What do you like about China?

[Manuel]

Like the title says. It's not a loaded question, which is surprising coming from me. No need to be politically correct—whatever keeps you in China, I'm just curious. Cheers

[Dawei3]

My favorite thing is the warmth of people.  Men, women, young, & old bring me into their lives.  As my Chinese has improved overtime, this has happened to a much deeper degree.  Now friends want me to meet their families and friends.  This is not the case of me being the special "foreigner."  These are deep friendships with people who go to great lengths to help me when needed (even when I don't ask).  

 

In addition, even with people I meet on a passing basis, there is often a great interaction.  I really have fun speaking Chinese and I look for the good in China when I go there.  Those I speak with sense this.    

 

These kinds of experiences are hugely motivating in regards to making me want to improve my speaking skills.  

 

(it is possible to have much more superficial interactions with people jut because you're a foreigner, but this is not what I'm talking about.).  

[abcdefg]

9 hours ago, Manuel said:

No need to be politically correct—whatever keeps you in China, I'm just curious.

 

Nonsense! You will get roasted alive if you aren't PC.

[Manuel]

8 minutes ago, abcdefg said:

You will get roasted alive if you aren't PC.

 

That genuinely made me laugh lol something tells me you might be more active on thread titled 'Things that make you want to leave China', which this thread here could easily turn into if enough people chime in, which is fine by me—non-PC replies make better popcorn material. I suppose I'm hoping to inadvertently have opened a can of worms. The question is straightforward thought, and the answer doesn't need to be pretty if it's not.

[mackie1402]

Older people getting out and about and doing things with their lives. In Hangzhou you can go to West Lake at any time and you'll see people singing, dancing, playing musical instruments together, playing cards, playing mahjong, and even roller skating around. Then there's the outside 'gyms' where you get a lot of people stretching and using the machines. I've heard too many stories of older people stuck at home alone every day in the UK and having nothing to do.

[abcdefg]

4 hours ago, Manuel said:

...something tells me you might be more active on thread titled 'Things that make you want to leave China'

 

Wrong. I like lots of things about China. Wouldn't be here if I didn't. Been here over 10 years. 

 

Why not post your own list of likes or dislikes, instead of asking us to post ours?

[imron]

3 hours ago, abcdefg said:

Why not post your own list of likes or dislikes

How about we just keep this thread about likes rather than dislikes?

[Baby Charlie]

My two absolute favorite things about China are: No God and No Guns!

[DavyJonesLocker]

9 hours ago, abcdefg said:

Nonsense! You will get roasted alive if you aren't PC.

 

The lack of being PC by western standards is the the number one reason I like China. Seriously.  Its a breath of fresh air when you compare it to what is happening in western society. 

 

Other things I like

- the focus on society and not pamper to individual needs

- sense of nationalism and pride  

- treatment towards old people, crime, discipline

- food

- asian woman, 

- langauge

- the ability to tackle a big issue like the population problem. 

- Low tolerance of religion

- the ability to get on and just get things done  

- respect for the government, and leadership by it. ok you can't criticise but its broadly there. I don't want to see XiJinping making teenager schoolgirl heart shaped signs with his hands like that twit Justin Trudeau or having teenage temper tantrums like Trump.  He behaves like s statesman

 

The world has a lot to learn from China.

 

of course many dislikes but will keep it to likes only

 

 

 

[Luxi]

My favourite feature (among many things I like) is China's 3000 years-old commitment to and respect for education - and the fact that it is shared freely all over the world. 

 

 

[Manuel]

The reason I ask this question is because last week my father asked me, and I couldn't come up with a convincing answer.

 

I often hear expats complaining about China, and yet many of them have been here for over a decade and don't seem to have any plans of returning to their home countries any time soon. Many such complaints are not unfounded, and I too do my fair bit of moaning (I've you've seen my other posts you'd know I hate fireworks, noise and censorship) and yet again there must be something bigger that negates all the bad stuff because a decade has gone by and... here I still am!

 

After reading through your replies and thinking about it for a while, I started to think that the question might be easier to answer if, instead of thinking of it not in terms of what I like about China, I turned it around and considered the things I miss about China when I'm back home. This lead me to the following main two reasons:

 

Life doesn't feel stagnant: This could be just me, but my life in China has never felt stagnant, not one day. There's a prevalent sense of opportunity, maybe due to the fact that China is not yet fully developed, or perhaps the sheer size of the country and its population—either way, it oozes opportunity and excitement.

Lower societal expectations: In China I don't need to meet my home country's societal demands and expectations and, being a foreigner, Chinese people tend to forgive me for not meeting theirs. Once the societal burden is removed, you are free to be yourself and focus on the things that really matter, and not the petty crap that drags you down and serves no real purpose.

 

Other more specific reasons I can think of:

 

Easier to meet new people: It's just really easy to strike up a conversation with just about anyone in China, both locals and expats, male or female, of any age, so I'm continuously meeting new people. That's just pretty awesome.

Product availability: Though, at times, it can be challenging finding exactly what you want, it's almost guaranteed to be somewhere out there on Taobao or Jingdong. I also quite like the availability of engineering services such as 3D priting, PCB manufacturing, CNC milling, etc which costs relatively little money—great if you are a hobbyist. 

Convenience: Being able to do almost everything from my phone, from paying for my groceries, paying utility bills, booking travel tickets, calling a cab. Being able to just step outside and get stuff done without having to plan too much in advance (a lot of things in China are done impromptu).

Cost of living: Being a frugal person, not having kids, knowing how to take good care of my health (at least I like to think so), not having a desire to own a home or a motor vehicle, being a devoted  minimalist and worshipper of life's little pleasures more than, say, an obscenely expensive holiday and other material cr*p, I find in China I don't need to work as much as back home to make ends meet (in fact ends meet pretty effortlessly here) and still have loads of spare time to do the things I like.

 

What's really interesting is the fact that I could tell you a thousand reasons why China sucks and still, overall, I quite like living in China. It's as though all the bad stuff and the good stuff combined adds up to something better, kind of like a dish where you don't like the individual ingredients but the finished product actually tastes alright. Chinese people tend to be quite tolerant to rule-bending and chaos, which one one hand gives rise to a whole host of annoyances, but on the other also encourages individuals to venture and explore without fear of crossing a line.

 

Maybe my observations resonate with some of you.

[murrayjames]

• 回锅肉
• 香锅
• 担担面
• 廖记棒棒鸡的凉拌鸡
• 乌龙冰茶（加珍珠，不加奶，不加糖）
• 崔健
• 张爱玲

[Dawei3]

3 hours ago, Manuel said:

Easier to meet new people: It's just really easy to strike up a conversation with just about anyone in China

Your whole post reads very well. 

 

I agree with you that being in China feels very energetic. And it was good to see you have the same experience meeting people. 

[edelweis]

On 3/25/2019 at 12:24 PM, Luxi said:

the fact that it is shared freely all over the world. 

I'm confused, what is shared freely all over the world? Do you mean they sponsor confucius institutes and offer scholarships? or are you referring to something else?

[Luxi]

1 hour ago, edelweis said:

Do you mean they sponsor confucius institutes and offer scholarships?

 

This, obviously. But also: the moocs where you and I and thousands of Chinese people can study just about any academic subject under the sun for free; the quality documentaries, and lectures on Central TV and their dedicated free international websites (with archives going back years); the multitude of quality educational sites...etc...and the way all this has sprung, grown and spread in only a few years.

 

 

[Brian US]

I like the freedom in the sense that as long as I'm not handing out pamphlets on a street corner, no one cares what I do. Also like walking almost anywhere without concern for my own safety (scooters on the sidewalk might be the extent of danger in my life).

 

Most places in the US won't let me walk around a lake with a cold beer in hand.

 

 

 

 

[Lu]

On 3/26/2019 at 5:39 AM, Manuel said:

I often hear expats complaining about China, and yet many of them have been here for over a decade and don't seem to have any plans of returning to their home countries any time soon. Many such complaints are not unfounded, and I too do my fair bit of moaning (I've you've seen my other posts you'd know I hate fireworks, noise and censorship) and yet again there must be something bigger that negates all the bad stuff because a decade has gone by and... here I still am!

I think one thing to keep in mind is that people will have something to complain about whereever they are, because it's just a fact of life that things are sometimes not optimal. When in China, it's easy to think your bad day is a bad China day and to complain about China instead of about life in general, where at home you'd blame life in general and not your own country, because your country is the norm to you.

 

I like a lot of things about China: literature, films, food, the interesting people I meet, enjoying the language and culture more and more the more I understand it... At the same time I am happy that I don't live in Beijing anymore.

[DavyJonesLocker]

On 3/26/2019 at 12:39 PM, Manuel said:

I often hear expats complaining about China, and yet many of them have been here for over a decade and don't seem to have any plans of returning to their home countries any time soon.

 

 

I hear that a LOT! I really have no respect for people like that! "stop whining and leave" is usually my response. They are not  poor economic migrants and have choices