Overwhelmed – if I could only use one word to describe my recent trip to China, specifically in Shanghai though other precincts aren’t very much better either. People often talk about the polluted skies or the glitz of the bustling city but nothing hits you harder when you step into a Chinese railway station – the crowd. It’s no wonder since more than one billion people live in China with Shanghai being the most populous.

Crowded is an understatement. The immense throng of travellers truly brings out the meaning of the Chinese idiom – 人山人海 which literally says mountain people mountain sea). I shudder at the thought of the mad rush these places see every Lunar New Year or during the Golden Week period that will certainly give a whole new meaning to the term: travel chaos.

The next thing that struck me on the trip is the multitude of security checks at every entry point including every metro station and bus terminal. That means any bags have to be whizzed through the X-ray scanners and humans through the metal detectors. I never understood the latter though ‘cos you can waltz right through, alarms blaring and all, with nary a damn given.

With the exception of the airport and railway stations, it’s a pretty quick, painless and fuss-free process. In fact, it fast becomes second nature that I’d just automatically unsling my bags and put them through the X-ray scanners as I approached any entry points. Hence, it comes as no surprise that Singapore is toying with this idea and have carried out trials in recent years.

Having one-seventh of the world’s population, it’s clear the sovereign state doesn’t need international visitors to sustain its tourism industry. Outside of first-tiered cities, the hospitality sector is so geared towards domestic tourists that many of the businesses are not even licensed to welcome non-Chinese nationals in their premises. Even when they do, the proprietors are not as conversant in English.

Beyond some point though, communicating in English just won’t suffice. No doubt most directional signages are written in English, but they’re usually inadequate for getting to hidden gems. Adding to the complexity, Google – the swiss-army knife of the internet world – is inaccessible due to the presence of the Great Firewall. Therefore, apart from major cities, I only spotted a handful of non-Chinese roaming on their own.

Ironically, I see China as a paradox: so homogenous yet so diverse, united by heritage but divided by geography. My first time in mainland China brought me to the showpiece city of Shanghai, Hangzhou dubbed “Heaven on Earth” and the picturesque mountain ranges of Huangshan. Yet despite these environmental differences, the people and culture in the world’s most populous country remain unsurprisingly alike.