Jun 20, 20226 min read

China 🇨🇳 中国

Updated: Jul 9, 2022

If you still think China is behind or unsafe then you’re clearly never been to China or been fed the wrong message from deceitful western media.... 🤐 I’ve met so many people who had the BEST times of their life in China not being Chinese. There's so many places worth visiting....some of my top recommendations are....Shanghai上海, Beijing北京，Chongqing重庆, Lijiang丽江, Jiuzhaigou 九寨沟

Some of my most fond memories are the countless summers I’ve spent in China just having fun and traveling with friends with similar interests and backgrounds.

FOOD

I am not biased (maybe a little🤣🙄), but can we not all agree that Asian food especially Chinese food is simply the best?! There is a reason why Chinese restaurants can be found in almost every city/town in this world. Chinese food you had outside of China is mostly modified to adjust to local palette. I have never had house lo mein, orange chicken, or fortune cookies in China......I’ve never seen fortune cookies there, surprised?! 🧐

One of the fascinating facts about China is each major city in China is like a country of its own. For ex, my hometown......Fuzhou, China, we have our unique dialect, street food, and holidays. They say night runs in China is dangerous because night markets and street food are delicious, tempting, and inexpensive . 😂

Depending on how/what you want to experience food.....Chinese food can be (should be 🤫) the most expensive cuisine in the world. I’ve been to a restaurant the size of a Walmart in Guang zhou, the LIVE sea products can be an aquarium of its own. Crocodiles in a cage, dictionary thick-like menu, private room dining(KTV, Majiang options too!)......Dinning in China is truly an experience. Tipping is not a requirement, they believe customers shouldn’t pay staff extra to do what they’re hired to do which I totally agree with. 🤐😬 How many times were we forced to tip so we don’t end up being THAT customer even though the service was terrible?! 😣🙄🤐🤨🤬😰@&)%#{]*£....

-North China....dumplings, noodles, more carbs

-Sichuan四川/Hunan 湖南......SPICY, mild spicy is equivalent to spicy in the US 😆....hotpot is originated in this region.

-Southern China.....dim sum, seafood, mostly nonspicy

-Western China.......Grilled meats, lambs, milk, cheese.

Language

Most Chinese speak Mandarin which is our universal language. Bigger cities like Shanghai, HK, Guangzhou, you can always find people who speaks a little English. If you want to explore more rural areas of China, DO hire a local expert or ideally a local friend, will save you more $, time, and headache.. Tibet has always been in my list, but you need another visa to visit if you're a foreigners. 😓

I would say almost every province has its own dialect. Fujian province perhaps have the most, almost every city has its own dialect or accent which is insane and fascinating. Cantonese is another popular dialect spoken mostly in south east region.....Guangzho, HK region. If you want culture shock, Europe should be your last destination. 😬🤐😆

Government

This should be a surprise. According to a Harvard study ....” In 2016....95.5 percent of respondents were either “relatively satisfied” or “highly satisfied” with Beijing. In contrast to these findings, Gallup reported in January of this year that their latest polling on U.S. citizen satisfaction with the American federal government revealed only 38 percent of respondents were satisfied with the federal government”

(probably even lower now 6/2022 😔 )

China has become one of the safest nations because of its strict gun control, drug policy, and most importantly the abundant traffic/street cameras. I did notice A LOT less homeless people on the street back in 2019. The table has turned completely in this issue, instead, western developed countries like the US are now facing a homeless people crisis (San Francisco, NYC, DC.... 😰😔)

Some might find the traffic cameras an invasion of privacy in the US but then again It's ONlY in public areas.....I guess you can say the country is run by people who have better common sense 🤷‍♀️. Don’t get me wrong, China is not perfect it has its flaws for sure, but considering it was mostly rice fields just a few decades ago, the rapid growth and development are extraordinarily unprecedented. Instead of talking, debating, and voting.....the Beijing government actually take actions rather quickly. Covid quarantine like Wuhan would never work in the US or developed western nations.....🤐😰😥. They never had mask protest, most citizens were corporative.

I’ve heard so many stories like stolen or lost items being found within hours by the police because they can easily track people/item by all the security cameras. 👍

So in China, common sense and being a decent citizen will get you the same amount of freedom and even more safe Environment. 😊

Yes, the government is powerful and strict but it is built and designed to work in a country like China. If the people of China are happy with their system and it works, what qualifications nor the need for anyone else to interfere?! China spends far less on military compare to US, has not invade or dropped a 💣 in decades. History has proven that the global superpower is constantly changing every few centuries, which nation is your next guess?

Shopping

Shopping in China is a whole new ball game. The shopping scene has recently changed quite a bit, online shopping is massive just like Amazon except better and faster I would say.....you can even have live animals delivered! 😬🤨..... Instacart-like app in China, I had live seafood delivered, fresh products within an hr. 😧 Returning items, the guy shows up at your door to pick it up. 😃 Meituan (Postmate like) for foods is faster and cheaper, 😁 again tipping isn’t a requirement nor expected. 😅

I don’t recommend shopping in China for designer stuff because it usually cost a lot more, that’s why the Chinese shopping like is walmart or Costcos overseas for luxury goods. Instead do go for the local designer brands and private boutiques. Since everything is made in China, you’d be surprised what you might find in private boutiques. I’ve found amazing silk pleated Stella McCarthey top at a random store in China and it cost like nothing. Some production did not meet certain brand standard or simply over production, and naturally they end up in the streets in China. 😍

“Unbranded” luxury items in China are like knockoffs,

..”products you might find on the site include unbranded boots that look an awful lot like Ugg boots, made by a manufacturer of Uggs. But where actual Uggs might cost a couple hundred dollars on Tmall or JD.com, the boots are more like $45 on Yanxuan.” 🤷‍♀️

Convenience

I consider convenience a luxury. When I tried to pay in cash back in 2018, the cashier looked at me like I’m a caveman because EVERYBODY uses their phone to pay for EVERYTHING (tickets, utilities, bills...)...WeChat/Alipay is so popular even homeless people carry a QR code sign (not joking!). I almost feel like everything is free because I don't use CC nor cash until I see a low balance notification 😂

I don’t like flying and yet I travel so much 😐....traveled to 8 different cities in China mostly by high spend trains, so punctual, comfortable and fast! I truly wish high-speed trains are everywhere because is faster, cheaper, and greener! 🍃 Stations are usually more city-centered than airports. We all love eating out and drinking right?

Instead of Uber, You can call a driver/chauffeur 代驾 when you're over-served, driver shows up with a foldable bike that will fit in the trunk then drive your car back home.....brilliant! There’s an app for everything! 😎

Is very common for households to have a full time living in nanny. Labor in China is very affordable compare to the US. (jealous!)

Currency

So 1 USD= 6.7 RMB (it flutrates)

You do get so much more for your dollar in China. Interestingly enough, you can also easily spend someone's average monthly salary on a dinner(alcohol excluded), is hard to do that in US on a meal without alcohol. The spending gap is huge just like income gap, so it can be very budget friendly or it can break your bank easily. In the US...I get massages like once a month or when I travel, Postmate once or twice a month, didi(Uber) when I travel, hair salon only a few times a yr.....In China, massage and hair salon is weekly, Uber+Postmate multiple times a day, eating out, shoppung is a daily thing. The amount of money we spend in Europe for 2 weeks will probably last me 2 months in China. 😎 🥳 😜😅

Pros:

-Convenient

-Efficient

-Can be inexpensive

-New and Modern almost everything!

-High-speed trains

-Safe

-Clean/new subways

-Delicious food!

-Rich in art, culture, history

Cons:

-Bad traffic, worse during holidays