Postcard to Tricky: From China

Another blog-card from Aunty Penny! Hooray! You can see the last one, from Nepal, here.

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G'day Tricky!

It's your Aunty Travelling Pen here.

I'm in China for two weeks, trying to be a bit adventurous. I started in Beijing, then visited Shanghai, and am now in a smaller city (still 6 million people, or 6 times the population of Perth!) called Nanjing.

Me on the Great Wall of China - looks like Emperor Nasi Goreng did
a great job - no rabbits anywhere!

From what I've seen life here is pretty different. Since you're a kid I'll focus on kid-related stuff, like when I sent you a letter from Nepal, when I visited there last year.

Doin' it for the kids
Couples here are only allowed to have one baby. It's called the One Child Policy and it started in 1978. It's because China's population has been growing so rapidly and the government is worried it won't be able to support and feed lots more people. So most Chinese people don't have brothers and sisters, which is a bit sad, I think. I didn't know before I came here, but there are two possible ways to get around this rule - first one is: if both parents are only children themselves, they may have two children. The second is: they can (well, they have to) pay a fine for having the second child. The fine is 10 times the couple's annual income. Ouch!

This young girl was dancing outside The Forbidden City
and went all shy when she saw me... then put on a show just for me!

Startin' 'em young
Toilet training is really different here! It's common for parents to cut open their toddler's pants so there's a split most of the way along the seam, and they don't put nappies or underwear on them. Then when the kid wants to go to the toilet they just squat down wherever they might be, and their pants open up and they do their business. I reckon it must get a bit breezy.
Consequently though, kids are toilet trained much younger than in Australia. And, apparently if a little boy pees anywhere, even in the middle of a shop or someone's house the owner will be happy and says it's lucky. Girls are not considered lucky. You can imagine how annoyed this makes me!

Are you ready, boots? Start walkin'!
There are hardly any prams or strollers that I've seen here. Probably because the footpaths and roads (while generally pretty good compared to other places I've travelled) are pretty bumpy and not all that well maintained. So littlies are either carried or they walk. Reckon the Hug-a-Bub people should market their product here - these parents' arms must be aching!

They breed their Apple fan boys young

The most dangerous ship in the world
Censorship. It's not always easy for local people to get information here. The government is really strict. So they can't access some internet sites, including really popular ones, like Facebook, Twitter and YouTube. Even many pages of Wikipedia are blocked (like the ones that mention China). Saddest of all is that Chinese people aren't able to view most blogs - that means your ma's blog is inaccessible here! How will all these people across the world learn what parenting in Australia is like without that???

There are so many gorgeous little Chinese outfits that I would LOVE to buy for you, but I'm trying to restrain myself. I'd also love to get a little cheongsam for your friend Boo, Missy Boo's daughter. You'd both look so gorgeous!

I got to visit the pandas! OMG PANDAS!

Missing you lots, and hoping that you don't forget how to say my name while I'm away - keep practicing, 'k?

See you soon

Aunty Travelling Pen
xxx