What do you think about China?

Hello Kevinsun, I am an American that has been living in China for the past 6 months. I think China is a very interesting country. Before I came to China I had many ideas of what I thought it would be like. Now that I am here I find new surprises everyday, both good and bad. First, I want to clarify that my experience so far has been limited to the Jiangsu province. I have spent time in Jiangyin, Nanjing, Suzhou and Hangzhou. I feel it is important to state that because China is a huge country with many different cultures, traditions and lifestyles. The people here are extremely friendly and very curious about foreigners. The city I live in has about 1.2 million people but there are only 300-500 foreigners so I understand the interest in foreigners. When I go out to eat it is common to have complete strangers come to my table and offer to 'cheers' with me. If I don't have a drink they will buy me one just so we can cheers. On several occasions people will even pay for my dinner. The hospitality is amazing and at times makes me uncomfortable because I am not used to that kind of attention. On the other hand, I also see a lot of selfishness and inconsideration towards people, at least compared to the culture I am used to back home. For exmple, riding an elevator; there could be 10 people in an elevator trying to get out and 10 people waiting to get in and once the doors open it is a free for all. No one waits for the people to get out of the elevator the just push and shove to get in regardless of the people trying to get out. The same thing goes for waiting in lines, it is very common for people to go to the front of the line to try to be first when there are 5 to 10 other people that have been waiting their turn. The contradiction between the friendliness, hospitality and selfishness is very interesting. The food is amazing. 99% of the 'Chinese' food in America is not Chinese at all. The only places I have had food even close to the food here is in the China towns of big cities like New York, Chicago, etc. I do think some of the food that is eaten here is a little strange but I am usually willing to try it with an open mind. Except for dog meat, I refuse to eat it because I love dogs so much. China has some of the most amazing natural beauty, simply breathtaking. I like that most cities have a 'walker street' where there are no cars, only stores and restaurants. A word of advice to any westerner visiting China who plans on shopping, beware of people selling items with no price tags. Everyone in China seems to think that all westerners are rich so they will charge you up to 10 times the price the charge Chinese customers. You MUST learn to haggle if you want to shop in China. I've bought items that I was originally told cost 300RMB but have been able to haggle the price down to as low as 50RMB. When I first got here I was shocked at the traffic. For a city of 1.2MM people there isn't as much traffic as I thought there would be but the way people drive is very different then where I am from. I was scared to cross the road because cars frequently drive in the wrong lane, on the side walk, the wrong way down one way streets, etc. I've gotten used to it now though. Taking a taxi is similar to a roller coaster ride in an amusement park. I just sit back and trust that I will live to the end and try to enjoy the excitement. Overall I think China is a great country with great people. I realize that most things that shock or surprise me are just cultural differences that I need to get used to. There are two things I hope China will improve though. First is the environment. It is very polluted in the cities; air pollution and water pollution being the worst. Second is the school system. I see so much pressure on young students that spend over 75 hours a week going to school and studying. The saddest part is that the schools are so over crowded that the classes have around 80 students per class. The students are forced to just listen and memorize what they are told with little opportunity to question and practice independant thought which results in a lack of creativity and imagination. The students are all very bright but I don't think they are learning to use their mind in different ways. Even though I mentioned a few bad things I do love living here and hope I continue to have great experiences like I have had so far.

I'm just wondering why you said you are not rich when in fact almost all the things around the world is made in china. You have the most expensive olympic games ever (sounds you are so rich to me). On the different note. I like to visit your country and learned from it. You have one of the best civilizations. Your technologies then was ahead of its time. It is really very interesting. Almost all the countries in the world is influenced by you. Almost all countries have china towns. amazing

well i really like the cuisine of Chinese a lot they make minimal use of oil and make such great food and healthy too just by using different types of sauces, the work ethic and the way china manages its big population to outgrow many other workhorses by utter discipline is just a great achievement One more thing i find worth mentioning is how good they perform every year at Olympics winning loads and loads of medals doing full justice to its giant population and showing the huge talent pool it posses

Well you want me to be honest, right. So on the first day of class, which started for me a little earlier then for many other Americans I sat in class and the teacher wanted to know something special about everyone. So this one woman said she when to China with her husband because her daughters husband is from China and her daughter and husband now live there. I was waiting for her to tell me about the beautiful buildings she saw, the traditions, believes, history she encountered. The festivals she went too. Nothing she didn't say anything about that all she could do is complain because she didn't have her American comfort I was so upset with her but on the first day of class you don't want to start an argument. I was told from other people how much they loved their trip to China.