Paul Merton in China (Episode 4)

DVD, Paul Merton in China (Episode 4)

In Paul's final days in China he packs just as much in as in the other instalments, and also seems to lose some of the inhibitions or avoidance of things he's not used to. Perhaps it was the welcome prospect of going home, or maybe he'd gotten used to the travelling and the strangeness, but either way he continues the quality of documenting and enjoyment of this alien culture without flagging. Rather, he tries out a number of experiences from golf, which he's never played before (you can tell), to cutting loose on a ballroom dance floor, and even dressing up in traditional garb at the request of his dance instructor who confides to the camera that he's 'a very gentleman' in an endearingly shy way. Along the way he continues to explore the differences in generation and finance that speak volumes of the society the Chinese people were living in during the late 2000s. For a start there's Shanghai, described as a city on steroids, and full of 'raw capitalism' that you'd think would stand at odds with traditional Communism, but it has somehow subsumed these values into itself, including the vast numbers of Western brands and ideals. His golf partner believes it will be the number one city in all of Asia in ten years and makes me wonder if it did indeed come true. It's interesting to hear things like that because although it's only eleven years since the series came out, the pace of change was already demonstrably excessive so you have to question what life must be like since even that time.

For example, it's interesting to note that the Chinese consumption of newspapers was suggested as a potential problem - if they all read as many newspapers as the English there wouldn't be enough trees in the world! Okay, so the golf guy was probably being flippant, but it sheds a light on the vast quantities of material the sheer size of their population consumes, although considering the state of the print world today in the UK, you suspect there are as few readers of newspapers in China, especially as they love their technology. And with the law on only having one child that came into effect in 1979 since repealed in the years after the series, you can imagine the population growth would have skyrocketed. But if the pressure placed on that one child are anything to go by, it was probably a good law to relax: as Paul said, many children are pampered into becoming 'little Buddhas,' their term for it, so allowing them to relax a little and parents not put all their eggs in one basket could ease some potential tension in society. But at this time the law was in full effect and we see a side effect of that being parents going to special dating areas to try and find a prospective husband or wife for their child. The young woman Paul agrees to meet shows she has high standards and a mindset that is more open than her parents, willing to wait and not rush into such things, which also demonstrates the growing divide between generations of younger people that want to embrace the freedoms then appearing.

Not everyone is free, with the gap between rich and poor widening, millionaires created on a regular basis, and while you get the impression Paul could have been a bit more hard-hitting and journalistic when eating with the high society women, he was rather outnumbered and probably didn't want to seem impolite. But it's fascinating to see their views of free speech, believing they have it, yet also saying they have no political prisoners. This suggests they were either blind to reality or making sure they didn't speak out of turn, but I think it most likely that the rich and privileged are comfortable enough that they don't have any radical views, as Paul said, and are very happy with how life has progressed there. In their own way, the poor are also quietly comfortable with the status quo, it seems, as when they visit a huge rubbish dump where they can make a tidy business scavenging material for recycling if they're willing to live in squalor, and have the freedom they wouldn't have in state-controlled occupations. Neither side wants a Westerner blundering in and causing an upset, and it's too late for Paul to really delve into the issues at hand, though he's already done a good job across the series of showing both sides: the glamour and money, and the poverty.

As ever I wonder who was in the know during the filming, as Paul clearly has no clue when it comes to golf, yet they've obviously arranged it purposefully to be a humorous moment. On the other hand, he'll occasionally meet some eccentric Chinese person that puts him to shame, as Tailor Lee does, a most enthusiastic and expressive man that makes him a suit and is very far from the usual reserved or unfriendly stereotype. But stereotypes are still popular, as shown by the strange evocation of an English village that is Thames Town - like the massive hotel and building works in the first episode, this place is more for show than reality, a location for couples to take their fairytale wedding photos, even if they're already married or are yet to be! As Paul says, no one under five hundred will ever have seen a style of church like that looking so new, but there is something pleasing about the Chinese appreciating old English style so much that they want to recreate it for themselves, although the facade of it all once again reminds us of the vast emptiness the country has away from the packed-out cities.

I sensed that Emma, the Chinese translator and guide, had also relaxed somewhat by the end, just as Paul had, so that she could be frank about considering English people to be more 'delicate' than their Chinese counterparts. Although it seems insulting, she probably has a point, because we haven't had the tough and aggressive life that many there were forced into amid so many other people. My presiding memory is of the best line Paul gives us: 'No hurt, no shirt,' which has always stuck in my memory ever since! As I said before, I'd love to see Paul revisit the country now, a decade on, to see all the changes that will have taken place, long after the Olympics, the end of the one child policy and the continued increase of capitalism. His other travelogues weren't anywhere near as engaging, but maybe it was the choice of place, because China just holds a fascination for its pace of change, as fast as the 430kmh bullet train that Paul travels on. He's been a delightful companion and a good sport, even if he would rather close the curtains on a colossally high hotel view than look out, and the many other instances of backing away or disapproving. He's just quintessentially English and the perfect host for such an offbeat, slightly comical approach to what is a serious country, and his irreverence and politeness went hand in hand with the mix of people going about their lives, and the authorities overseeing them.

***