Anshan:A Clearer Look at China

by Nathan Bennett

Determining where “real” China can be seen is a wild goose chase. Beijing， Shanghai， Guangzhou， Shenzhen， Hong Kong—all of these cities are “real” China， but they are some of the cities most well-known to foreign travelers. However， more than 1.3 billion people do not fit into these five cities. Getting to know China better requires getting out to see smaller cities. Even provincial capitals count： China only appears enigmatic because so few travelers take the time to escape the “bucket list” destinations in big cities.

Once I traveled through northeastern China， and I decided to visit the city of Anshan in Liaoning Province. I dont know what compelled me to put it on my route， but its one of the places I most enjoyed visiting on the whole trip. Anshan itself is not more “real”China than Beijing or Shanghai， but it—like other small cities—offers a chance to see China unhurried by the thousand people in line behind you in larger cities.

When I travel around China， museums are of the top of my visiting list. Except for their gravitational pull to attract the most famous artifacts and top experts， big-city museums do not offer substantially more than smaller regional museums. China has more than 5，000 years of history， China is where it happened， many people were involved， and they were thoroughly distributed across the whole country. There is a lot left for regional museums to display.

Anshan Museum has an exquisite collection of porcelain and ceramics. The collection has pieces from at least as far back as the Yuan Dynasty（1271-1368） up to the modern era， and if your Chinese is good enough， it might actually be possible to get in to build relationships with curators here because they do not struggle with the same crushing demand as curators at the National Museum of China in Beijing. Anshan Museum tells the story of this citys history as a steel town in the development of China， providing details for which there is simply not enough space to display in Beijing or Shanghai， busy telling their own stories.

While Beijing parks are lively and lovingly used by locals （I particularly like revisiting the Temple of Heaven Park）， the parks of smaller cities allow travelers to see Chinese culture up close without the tourist crowds. Anshan 219 Park is spacious and well laid out， and it happens to hide a Buddhist temple on par with anything Ive seen in Beijing. One of my most favorite things in 219 Park is the statues of people in various scenes from daily life.