Photo: manila.usembassy.gov

Chinese people study the US, how could Americans not study China? From 1975 to 2007 Morton Holbrook worked in US embassies all over the world. Holbrook was the first US ambassador sent to the newly opened up China in 1979 and from then on had a special relationship with China.

During his 30 years in the US civil service Morton spent half his time in China. First from 1979-1983 in the Beijing embassy, 1990-1993 in the US consulate in Shenyang and finally 1996-1999 back in Beijing as the ambassador once more. Those 12 years in China have really allowed Holbrook to witness the opening up and development that has swept China over the last 30 years.

For Holbrook who remembers the days of food coupons and using a ‘Flying Pigeon’ bicycle as the best way of seeing Beijing, it has taken him years of interaction with ordinary Chinese to break down some common misconceptions and to really understand China.

BQ = (Beijing Qingnian Zhoumo)
MH = (Morton Holbrook – Beijing Normal University and Hong Kong Baptist University Joint International College Professor of International Policy).

BQ: You first time in China was 1979, what were your first impressions?

MH: I remember it very clearly, the first time I set foot in Beijing was March 12th 1979 and Beijing was in the middle of a dust storm! I remember thinking how strange the dense yellow air was.

Our plane landed at the old airport, as then there was no terminal 2 or 3. The US embassy had just been founded in China and so it was a rush to get me there to start work. I had been given a first class ticket from Tokyo to Beijing and when we landed it looked like we were in a field, with just a few little huts. I stood there not sure of which way to go until the passengers in economy had got off and then I followed them through the dust to the tiny terminal building. Beijing didn’t get many arrivals then!

I found out how Beijingers like to spend their summer evenings, by sitting outside on the pavements under the street lights playing cards and enjoying the cool breeze. We discovered this on the narrow road from the airport, as the card and mah-jong players weren’t too keen on moving out of the way – in the end we would have to drive round them.

Another thing that sticks in my mind from back then was the ‘grain coupons’. Compared to now, restaurants in Beijing were very few and far between. If you wanted to eat out, you had to get there early, otherwise they would run out of food. Choice of food was very scarce then too, and in winter the cabbage was about the only vegetable. I still remember the CCTV program on 100 different things to do with cabbage!

To get around I took to my trusty Flying Pigeon bike just as did most of Beijing’s commuters. I was invited to people’s homes. Back then people treated foreigners with a mixture of fear and curiosity. Things were just starting to change in that time.

BQ: Before you came to China what did you expect, and when you arrived how different was it to what you imagined?

MH: Before I arrived I imagined a very mysterious country. The thing that really struck me so much was the regional differences between provinces in China. Some cities welcomed us with open arms, while others simply brushed us off with a ‘we’re too busy’. Not that this stopped me exploring places, either on foot or by bike.

BQ: Do you feel you really understand China and her people are you a ‘China expert’? And do you think most Americans really understand China, or do they harbour many misunderstandings with just a rough idea about ‘Made in China’ and egg fried rice.

MH: I would never say I was a ‘China expert’. I have spent a long time in China and my arrival was as a result of the Opening-up policy that I witnessed. I have seen some mistakes in American books and media concerning China, but I don’t think this is really meant to attack China. The best way to get to know a country is to live there for a long time.

BQ: You’re now a professor in a Chinese university and get to know lots of Chinese students. How do they differ from American young people?

MH: (Laughing) This question would be better put to a young person, and not some old guy like me. I have had one thing impressed upon me: Chinese students in America love America, and American students in China love China and the warm welcome they get here.

BQ: After 12 years in China and everything you experienced, what would you say left you with the deepest impression, and how has your knowledge of China changed?

MH: I don’t think anyone before 1980 could have predicted the huge changes that we would see in China. Nothing really changed at first in Beijing. It was not until 1982 that people saw on Chang’an Avenue the building of a very strange structure, the Jianguo Hotel, the first China-Hong Kong joint venture project. I went there for dinner once and bumped into Deng Xiaoping and Mrs Thatcher!

China has not just made economic gains, but has also seen big changes in freedoms. Before 1979 it was almost impossible for ordinary Chinese people to get a passport to leave the country.

China must still strive to improve its environmental issues. In the 1980s cities like Beijing, Shanghai and Shenyang were very polluted. It is much better now, and China must keep up the good work.

***

Expat Corner > Hopes, Dreams and the Real China

Expat Corner > My Story and the Chinese Dream Behind It

China Media > Foreigners Voted Model Workers in Beijing Community

Warning：The use of any news and articles published on eChinacities.com without written permission from eChinacities.com constitutes copyright infringement, and legal action can be taken.