It really is, how do you go from the great Soviet Union to… whatever the hell this is.

It is a tote bag from the propaganda poster museum in Shanghai. The pic depicts the strong Sino-Soviet friendship at the time! Those ones are really sad in hindsight.

here is a but of info I just found on it through google, may be a reactionary source, not sure.

https://rarehistoricalphotos.com/chinese-soviet-propaganda-posters/

eta: yup, reactionary source lol.

The big stuff in the middle is mostly from the propaganda poster museum in Shanghai, the lighter/matches were from a souvenir shop in Hanghzhou, most of the Mao stuff/hats/magnets were from random trinket/souvenir stores in the various cities I visited, the red paper cutout art of famous commies was from a random art stand in Shanghai. Little red books (one English, one Chinese) was from a cool book store in Zhujaijao.

lol, i connected through S.Korea and i was a bit nervous having that North Korea mag in my carryon bag.

That one is chill as fuck, it says ‘Nothing is impossible’ in Chinese with a pic of Bin Laden and the smoking twin towers in the background. Got it from a random souvenir shop in Hangzhou.

here is a close up:

Yup, it really is refreshing to be in a country where not only is Marxism not some huge boogeyman, but is actually revered and taught as something to be proud of. Especially when that country is absolutely thriving and doing much better than every single country in the west.

I dunno, I’m not a drinker and from what I’ve seen there doesnt seem to be a big drinking culture here either unlike much of the west?

I’ve travelled to the EU a bunch and no it doesn’t. There’s not a single city in all of Europe (or the anglo world for that matter) that compared to the top tier Chinese cities.

Filled out a lengthy online form, printed it out along with some visa pictures and went to the consulate to apply, it took two days for them to approve it and they gave me a 10 year multi-entry visa.

I heard that before i came here, but so far all of them have had toilet paper, including the ones on the train (which also have the in ground toilets which I love!)

Yes, Guilin is a 3rd tier city and parts of it reminded me of my home, Tehran (in a charming, nostalgic way), but there were tons of infrastructure and housing construction going on, it was relatively clean (especially compared to US cities), and felt very safe and not to mention absolutely stunning geography.

We don’t have a budget (I know I’m lucky), but food/cabs/most stuff is super cheap. Can get a good meal for around $5 us, a DiDi (China Uber) from the train stations to our hotels have typically been around $7 for ~30 min trips and most museums and attractions we’ve been to have been under $10/person.

woah, you’re an airline pilot? That’s amazing, I love flying!

The trains are amazing, they are always on time and well organized, the tickets I got through trip.com easily and you just show your passport at the gate to be let in. The only route so far that was really packed was the HK to Guilin route, but all the other ones were easy to get and they have so many of them all through the day, I truly am amazed by the rail network here!

It hasn’t been too difficult not speaking the language, the people here use an app that they talk into and it translates for them and I use the same thing in the alipay app. Everyone is really nice and friendly and willing to wait patiently while we figure out communications lol.

Yea, thats what we’ve been mostly eating at, but like I said i get sick of the same food after a while and we’re here for a month, I need variety lol! Im craving tacos really hard tbh.

Started in Hong Kong, then Guilin, Changsha, Hangzhou (here now), then off to Shanghai and finishing in Beijing. What was your experience like and how long ago was it?

haha not yet, but I have been curious too.

Ive seen them on public buildings and also random banners they fly through the city

Another thing I want to add is that it’s amazing being in a country where there are hammer and sickles everywhere and communism isn’t some taboo thing to be kept in the closet.

I don’t speak a bit of Mandarin, it has been somewhat difficult as not many people speak English at all either, but when needed I use alipay’s built in translator and am able to communicate well enough. Everyone here also seems to have an app they can talk into that translates what they want to say.

Also some places are very crowded (tourist areas like Guilin) and others not so much, but the crowds are all mainly Chinese tourists, I’ve only seen maybe five or so white people here (i’m not white myself though, middle eastern).

You are fired, sir!