Ten years back in China

At twenty-one, just after finishing my journalism degree, I boarded a flight to Beijing. It was the winter of 2015. I knew almost nothing about China and could only speak a few words of Mandarin. I was going to work for a news agency. Both my future and China were big unknowns.

Within days, I was exploring the old alleyways of Beijing on a Maoist-era bicycle. Everything around me sparked my curiosity. Entering a supermarket was a new experience; eating in a restaurant, an ocean of possibilities; and taking a walk, a lesson in sociology, economics, and history. With each door that opened, with each experience and conversation I had, with each book I read, my image of China was crumbling, being rebuilt, becoming ever more complex. In just a few months, I realized that all those who claimed they could make you understand China in a tweet, an article, or a book were just snake oil salesmen.

Ten years after first arriving in China, many things have changed. During that time, I've traveled to most of the country's provinces and can now hold a fluent conversation in Mandarin. I've read dozens of Chinese intellectuals and writers and spoken with hundreds of people. Over these years, I've learned a great deal and can speak with much more certainty than before. But I still have more questions than answers. China is like a vast, infinite circle: with each confident step you take, the circle expands tenfold, in complex and exciting directions. Understanding this country is an endless adventure.

Same and different

China in 2015 and China today are both the same and different. Today's China is much more focused on being a major technological power; at the same time, it has faded from the Chinese consciousness. that optimistic perspective of ten years ago, of unstoppable economic growth. I arrived in China when Obama was still in power. The one who hasn't changed—and it seems this will continue for a long time—is Xi Jinping. I remember having to go out wearing a mask because of the pollution that flooded the streets of Beijing; now, the sky over the capital is blue, and The most common noise is the hum of electric carsThe Chinese remain the same: curious, warm, and welcoming, with a blend of Mediterranean hedonism and American hyperactivity and informality. Young people are completely addicted to social media, yet they can recite poems from a millennium ago at any moment. The Chinese Communist Party remains more Marxist than Confucian. China still has provinces with the GDP per capita of Botswana and train stations that resemble galactic airports. And the best cuisine in the world.

Since I took that flight, my life has been intertwined with China. Right now, thankfully, I have a job where I can research the country. But it wasn't like that for many years. During that time, I kept traveling, studying, and learning about China like someone tending and growing a garden. If I had wanted immediate, utilitarian, and practical results, I would have given up long ago. But you can only truly understand a country that moves so fast if you're not in any kind of hurry.