stoic kb
CHN'11 - Day 4, Chengdu (Downtown on the weekend, 1a)
Having arrived in Chengdu in the middle of a work week, it was quite interesting (understatement, obviously) to see the difference in the number of people out and about on the weekend, not to mention the large presence of police. This was about the time of the earlier protests in the middle east (beginning in Egypt), to which before my arrival in China, it was reported that protests in Beijing and Shanghai were shut down before they could even begin.Thus, the government was on alert in all the major citites-- or at least that was my explanation for the large police presence, as they were on just about every street corner in groups of 5 or more. (Hardly saw them in 2009.) I was really hoping not to be caught up in any such event, and interestingly enough, my girlfriend did not have a clue of any such protests or the squashing of protests, as it was not reported in China.
CHN'11 - Day 4, Chengdu (Downtown on the weekend, 1a)
Having arrived in Chengdu in the middle of a work week, it was quite interesting (understatement, obviously) to see the difference in the number of people out and about on the weekend, not to mention the large presence of police. This was about the time of the earlier protests in the middle east (beginning in Egypt), to which before my arrival in China, it was reported that protests in Beijing and Shanghai were shut down before they could even begin.Thus, the government was on alert in all the major citites-- or at least that was my explanation for the large police presence, as they were on just about every street corner in groups of 5 or more. (Hardly saw them in 2009.) I was really hoping not to be caught up in any such event, and interestingly enough, my girlfriend did not have a clue of any such protests or the squashing of protests, as it was not reported in China.