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10 Things I Love About China
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10 Things I Love About China
An acclaimed American TV animation producer and creator refects on his positive experiences in the often-misunderstood country. Acclaimed sculptor Li Chen’s solo exhibit “Ordinary People.” By Josh Selig (Photo by Josh Selig)
Icreate international kids’ TV shows for a living. I’ve made puppet Eye-Opening Experiences shows in Palestine, buddy comedies in Canada and shows about More recently, while working for my own New York-based studio, singing potatoes in London. Over the years, I’ve added so many exLittle Airplane Productions (a Studio 100 company), I’ve co-produced tra pages to my U.S. passport that it now looks like a Wendy’s double a few animated shows with talented Chinese partners. The frst was cheeseburger. Super Wings! with Alpha, which premiered on Sprout, and the second
I’m certainly no expert on China — and I fully agree with Pieter Botwas P. King Duckling with UYoung, which premiered on Disney Junior in telier from Johns Hopkins who said, “Anyone who speaks with great the U.S. and CCTV. These days, certainty about China needs to have their head examined” — but these I travel to China a few times days my preferred country for making co-productions of all kinds is, a year working with a variety hands down, China. of media, toy and theme park My work frst brought me to China in the ‘90s when I worked on groups, and my interest in Zhima Jie, the Chinese co-production of Sesame Street. This project was this complex country has only a revelation for me as it was the frst time that I truly understood that grown with time. Western culture was simply one approach to life and art, and that ChiLast week, after speaking with Josh Selig (right) with Studio 100 co-founder/ nese culture offered a different and equally valid approach. On one a friend who doesn’t travel much CEO Hans Bourlon and colleagues from Chimelong theme park company. of our “training trips” to Shanghai, it became clear that we American (and who has heard mostly neg “experts” had far more to learn from our Chinese colleagues — among ative things about China), I decided to spend a few hours and write down for them one of China’s most revered poets — than our Chinese colleagues him fve things that I love about China. Before I knew it, my list had become had to learn from us. 10 things. Today I’d like to share this list with you, my colleagues in the ani mation industry and the animation fans who read this magazine. Many of you already work with China, and have a good sense of the country. For the rest, I imagine my list may surprise you. My hope is that it might inspire some of you to visit China, because seeing China for yourself is the only way to really get a clear perspective on this unique nation. And so, here are 10 things I love about China:
1. Trust. At frst, I didn’t understand why our Chinese colleagues wanted me to fy 14 hours to have a meeting that could just as easily happen over the phone or through video conference. Now I get it. You cannot look into someone’s eyes over the internet. You need to sit across Zhima Jie from them, you need to have dinner with them and you need to drink together. Only in these ways can trust be established, and it’s trust that ensures lasting business relationships. 2. Patience. I used to be a restless person. I wanted everything right away. China taught me that waiting is a good thing. It’s while you’re waiting that you learn about your colleagues, a new company or an opportunity. If it happens quickly, it may not last. But if it happens over time, it just might. Anything of real value takes time. 3. Humility. In my experience, most Chinese people are quite humble. I fnd that the Chinese listen very closely when someone is speaking and they very rarely interrupt.
It’s uncommon to hear a Chinese person bragging about his or her accomplishments. My wife is from Harbin and I asked her about this. She said, “Our personal achievements are important to us, but we always hope these will also help our family, our community, our country and the world.” 4. Discipline. There is a focus and a determination in China that I’ve not experienced anywhere else. You can see this in the work ethic of the Chinese people who have, in just 50 years, built China into the world’s second largest economy. And you can see it in how quickly and effectively the Chinese halted the spread of the coronavirus. When the Chinese set their mind to something, they work very hard, they work very smart and, most of the time, they succeed. 5. Progress. Everything in China is improving quite rapidly, from their education system, to the rule of law, to, yes, respect for intellectual property rights. There is no doubt in my mind that China is steadily moving towards a more open society, and international business standards are already a fact of daily life. If this weren’t the case, would companies like Little Airplane — as well as Disney, LEGO and Universal — even be in China? 6. Getting around. The infrastructure in China is second to none. The bullet trains run fast and on time. The bridges are modern, architectural marvels. And the subways are squeaky clean. Most of you have probably seen images of the new Beijing Daxing Airport which uses 5G technology to expedite check-in and baggage claim. Designed by the late Zaha Hadid, this airport is a stunning work of art.
7. Caring for the poor. The quality of life in China has been improving for decades. In the past 70 years, 850 million Chinese have been lifted out of poverty. Think about it, that’s over twice the population of the United States. As one Chinese journalist in New York told me recently, “Some people think we Chinese want to take over the world. We don’t. We actually just want to be sure we can feed and take good care of our 1.4 billion people.” 8. Respect for the elderly. Any morning in China, in any city or town, you can go to the park and see elderly people fying kites, playing mahjong, singing opera and talking proudly about their children and their grandchildren. In many
Zaha Hadid countries, older people are largely hidden away designed Beijing Daxing Airport in nursing homes and have little contact with their extended families. In China, one’s grandparents are revered, and this has a powerful and positive impact on their society. 9. Safety. This may surprise some of you, but I feel much safer in China than I do in any other country in the world. There is almost no street crime, gun violence nor illegal drug use in China. I’m a jogger, and I like to wake up early and go for a long run. In New York, I’m always watching my back. In China, I just enjoy the sunrise. 10. Creativity. One of my favorite places to visit in Beijing is 798, a thriving artists’ community. There are scores of galleries, cafes and graffti murals that are as good as anything you’ll see on Miami’s Wynwood Walls. This neighborhood refects the vibrancy of the contemporary art scene in China in 2020. There is great talent here, real innovation, and, yes, there is open political expression. The teams we work with in China — the Ping pong writers, directors, designers and animators — are as gifted and as up-to-speed on popular culture as anyone I know in Europe
Graffti mural or the U.S. Now, don’t get me wrong. I also love the United States. I am grateful for the many freedoms and opportunities we have here. I also love Brazil, Egypt, Belgium and South Africa. (I love many countries, who doesn’t?) But this article is about China. In this era of internet noise, distortion and misinformation, the only thing I trust is my own direct personal experience. And my experiences over the past 30 years in China have impressed me. I’m not saying China is perfect — no country is — but I am saying China is a great country that deserves our deep respect. ◆
