Copyright theage
In the tourist centre of Xizhouzhen, thanks to the inaccuracy of both Google and Apple maps, we find ourselves well off the beaten path in an area of the town where the Bai people live. It is an unexpected glimpse into their lives. The women we see are all wearing traditional clothing but we don’t get a chance to ask them what they think about the Gen Z dress-ups fad. Navigating is one of the biggest challenges we face since Google’s services (maps, email, YouTube, everything) are blocked by China’s great firewall (the company fell out with China’s government in 2010 over censorship of content). Apple has a better relationship with the Chinese Communist Party and its maps are more accurate than Google’s but still far from perfect. We are able to access our Google apps by using an eSIM. For some reason, this bypasses China’s firewall. When using hotel Wi-Fi, we are sometimes able to get a VPN to work, which gives us access to Google and English language news sites. Like so many people, we have become accustomed to GPS guidance wherever we go. Outside Australia, Google maps can be glitchy – in Jordan, we were directed to non-existent roads on several occasions – but in China the problems were compounded by translation issues. Searching maps for our hotels using the English name provided on Trip.com sometimes sends us to the wrong place altogether. Luckily, our rideshare and taxi drivers prove incredibly helpful and on a couple of instances speak to hotel staff on the phone to get the correct location. That warmth of welcome is the biggest surprise. Everywhere we go, busy staff take the time to talk to us via translation apps. On our last night in Kunming we are treated like royalty when we stay at a hotel inside the World Horti-Expo Garden. This is the site of a 1999 exhibition that featured gardens from around the world. Some of the gardens have been taken over by hotels and other businesses, others are as they were when the exhibition was on.
