Everything I Feared About China Was Wrong

About this episode

The episode explores the host's initial fears and eventual experiences traveling to China for a wedding.

When my husband’s friend invited us to his wedding in Chongqing, China, I was hesitant to RSVP in the affirmative. It was far and plane tickets were expensive, but mainly I was anxious. China’s government is scary, right? I’d read plenty of news reports about government corruption and the lack of due process, not to mention the Uygur genocide. I’ve long followed the career of Chinese dissident artist, Ai Weiwei, and was horrified at his arrest for making art criticizing the government’s response to the Great Sichuan Earthquake. Even discounting my probably irrational fear of disappearing into a Chinese prison, I worried about more mundane things: government surveillance, unsafe drinking water, a language barrier Duolingo couldn’t even, and I did I mention squat toilets? While my husband and I have been lucky enough to travel extensively in Europe, China felt like quite a leap. Some family members privately nudged us to skip the wedding, or at least leave our kids safely behind in the U.S. Heretic Hereafter is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. My anxiety was not unique. In his book, Travel as a…

People in this episode

Host: Katharine Strange

Topics covered

• travel
• China
• anxiety
• cultural perceptions
• government surveillance
• weddings

Keywords

• China
• travel
• anxiety
• government
• wedding
• cultural perceptions
• Rick Steves

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Heretic Hereafter

Books & works: Travel as a Political Act

Places: China, Chongqing, U.S.

More episodes of Heretic Hereafter Podcast

• 'Stranger Danger' is Bullshit · June 10, 2026 · 8 min
• Why "Faith Over Fear" T-Shirts Creep Me Out · June 3, 2026 · 6 min
• How to Make Friends with Fear · May 20, 2026 · 6 min
• What Will People Think? · May 13, 2026 · 4 min
• Confessions of a Scaredy-Cat · May 6, 2026 · 4 min
• The Sacred Power of an Off-Key Beatles Song · April 29, 2026 · 4 min