started mulling over what to do next. This tour was taking place in the months following 9/11, so he pulled out the newspaper and began translating the day’s news headlines, thinking his guests would enjoy hearing what was going on in the world. He began,
-- “Today, there were many deaths and injuries on the streets of Kabul in heavy fighting between American and Taliban soldiers….”
It led us all to wonder after if Preston had slept through his entire “How To Be A Tour Guide” training or if he himself had perhaps had procured a fake tour guide license from one of the wall advertisers.
last modified Aug 6, 2004 at 19:28
Hello Kevin,
My wife and I had the pleasure of meeting you on our cruise up the Yangtze on June 20-24 as part of a 10 day tour with Global Holidays. We have many wonderful memories, refreshed by more than 500 photos, of our 10 days in China. What an incredible experience! We especially enjoyed our time on the Victoria Prince. Thank you.
We found it most interesting that you are from Ontario. Having grown up in Detroit and now living in southwest Michigan, we have traveled far and wide in Canada over the years. When our scheduled China tour was canceled last year because of the SARS outbreak we quickly planned a trip to the Canadian Rockies. Ironically, we returned home with photos of Terra Cotta Warriors which had been reproduced actual size and displayed in the Chinese Cultural Center (modeled after the Temple of Heaven) in Calgary.
In any event, we have been reading your web log with much interest. The “western perspective” you bring really helps us understand a culture which is so different from our own. We took you advice and read “River Town” as well. We find the transitions which have been going on, and will obviously continue, to be fascinating and will continue to follow events closely. Since our return we have also read “Red ChinaBlues”and “Daughter of the River.” I’m part way through Mike Chinoy’s “China Live.”
Your comments on tour guides prompted this response. For the most part our national and local guides were excellent. Two observations you made were soon obvious to us: the guides begin with the “party line” but did open up as they felt more comfortable with us. One of the local guides was close to tears as he described the impact of the Three Gorges Dam on his family which had been relocated from land they had farmed for generations. Another bemoaned the fact that his daughter was under so much pressure to excel in school that she didn’t have time to enjoy her childhood and he was afraid he was failing as a father.
We were told with a straight face that “no one really knows what happened in Tiananmen Square in 1989, “but come back in ten years and ask me because I was there.” We hope we might be able to do that, although we fear what else might happen in that time as the disparity in wealth continues to grow. The official line we heard was “if the peasants would only educate themselves and work a little harder they, too, could have a better lifestyle.” If only it were that simple.
We would enjoy the opportunity to correspond with you in a less public forum. If you’re so inclined you may contact us at rlohrmann@ameritech.net.
Maria and Bob Lohrmann
Welcome back, Kevin. Missed you and your informative musings.
Hope you had a great vacation.
.......Barbara
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