Change China

China is a developing country that a lot of people are concerned about, and it’s a developing country that everybody will know. Before 1978, people in China suffered a lot of war. Generally Chinese were poor at that time. However, for reasons of history and policies of the country and foreign countries, China maintained a closed-door policy. Almost all people in China didn’t have any contact with other countries. People hoped to be rich, but the GDP rate growth in China was very low. As the reason of civil war in China and World War II, a lot of fields and buildings had been destroyed. Even though people worked very hard, their worked just cover their basic need for living. At that time, Deng Xiaoping, one of the leaders in China, came up with an idea: Reforms and opening-up. As this idea come out and into action, twenty-nine years have passed by, we can see a lot of differences in China now. The reforming has changed the fate of China. It has changed my life.

“Reforms and opening-up” let me connect to the world. Without these policies, I am sure China would still be a “closed country”. If so, I can’t buy any foreign products in China now. I still can’t learn any foreign language easily through school. I can’t taste any foreign food in China. As these policies came into action, I can see foreign people easily in China. Buying any products out of the country is piece of cake. We can order it, and ship it to us. All the students in high school or college can learn English, and we can learn other languages from school or some institutions. We can buy McDonald’s food at many corners, and it tastes same with McDonald’s in America. We can travel to other countries easily. That’s the global effect. China is now part of the World. I didn’t want to stay in China without any contact to another country. I wanted to learn another country’s culture.

As these policies came into action, people were richer in China than before. The most favorite festival in China is Chinese New Year. I still remember when I was a child, I could dress in new clothes and eat a rich dinner to celebrate the New Year. A lot of children liked me to celebrate the New Year. They would like to spend money like this only in New Year. So children liked the New Year festival. Now, people have extra money on hand, they can buy whatever they want. They can eat expensive dinner everyday if they want. They can buy some equipment like computers to improve their lives. When the internet came out, we can surf any website from any country to find any information we want. We can buy products on the internet. We can communicate with people in another country by sound or by video. Furthermore, we can meet people from different country people by the internet. People are using money to make money. Chinese people will be more and more rich in the future.

The most important effect of these policies has changed the way that foreign people look at China. I learned one sentence in Chinese history that I never forget, but I don’t know the exact translation in English. The sign said:” No Chinese or dogs allowed.” It’s the sentence wrote by foreign people who attacked China many years ago. I can’t imagine that someone put Chinese with dog together. We were indignant, and we know they dare to say that because China was a very weak country at that time. With these new policies, China has a high GDP rate growth, and it is stronger now. We can have a good position in the world, and we will get what we deserve. We can show our 5000 years of culture to the world. Everybody knows China is a huge market. A lot of people want to learn Chinese, and Chinese will be more and more popular in the world.

One word can change one person’s life, and one idea can change all Chinese people’s life too. “Reforms and opening-up” has been a turning point in China. It has affected my life. It has affected all Chinese lives. It will affect the whole world. Now, I am in America. Many times, I hear foreign people say “ni hao ma” instead of “how are you” to me.