北京 VS 上海 Beijing VS Shanghai!

[miaomiao]

Ha no I am from shan dong and went to school in Beijing

[tytzer]

First of all: YES!! WE CAN SEE THE SKY IN SHANGHAI! Agreed with most of the points.. But the problem with me is that since I look Chinese, they automatically assume I'm native in Chinese (which I'm not.. That makes things interesting) In Shanghai, they always tend to speak to me in Shanghainese which I promptly DO NOT SPEAK. I also find that people in Beijing are actually more polite especially in Haidian district. 

Though all I have said can be void since I blend right into the community without any difficulty. That's the beauty of it. 

[Coys1991]

To me I have very good friends in Shanghai and people help me when I need help. For the concept of "cutting in line" it's actually just part of their culture. You have to be more aggressive and just try to ignore them. A good example of this would be on the subways people just pushing and trying to get in front of you so they can get in the metro. It's almos like a battle to get on the metro. Hoped this helped with any people concerned about the cuttin in line issue.

[Simon_CH]

Culture is a difficult thing to argue with. Is it Chinese culture to spit and cut in line even though the government tries to clamp down on it?

Can one really call bad habits from the citizens of what was recently one of the world's poorest countries culture despite the fact that it's changing and many Chinese people disapprove of it? I for one simply think China is developing in many areas, and many habits outsiders (and some Chinese) defend as culture will disappear in a few decades, just like Japan has modernised but not westernised. Just look to Taiwan as an example of what Chinese culture could look like in the future. In the broadest sense you are right, it is culture, but in a more narrow, core sense of cultural values it is probably not.