China, the Country of Concrete

I remember thinking, during last year’s cold, cold winter that all the dwellings here were nothing but cold traps. No matter what facing the building has, underneath is nothing but concrete.

As opposed to all of the buildings built during China’s alliance with the Soviet Union, all of the new high rises in the cities are built to appear more or less ‘western’: elaborate cornices, bright paint or even brick faced, roof gables and dormer windows. Some buildings even have what appear to be chimneys gracing the rooftops. Balconies give a Mediterranean feel to those lighter colored edifices. On a sunny day you would think yourself perhaps in the south of France or maybe even in Spain… but for the laundry hanging out the windows and the climate control units hung on the walls. And then it hits you: you’re in China, these buildings are made of concrete and only offer the illusion of elegance, affluence and modernity. Underneath, they are nothing but concrete.

Somehow, that thought depresses me.

I thought about it again as the train hurtled through city, town, village and hamlet. In the city new buildings are being built all the time. And, I had prime opportunity to witness said building practices because my own apartment complex was not finished when I moved in last year. In the country, building practices are more evident than in the city because the houses are mostly falling apart.

In America we are used to seeing houses built in layers: a wooden frame filled in by aspenite, and then draped in some external weather resistant material: brick veneer, vinyl siding or, in the poorest of circumstances, tarpaper. The frame is then filled in with insulating material and indoor materials are added: drywall or, as was the case several years ago, plaster and lath. More recently the entire structure is wrapped in insulating material, with extra attention paid to the roof.

In China, if the dwelling is not built exclusively of concrete it is constructed of cinderblock and then coated in concrete. There are no insulating materials used at all; either during construction or added as an afterthought. Unless you consider foot-thick walls insulating. There is nothing between the dwelling and the open heavens, other than tin or aluminum roof panels mounted on roof joists. None of the houses I’ve seen or visited have ceilings as a barrier between the roof and the habitable part of the house. Obviously, attempting to heat these homes would be an exercise in futility.

In the country I saw very little external evidence of modern accouterments. Very few air conditioning units hung on the sides of the buildings like leeches, as opposed to the city buildings. A few houses have rooftop mounted solar water heaters. Most country dwellings were nothing but four walls and a type of roof to protect against the elements. Nothing protecting anyone against brutally cold temperatures and cruel, cutting wind.

Most collections of houses were by some body of water. My guess is that there was no plumbing in the structures. Indeed, behind some of the houses I spied a smaller shack – concrete, of course that must enclose the outhouse. Some of the houses must have had fireplaces or fire pits because I did see some houses with chimneys. Most likely the latter. I cannot imagine anything so grand as a fireplace in some of these abodes. Probably, the fire pit is used both as a heat source and to cook with.

A lot of my students come from homes like that: no indoor plumbing and maybe even no electricity. There is a good chance that they’ve never had their own room, their own space and maybe even their own bed. A lot of them have never owned more than one or two outfits at any one time in their life. Toys such as we know them are a completely alien concept to them. They played with what they could find: a branch became a spear, mud became a grand meal, a piece of string became a golden, magical thread. Mostly, they worked: the boys in the field and the girls in and around the house.

No wonder they are enjoying university life so much! No wonder they don’t mind being packed into the dorms, six to a room! No wonder they don’t think anything of having to fetch hot water from a collective dispenser at the end of the hall! No wonder they don’t see their college accommodations as being substandard!

For those people who establish themselves in the city after college – and, to my knowledge just about everyone does! They do so in part because their village is outmoded, outdated and life there is too hard. Yet, while living in the city they maintain that way of life to a certain extent. Even though climate control is available they do not use it. Even though hot water is available they still do dishes in cold water. Even though they have shower facilities they still use a plastic tub of water to bathe, and brush their teeth using but a mug or bowl of water. Even though they have washing machines, they still wash clothes by hand.

For some reason, probably because of my former father-in-law Russ’s passing last year Thanksgiving (see Numbing Pepper entry, last year November), I’ve been thinking a lot about people who live in rural Minnesota, Wyoming, Wisconsin, the Dakotas… and how their way of life mirrors the Chinese country way of life, to some extent.

As I remember the farmhouse in Minnesota where I first met my former husband’s family, it too was bitterly cold with only one wood stove as a heat source. That house did have electricity and indoor plumbing and even a washer and dryer – fortunately! However, there are still some families in America who live without even such amenities. Their numbers may not be as prevalent as in China but, to my thinking, there is not much difference between the American way of life years ago and the Chinese way of life today.

Except for all that concrete.