It's been a pleasant two days here. I was last in Kunming in 1989 and, obviously, the city has grown considerably since then.  But it has retained a certain charm.  The central shopping district, Zhengyi street, has a long tree-lined boulevard and large pedestrian areas.  Lots of people were out on Saturday and they did not take much notice of a foreigner among them.  There are a fair number of foreigners in this city (though I haven't seen all that many) but I think local Kunmingers are simply easy-going.  I have not been accosted by salespeople and beggars, nor have many young men shouted out "hello" or "laowai" as I pass by.  Just a relaxed atmosphere.

Last night, I went to Salvador's, a hang-out for the American expatriate crowd.  A comfortable spot – so much so that I returned this morning for breakfast, after hearing that they had the best coffee in town.  And the coffee was good!  As was the oatmeal.  Tomorrow, however, I might try one their competitor's, The Prague Cafe.

Today I walked through the Zoo, just to see the families out on a Sunday morning.  I got more stares there than downtown; perhaps the exotic animals (in sadly small cages) inspired people to look at the strange, gray-bearded foreigner…  Then I hopped a cab out to the Golden Temple.  I remember the place from my visit in 1989.  The central feature of the park, a bronze Daoist temple, was much like I remember it from 22 years ago, though the whole place was more crowded.  An old lady there, whose local dialect I could not understand, helped me light two candles and a bunch of joss sticks for blessings – that should keep me in good stead for the remainder of my trip.

Coming home my cab driver told me that things were tough these days for working people in Kunming.  Inflation has pushed up the cost of food and necessities and employment has fallen off a bit.  As we passed numerous new apartment complexes she waved them away, saying they were far out of reach for average people.  Be that as it may, there are no signs of public protest over such conditions.  People are just keeping their heads down, working hard, and doing the best they can.

In the parks, both Green Lake Park (Cui Hu Yuan), which is right outside my window, and throughout the vast grounds of the Golden Temple, people have been out in force.  Parents take their kids for walks or on various and sundry kiddie rides.  Older folks do a variety of Chinese line dances.  Men play chess and cards.  And, at the Golden Temple, a group of men and women sang folk songs – it was quite a performance.  This, it seems to me, is the essence of daily life here: taking a bit of time on the weekends, away from the press of work, to take a hang out with family or friends.  Not fancy expensive stuff, but modest and pleasant passing of the time. 

And from those observations, I can see how people shield themselves from politics.  For the lucky ones, there are fortunes to be made, and politics would simply be an unnecessary risk on the road to riches.  But for most, simple pleasures, which not all that long ago were harder to maintain (when I first came to China in 1983 many of the activities I see in the parks here now were considered politically suspect – back in the days when the Party tried to control the culture much more…) are the things that people concentrate on.  Beijing is far away; family and friends are right here.

I can't help thinking, however, how the gradual opening of the culture might eventually create more political challenge to the Party.  The local bookstore is flooded with volumes that tell people how to develop themselves for success.  It's all about individual psychology and capability.  One title I noticed, "Success in Choice," seemed to sum things up, culturally: you have to choose to be successful, and the choices you make can lead to your success.  Choice.  People have more economic and cultural choice than ever before here.  Indeed, the new Nike ad campaign has the slogan, "ziyou nide," or "Free yours."  It's about the freedom to choose one's style.  The freedom to choose, to make choices to develop personal skills and characteristics that will lead to success in life.  The question that all this poses, however, is: at what point do cultural and economic choices lead to political choices?  Will people develop the habit of choice to such an extent that they will want to have more of a choice in their politics?….

I'll keep that in mind as I head out tomorrow for a poorer part of the province.  I imagine, choices of all sorts there will be much more constrained…