Having stayed in China for close to three months each year for the past two years, I think I have a clear sense of what's good or bad here.

The good. First, being home means being with my mother, relatives, friends and former students, showered by abundance of kindness and friendship. Even people I do not really know would greet me, or offer to help me. Second, my hometown of Shima has fresh food all year round, and at cheap prices. Third, labor cost in my hometown is really cheap. A hair-cut cost the equivalent of $3, which included wash (two times), a lot of trim and cut, and hot air dry (also two times). The cost of hauling one refrigerator and one washer from my home to an apartment building on the ninth floor about 15 minutes away, and hauling back a different refrigerator and a different washer back to my home, is the equivalent of $8. Fourth, being back in the hometown and the family home gives me a lot of happy recollections, whether it was from a broken bamboo chair, a old English magazine, or seeing a group of young and energetic pupils in my former primary school.

Fifth, the local government is also doing a lot of good things for the residents, such as distribution of well-being and health leaflets and materials, and sending senior citizens to local clinics for free annual physical check-up. Sixth, interestingly, it was here in China that I got to watch quite a few very desirable foreign TV series, such as 24 (Hours), Madam Secretary, Blacklist, and Downton Abbey. There were ads, but they were free to watch. (In the US, I have to pay to watch cable channels and they are not ads free.)

Top on my list of bad things about being in China is the Internet speed （see screen capture）, which is sometimes as slow as one twentieth of what I got from Comcast services in the US. (Of course, Comcast services came with a hefty charge.) Then there is the Internet censorship. Many foreign web sites are completely shut off by the government. Not even Google is spared. The results: you cannot get timely information. They meant to shut off sensitive intel, but they are throwing away baby with bathwater. Without free access to timely info to what's happening in the world, the road to prosperity will be long and arduous.

Then there is pollution everywhere. Untreated sewage just flows into the river and the streams, and you can not only smell it, but see it. A lot of Chinese web sites are stuffed with lowly contents, exposed bodies, and inferior TV series. With too many people and too little resources, coupled with self-imposed (such as censorship) obstacles, living in China is not easy.

连续两年各回乡近三个月，对人在中国的好处和不好处有了相当体会。

先说好的。第一是在妈妈和亲人朋友学生身旁，那亲情永远是浓浓的。甚至不怎么认识的人，见了面也都十分友爱。第二是家乡丰富的菜蔬和海产鱼肉，既新鲜又便宜。第三是家乡人的勤劳，和人工的便宜。理一个头发，细细修剪，洗两次头，吹两次风，才20块（在美国理发则要多付三倍）。雇人运送一台洗衣机和一台电冰箱到另一个住所的九楼，再从那九楼运另一台洗衣机和另一台电冰箱来，工钱是50块（在美国至少得50美元，即300块人民币）。第四是在老家时处处可以睹物兴情。一把破竹椅，一本旧杂志，一群小学生，都可以给我带来喜悦。

（第五）政府方面也做了一些好事。比如给居民分发灭蝇用具，为老年人免费体检。（第六）有趣的是，我在中国免费看到不少在美国必需索费的美国和英国的电视连续剧。（当然，都带广告。）

人在中国的坏处也是多多的。首先是网络速度慢（见截图，有时低到美国网速的二十分之一），而且许多国外的网站都上不了。连谷歌搜索引擎也被挡了。信息进不来，消息封锁。闭关闭的是国人的思路，锁国是锁住自己的发展。第二是环境的污染。显然，这里的污水是没有经过处理就直接排放到九龙江去的，后果不堪设想。第三是网络上的精神垃圾很多。许多网站都低俗不堪。许多国内的电影、连续剧都是烂货。至于偶尔的断水断电（近三个月各出现两次），应该是经济发展的阵痛。中国人太多，资源太少，这是客观困境。

Click image to enlarge.  击打图片即可放大。
will switch to Yannan 2014 hometown visit (7) in 20 minutes; 二十分钟后自动转到 燕南2014年故乡行（7）