Come to the Netherlands and experience the charm of the Kingdom of the Netherland. The most obvious visual impression is that there is more water as far as the eye can see. The water forms natural fences and cows take a leisurely stroll on the grass, so that free-range cows are healthier, happier and have better quality milk and beef than cows in captivity. The abundance of water and grass also creates a beautiful environment.
The Dam Square in the centre of Amsterdam is the birthplace of the whole city. The sea coachman, once the great sea lord, gave birth to modern Holland.
This is where the world’s first stock exchange was built. If you know how important securities are in our modern economy, you know the significance and value of this Dutch initiative. The Netherlands was once a veritable master of the seas, with the Dutch East India Company being the most powerful in the world.
The Dutch, who had shed their title of overlord, took it in their stride and influenced the world in a different way. The first commerce and business civilisation of mankind was born, giving birth to many world-renowned companies: Shell, Airbus, Unilever, Philips, Heineken 。。。。。。 The Netherlands gave birth to the world’s first stock exchange and the spirit of contract, the contract of the modern market economy, which is now the cornerstone of economic development worldwide.
The streets of Amsterdam are full of people of all colours and races, living together in harmony and colour, multi-culturalism and co-prosperity, street artists putting on performances, the sound of the piano, the inclusiveness and generosity of the country of the Netherlands, impressing every resident and visitor.
Amsterdam bicycles are a sight to behold on the streets. The bikes are big, bigger than the Chinese Phoenix and Permanent from the 1980s. Even Dutch women can handle them with ease. People who can survive in harsh, unforgiving environments have a toughness to them that they would not otherwise survive. The fighting Russians, the Australians and the Dutch, for example.
The wooden shoes of the Netherlands have to be mentioned. This has to do with the geography of the Netherlands, which is low lying, muddy and swampy and not suitable for shoes.
Wooden shoes are made in one piece. Nowadays wooden shoes have long been of little use, mechanised production, a perfect combination of practicality and artistry. They are sold as handicrafts and tourist souvenirs.
The windmills in the Netherlands are unique and in the windmill village there are several old windmills for visitors to take photographs of. Windmills have helped the Dutch to transform nature.
As you drive through the Dutch wilderness, the huge windmill blades turn and tell you that Holland has arrived.
Dutch cheese is very famous, but the taste is not acceptable to most Chinese, it feels a bit smelly, just a slight taste.
The Diamond Museum in Amsterdam is worth a visit. It is one of the three largest diamond processing sites in the world and has some of the best diamond cutting in the world.
Walk through the streets of Amsterdam. Waterways are everywhere, little bridges are linked and dotted and small boats pass through. Making friends with the water is a must for them. Most of the Netherlands lies below sea level. Almost all of the country’s land was reclaimed. The Dutch have gained a great deal of experience in their centuries-long struggle against the sea, against the heavens and against the sea; God created mankind and the Dutch themselves created their country.
What impresses me most about Dutch society is its openness and tolerance. It is like a testing ground for humanity and morality. In the Netherlands, “pornography” is legal. There are special streets for prostitutes in the red light district and special places for smoking marijuana, which are openly licensed. Prostitution and drug use are not banned across the board, but are openly and legally regulated.
In many parts of the world, pornography, gambling and drugs are seen as floods and banned across the board. It is more humane and realistic to allow them to exist as opposed to banning them; and incorporating them into regulation is a greater test of social governance. In the Netherlands, euthanasia was legalised and homosexuality was legalised. The Netherlands is exploring and experimenting for the world in terms of personal freedom, which has attracted a lot of criticism and also gained a lot of praise.
People saw pornography, gambling and drugs as a scourge, fearing that their presence would undermine the morale and security of the country. In fact, the Dutch have delivered, allowing these secular ‘bad things’ to exist in moderation, and the Netherlands remains one of the safest countries in the world. On the contrary, tolerance and freedom have made the country and the city more attractive. The Dutch government’s approach is also worth considering.
The Netherlands is a small country with a small population, but it is the second largest exporter of agricultural products in the world after the USA, a major exporter of eggs and milk, and the most developed capitalist country in the world. If you check out the Dutch online, it is amazing to see how far ahead of the curve many areas are. And Dutch milk powder, with its green and healthy civilisation, has become the ration for Chinese babies. It has nourished our next generation.
The Dutch are not bound and limited by the inherent disadvantage of natural resources and have relied on their ingenuity to be among the most developed capitalist countries in the world. For centuries, the Dutch have fought against the sky, fought against the earth, reclaimed land from the sea and almost created another Holland, gaining a wealth of experience in fighting against the sea. In a time of global warming and rising sea levels, the Dutch experience of managing the sea is worth spreading to the rest of the world.
There is a term in political economy for the endowment effect. A person or a country that has resources and endowments in one area can develop dependencies that constrain its own capacity and innovation in other areas, because it is easier and easier to rely on innate resources; but, instead, because of environmental and resource constraints, creativity and possibilities are stimulated. It is not really clear whether the lack of resources is a disadvantage or an advantage.
In these respects, the Netherlands and Israel, with their limited size and inadequate resources, have given us lessons; while the Middle East oil countries, rich in natural resources, and many countries in Africa, with their vast lands, dependent on resources and limited to poverty, have left deep lessons. Hats off to the Dutch.
Leaving the car in the Netherlands, there is one more thought. The modern era was the first to modernise and today almost all of the recognised developed countries are maritime nations. Maritime countries are geographically less defensible and tend to be more offensive. The philosophy of governance, the path of development is more likely to be one of expansion and competition, the desire to go out and the desire to exchange, which led to the development of a modern commercial civilisation. Examples include Britain, France, Japan, the Netherlands, etc. Traditional agricultural continental countries, on the other hand, relatively self-sufficient and resource-rich, are conservative and closed, easily defended and not inclined to plunder and attack. It is not easy to trigger innovation. In this round of modern civilisation they have fallen behind and are catching up. China has both continental and maritime attributes, and in the past did not attach importance to the sea, but now that a maritime strategy has been proposed, it is in transition. After all, the planet is 70% ocean and the future is an oceanic world. We are also full of expectations.
Before arriving in the Netherlands, the impression of the Netherlands was of tulips, the kingdom of windmills, the home of Van Gogh and the Three Musketeers era of football. Now there are more fleshed out impressions and intuitive feelings.
