Among China's neighbors, there is one neighbor that we call the "four good" – "good friends, good partners, good neighbors, and good brothers", and that is Pakistan. Because it is particularly friendly with China, it is affectionately called "Pakistan Railway" by the Chinese, which means "Pakistani iron buddy".
Before I went to Pakistan, I just learned some information about him on the Internet, and my impression seemed to be only associated with poverty, turmoil, explosions, Taliban and other countries full of dangers.
1. Pakistan, which means "holy land" and "halal country". As the name suggests, it is an Islamic country with more than 95% of its inhabitants professing Islam. Located in the northwest of the South Asian subcontinent, Pakistan has a land area of 880,254 square kilometers, making it the second largest country in South Asia after India. Pakistan is divided into four provinces, two federal territories and 105 districts. The capital, Islamabad, is one of the youngest modern cities in the world, with a population of 1.5 million, and its largest city is its former capital, Karachi.
The Pakistan Monument is a landmark in Islamabad and represents the four provinces of Pakistan
2. Before I came to Pakistan, I always thought that women in Islamic countries had a low status and that they generally did not appear in public. But unexpectedly, on my first day in Pakistan, I found that the immigration officers were all women, and they wore scarves on their heads but did not cover their faces. All of them are very beautiful and generous, especially a pair of big eyes that are sensational and charming, a little dark complexion, and a nose ring nailed to their noses. The beautiful immigration officer smiled gently at me while checking my passport and said, "Hello!" Then I got an entry stamp on my passport.
3. Although Pakistan's business is not prosperous, there are still many billboards on the streets, from daily necessities, electrical appliances to beverages. Street markets and old streets are an ancient and vivid world, narrow streets, crowded houses, and all kinds of strange shops gathered on the street, one by one, what you want, will appear in your field of vision, a dazzling array of everything. Clothing and clothing, daily groceries, food stalls, baked naan shops, schools, teahouses, churches...... On the streets of Pakistan, it is common to see boys and girls selling white wreaths made of flowers, which have a pleasant fragrance.
4. Pakistan's street markets are very distinctive, even in a large city like Karachi, with a population of 12 million, there are no famous commercial streets like Wangfujing in Beijing and Nanjing Road in Shanghai, and there are not even large-scale commercial buildings and shopping malls. Because this is private ownership, the bosses are mostly small owners, and the scale of financial resources is limited. The commercial street is made up of individual and private shops, which appear to be chaotic and lack order, and many of the buildings above the shops have just been erected, without finishing, without decoration, after a few years of pause, rusty steel bars reaching into the sky, even in the bustling area of Karachi. Due to the country's professing of Islam and the prohibition of alcohol and smoking, it is impossible to find alcohol in stores.
5. Chinese are courteous in Pakistan. The friendship between China and Pakistan has a long history, and the construction of the "Pakistani Railway" has made them even more fond of the Chinese. Almost all Pakistanis will say "hello" to the Chinese, and everywhere they go, the locals greet them warmly, shake hands, and take photos, which is no less than the domestic star travel. The bustling flow of people on the street was full of the word stability, and nothing happened that was violated. After a long time, you will feel that the Pakistani people's friendship with the Chinese is simply unprincipled! In their minds, as long as the Chinese are their true friends. Even people with whom I have only met each other will be very enthusiastic to try the local snacks.
6. Pakistan's "caravans" are a unique landscape, they are dominated by buses and trucks, and their bodies are decorated with colorful patterns such as flowers, birds, eagles, snakes, landscapes and people, and many are inlaid with many trinkets, and many cars are also equipped with flagpoles and windmills. Most of the top of the front of the car has a high ornament protruding, like a wreath or flower crown for the car. I've heard a variety of explanations for this, such as good luck and so on. A driver in Pakistan told me that the car was like their bride to them, and who wouldn't want to dress up their bride in beauty. The caravans form flowing ribbons on Pakistan's roads, creating a unique landscape.
7. There are countless delicacies in Pakistan, and one of the common street snacks is the bread kebab, which is a soft version of hamburger patties, and the skewers sandwiched between these toasts are either meat or potatoes, and more commonly made with lentils, seed flour, and omelets, and condiments on the side, including onions, chutney, and ketchup. This delicious food is inexpensive and especially popular among budget-conscious students.
8. Samosa Dumplings are also a famous delicacy at night markets, and this famous golden triangle is famous in Indian and Pakistani snack shops. Traditionally filled with spice-filled minced meat or potatoes, fried crispy and can be soaked in yogurt or coriander sauce and served with a cup of chai is a perfect combination.
9. The currency of Pakistan is the rupee, which is about 101.9 rupees for 1 US dollar. Although the material standard of living is low, most Pakistanis are kind and contented because of their belief in Islam and do not lie. You can be very relieved to shop there. Once, I took a fancy to a very beautiful "silver jewelry", and when I asked for the price, the seller told me that it was not made of silver, and he also drew a picture for me to tell me where to buy good and cheap silver jewelry.
10. Mosques are almost ubiquitous in Pakistan, and mosques generally double as places of education and religious schools. Although only the Qur'an was taught, the illiteracy rate was reduced after all. Even in the countryside mosques on the edge of the desert, imams teach children from nearby villages to recite the Quran, and I am often in awe of the mosque......
11. Pakistan has a huge disparity between rich and poor. The rich live a fashionable and modern life, living in a big house, driving a good car, hiring seven or eight servants, and having a good education for their children, while the poor live a traditional and poor life, living in tents, eating the worst things, working as servants for the rich, and not being able to afford to read since childhood. But Pakistanis do not feel that fate is unfair, they believe that it is Allah's arrangement, and they are content with the status quo.
12. Pakistani craftsmanship has been passed down from generation to generation and includes a variety of styles, materials, and aesthetics. Arabic calligraphy is one of the most prominent skills in many local buildings, sites, and wall hangings, such as copperwork, painting, and wood carving. Pottery, especially the typical blue pottery of Sindh and Multan, is loved all over the world for its appearance. The Naqashi, or the artistic making of camel skin lamps, is another example of local crafts, along with colorful tile work, which is a legacy of the Mughal dynasty.
13. Like the mainland, Pakistan is a tea-loving country. Pakistan is the third largest importer of tea, with only some of it being grown in-house. Pakistanis are accustomed to making rich and sweet tea with cow's or diluted milk, depending on their preference, and sometimes cardamom and other spices are added to the tea on special occasions. Black tea was introduced to the country by the British during the colonial period, but green tea has been a part of the local culture for thousands of years. Tea time is a very important time of the day, and many people even go to a five-star hotel for afternoon tea, which basically includes a tea buffet and all the complimentary snacks associated with it.
14. Pakistan's agriculture is dominated by crop farming, with grain crops mainly including wheat, rice, millet, sorghum, corn, and barley, of which wheat and rice are the mainstay, and cash crops are mainly cotton, sugarcane, tobacco, and so on, of which cotton and sugarcane are the mainstay. Cotton is the main cash crop on which Pakistan depends, the foundation of Pakistan's pillar industry, the textile industry, and the main source of export earnings.
15. As an ancient civilization in the Indus Valley, Pakistan also has many historical monuments, and the intricately carved patterns on almost every wall show the vicissitudes of history and the richness of culture. Walking around this country, globalization, intellectualization, and informatization all day long suddenly seem very far away, but people's hearts suddenly become calm, and you will feel that the whole world has its own way of living, and no one can say that this way of living is better than that way of living. For the country of Pakistan, those who come can only slowly taste, slowly know and understand.