Every month, Take 5 sees a PRD resident answer five questions on whatever our editors feel like asking.
New Yorker and longtime resident of Guangzhou George McKibbens is one of those expats who arguably knows more about China than many local Chinese. Between giving tours in Mandarin at Chen Clan Academy, co-creating the radio program Lingnan Voices and tracking down lost photographs of Guangzhou taken at the turn of the 20th century, McKibbens is constantly unearthing little-known secrets of the region and forging new connections between Canton and the outside world. This month, we chatted with him about what makes Guangzhou unique, the struggles of being a foreigner here and his (least) favorite expression in Mandarin.
You’ve worked giving tours at the famous Chen Clan Academy. What’s the funniest question you've ever been asked by a visitor?
A common question is “why are you here?” Still don't know how to answer that one. My fascination with the place is largely due to how it survived the Cultural Revolution by transforming into a printing factory for Mao’s Little Red Book, and was known as the Xinhua Printing Factory from 1966 into the early 80s.
Given that the building is in fact a museum (its official title is 广东铭金工艺博物馆 or the Guangdong Folk Arts Museum), worship ceremonies during the Qingming holiday or other times are not permitted since it's not a religious building. So once in a while people would ask me for incense, confusing sure.
Some people call Guangzhou a ‘cultureless’ city with very little international flair. How would you respond to that?
Anyone who believes that Guangzhou is suffering a culture famine needs to get their head out of Lonely Planet and walk around. This is the only Chinese city I know of where you can have Cantonese, African and Middle Eastern food all within a 10-minute walk across land bridges. Granted, there is serious tunnel vison – many local people don't step out of their own comfort zone and communicate across ethnic, linguistic or economic divisions. It’s important to look up once in a while and see who else lives here.
What’s it like to be 6-foot-6 when riding the subway in China?
The benefit of being tall on the Guangzhou subway is that you can always spot a better place to stand. The downside is when you pass the Guangzhou Railway stop and out-of-towners who’ve never seen such a tall foreigner get on and can't contain their excitement. Sometimes they stand next to me and measure themselves – it's cute… at first.
You’re as fluent in Mandarin as the next Zhongguo tong. What’s your favorite word/saying and why?
If you marry a Chinese woman you need to understand 撒娇 sajiao, which doesn't really exist in the West. It’s a form of communicating with your partner by pouting, stomping your feet and flailing your arms like a six-year-old. Chinese men who grow up with this understand it, but for us, it's like teaching a fish to walk.
Oh, and in the office, I like to refer to flash drives with the full acronym: U… SB. Get it?
People always ask what city Guangzhou can be compared to abroad. Any ideas?
Guangzhou is a complex and multilayered place that ironically maintains a homogeneous understanding of identity – locals draw a line in the sand, so to speak. In that respect, this city is different from others because outsiders will always be, or at least will always feel like, outsiders.
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