One of the things that I wanted to see in China was how the younger generation of the emerging educated Middle Class was adjusting to the rapid Westernization of China. Were these young people embracing Western ideas and adopting Western culture with as much enthusiasm as US news broadcasts and magazines suggest? Interestingly, based on the small sample of young professionals I met in Hangzhou, it seems that there is certainly a great deal of excitement about the globalization of China and the access to Western ideas and businesses. But many of the young people I met also expressed concern about losing some of the cultural elements that define them as Chinese: food, tea and Confucianism. While KFC and Walmart have certainly gained a strong following in China as have certain American TV shows and movies (Big Bang Theory and Desperate Housewives seem to be the favorites), Chinese chain restaurants like Grandma's Kitchen, which serves traditional Chinese fare, attract young families and young couples. At the Buddhist College of Hangzhou, the director said that Christianity was the fastest growing religion in China. Although Christianity might be gaining followers in China, it seems that many of those followers are older. None of the young professionals with whom I spoke was even aware that there was a Christian Church in Hangzhou, but a couple of the young women I met had become Buddhist, saying they felt drawn to Buddhism as a means to connect to Chinese culture. At the Lingyin Temple, I was surprised to see so many young worshippers. During the thirty minutes I sat in front of one of the worship halls, at least 75% of the people who lit incense candles and bowed to pray were 30 or younger. This is a very different experience from the one I had in Beijing and Xi'an three years ago, where most of the worshippers were quite elderly. Is this because Western cultural influence is more pronounced in Hangzhou than in Beijing and Xi'an?
Study Tour
