John S. Porter (Jack)

My Mission is to cooperate with like minded people to save human  civilization. My favorite sociology Professor, Jesse R Pitts of Oakland University, pointed out to us (1974) that when ignorance and cynicism dominate, it could be the end of human civilization. Dr. Pitts spent a couple years of his life bombing Nazis from a B-17. He then settled in  the USA to study and teach Sociology as we humans were fine tuning nuclear bomb technologies.

It is my observation that the ignorance of foreign cultures leaves room for demonization and potential conflicts. Mixing of cultures, if we can handle it, can make life more interesting for everyone. Having grown up in the City of Cadillac, Michigan (10,000 people) and having spent time in Detroit suburbs (Rochester), I was overwhelmed by the culture and population of Guiyang, China. Guiyang has between 4,000,000 and 6,000,000 people depending on how you count suburbs. The “Tour Guizhou” system of web blogs, is intended to create space online for what I love, building community, this human community. Guizhou people and their foreign friends, like sports, art, music, food, education, beautiful places, technology, business, and even beer. Its a place where English speaking people have created a fusion of Chinese and Western Culture. It creates a community that is both Asian and Western, promoting understanding, business, and ultimately world peace.

Guizhou Province and it’s capital of Guiyang captured my interest in 2000 when I volunteered for a teaching gig sponsored by Oakland University. Guizhou has water resources that compare with Michigan’s, and technology that compare’s with Michigan’s (perhaps superior), and an extremely friendly population. Guizhou Province has a population of about 38 million people, compared to about 10 million for Michigan.  They seem to like foreigners, embrace minorities, and have seriously protected their environment. As a former township supervisor and real estate appraiser, I was witnessing the fastest growth in community and cultural exchange in history. It tweeked the sociologist in me. I commuted annually between my appraisal business in the Northern Michigan and teaching English in China for the better part of 20 years.

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I told a friend that Guizhou was the heart and soul of China. Where did I learn this? I remember telling  a Chinese city person that I lived in Guizhou Province and he pointed out  that this was still the real China. In fact Guizhou is isolated by mountains from the changes that are  taking place throughout China. The old cultures and the Old China are still prominent in Guizhou.

I wonder how he’ll get around when he is 15.

I want to inform the Western People about Guizhou Province. It can be a proxy for the USA and Chinese relationship. The search box on this webpage has of keyword searches for 13 years in Guiyang and  China. It is meant as a historical document.

There is a comfort in focusing your brain on things that you love. I have been helping kids learn English and building the online story of Guizhou. My life interest in cutting edge technology and building community has never been buried deep in my memory. The Chinese high speed rail (Gaotia), BRT (Bus Rapid Transit), the #2 Ring Road with a bus dedicated lane, and Guizhou’s “Big Data Valley” initiative all form an opportunity that cannot be ignored. It is facinating and something Americans can learn from.  “We” really need to be working with “Them”.  (We Westerners really need to be working with those Asians).

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USAInfo, LLC is the owner of this web site and is also proposing an advanced Automated Vehicle (AV) system for Guiyang. As the owner of USAInfo, LLC, I brought the experience of having worked with like minded people to create the BATA bus service (Bay Area Transportation Authority) in my home town of Traverse City, Michigan.  I was a Township Supervisor in that community and worked on a variety of community building initiatives between 1980 and 1992.

Later, in the 90s I was a Certified General Appraiser in the State of Michigan. This, combined some dabbling experience with motion control, mass transit, real estate, and politics formed my vision for Autonomous Vehicles in Guiyang. Information about Automated Vehicles is found here: The Guiyang Automated Vehicle Project.

Everything was shot to pieces in 2020 when the pandemic hit and foreigners like me were ejected from China. The idea of students cooperating between countries was also shot to pieces in the October surprise deportation. See:New York City

Rather than promoting world peace, I found myself homeless and sleeping on a friend’s couch in the middle of the pandemic. My appraisal license was balled up in State pandemic paperwork for six months. I eventually found a low cost rental in Mancelona, where I am now, starting over in appraisal back in 2021. As this is being written (February of 2026) my appraisal business is now inactive and this blog itself is now in jeopardy. The experiences of Guizhou is partially captured herein and is over a 15 year reflection. A book called “Losing China” by myself (John Porter) is pending. The focus of that book encompasses my first 7 weeks in China, but is actually a retrospective of nearly 25 years. The history of foreigners in China goes back at least 1200 years to Marco Polo. Mr. Polo wrote a book that included places like Shangrila. This web site and my pending book is my contribution to this cross-cultural effort. China is in a position of extraordinary delicacy.  We can turn back ignorance and cynicism in our democracy. Our relationship with China could be the end of human civilization or the beginning of a new era.
My website and book projects