YANGSHUO, China - For eight years now, Hong Kong has been a part of mainland China. The Chinese, however, view the situation somewhat differently.
Yan was quick to emphasize this as he told me his future plans. I met him in a city park here as he was practicing sentences aloud from an English primer. He was repeating the sentence, "I must go to the doctor for a medical examination." His daily routine of several hours of intensive English study was in preparation for a second degree in business management.
Yan had one degree, but he was having a hard time finding a job. English, he said, would give him the advantage he needed. For now, he stationed himself around town hoping to practice his English with tourists.
When I mentioned that I was studying in Hong Kong, he seemed excited. "Oh Hong Kong, it is a very beautiful place," he said. But Yan does not want to move to Hong Kong. After finishing his education, Yan plans to move to Shenzen, a bustling border town near Hong Kong. He already dressed the part, his smart suit standing out among the fleeces and jeans of the backpacker crowd in the park.
"Hong Kong is a nice place. Maybe I visit after I make money. But now, too expensive," he said.
With its economy expanding by 10 percent a year and unprecedented amounts of foreign capital flowing in, the mainland was the place for a budding businessman. Hong Kong, on the other hand, was another place - too expensive and developed for anything other than a visit. It was just as removed as another country.
The signs were all over Yangshao, a large tourist town in Guangxi Province filled with cobblestone streets, red lanterns and large limestone cliffs. The only people from Hong Kong were the tourists, who stuck mostly to Western-style restaurants and nice hotels.
Several locals complained about how terribly Hong Kong visitors spoke Mandarin (their first language is Cantonese). They moved in the same circles as the foreigners.
The political situation reinforces these differences. Moving from Hong Kong to the rest of China, one has to pass through immigration and customs. The citizens of the two territories have different rights, benefits, and governmental systems.
But it still was a surprise to hear that the Hong Kong people and Chinese people have not drifted together. To use the vocabulary of the Chinese government, there may be "one country," but there still are "two systems." For people on the mainland, this means that Hong Kong is a foreign place, and one they cannot even travel to freely (a permit is required).
Yesterday, on our last full day in Yangshao, we rented bicycles and peddled several miles to a site called Moon Hill. On top of the hill was a local older woman. She reached into her shoulder bag and then feverishly asked us if we wanted "Water! Water! Water!"
We declined and were just about to begin ignoring her completely when she took out of her bag a battered notebook. Inside, Xu Tai Tai (or Mrs. Xu) had collected the messages of dozens of tourists, praising her hospitality and wishing her luck.
Some had sent her photos that they had taken on Moon Hill. Others had set up an e-mail account, and written their phone numbers in the notebook so that their new friend could follow up with them. People had placed coins from around the world in the notebook.
A British woman wrote, "This lady followed me all the way up this hill. Respect. But now we are on the top and sipping her cold beer so it's cool. Cheers - Diane."
A couple from Sweden wrote that it was so wonderful "having this woman fan [sic] up and down the hill on this hot Jone [sic] day. She took us to her house for a wonderful lunch of tofu, carrots, squash and rice."
If this was a gimmick to distinguish her from the dozens of street sellers around, it worked. I immediately bought water and a soda from Xu Tai Tai. When it was time for us to sign the notebook, we left our messages of appreciation in English, German and Welsh, along with some currency.
Xu Tai Tai was thrilled. Her notebook did not yet have coins from the closest foreign place of all: Hong Kong.
