Images of China
May 11th, 2006 by Yue
A recent issue of the Economist had a special section about China. On the cover was a picture of an old Chinese man in a Mao suit and a hat, in a squated position, holding a rice bowl and a pair of chopsticks. The headline says “How to make China even richer.”
I want to scream when I see pictures like these. In the western world, Chinese people are still perceived as they were 20 years ago - as illustrated by the Economist’s cover.
If you visit China today, you’ll see the streets packed with young, ambitious modern Chinese, well dressed in western clothes, driving western cars and eating Pizza Hut and Kentucky Fried chicken.
Here’s a picture of a billboard from a Shanghai street - this is much more what China is about today.
Shame on the Economist for perpetuating western stereotypes of China.
My first visit to China was 13 years ago and I’ve spent several years in many parts of China since. Rich coastal cities are not representative of China as a whole. Your picture of a commercial advertisement is very representative of Shanghai. However the Ecomomist picture is representative of the vast majority of rural Chinese as I have seen them. Well done the Economist for seeing the whole picture and for its interest in making China even richer.