Before coming to China, the media coverage on China l had come across was usually negative.Many people in my country including me mistakenly believed that China was a poor country, where there was only oppression without freedom.But when l came to China, l found China is AMAZING! l dare say China is better than the West in many ways.Modernization, convenience, hospitality, safety, all of these has left a positive impression on me.
I went to China a few times between 2006 and 2010 and stayed for a total of 10 weeks spread out over those trips. I was staying with locals, in a regular apartment in Suzhou (SIP) and honestly not seeing many westerners other than my own mirror reflection. I went to China with an open mind my first time and I truly had an amazing time, and coming back for my other visits, felt like coming home in a sense. I got to know some amazing people during my stays, and to my western eyes, there was just something magical about how buildings and bridges and whatnot was lit up at night. Here at home all I see except for at Christmas, is regular boring streetlights with absolute zero design when it comes to aestetics. Suzhou at night in May, June or July was more stunning than what I see here in Sweden in December. Suzhou at Christmas was something out of this world. There's just so much thought and effort put into things in China, to make it look good and not just be functional. I was also amazed by how clean it was in most places, there was little or no trash on sidewalks or along roads in cities, and definitely no broken glass bottles (while here, you have to watch out for broken glass everywhere if you're barefeet, walking a pet, use a wheelchair or bicycle). I'm well aware that the poorer parts of the country and rural areas can be completely different from the modern areas of bigger cities, but I did spend my time in the cities, and not in tourist traps btw as I was with locals and avoided the places with tourist groups like the plague. It was also nice to not see grafitti everywhere (which is usually the case anywhere in the west) And then of course the food! Even to this day I'm missing many of the foods I had in China that are either difficult or outright impossible to find where I live! Lotus root for example, I absolutely loved it with or without rice in it. Glutinous rice dumplings (the ones traditionally eaten around the dragon boat festival) were another favorite along with Xiao long bao and other dumplings. Hand pulled noodles in broth that had been simmering for many hours... Kirin milk tea (I know it's a Japanese brand...), fresh mochi with cream and fresh fruit inside... Just some of the things I just absolutely loved! I didn't even miss western cuisine because the local cuisine was so incredibly good! I was and am well aware of the political situation in China, but I choose to not let it shadow my experience of the country. I always felt very safe during my stays as well. Considering it wasn't exactly yesterday that I visited last time, I'd probably be completely blown away if visiting again because of how fast the urban areas are developing and evolving, things changed even just between my visits and those happened over a pretty short period of time (arrived first time just before Christmas 2006, left from my last trip in July 2010)
@@singhi89 Stop perpetuating this stereotype. Asian American men is on the bottom tier in dating in the West because of this type of thinking from Asian women. Many Asian women went for White men hoping for a 混血儿 and also the privileges of being White adjacent in the West. Other races also didn't want to date Asian men, so they were rejected by Asian, White, Black women for many years.
@@sigerlion8608 Not a stereotype. White people, especially men, are very attractive while Asians, especially the men, are not. White men are very manly with their beards and hairy chests and muscles while Asian men are too feminine and wimpy. Only with the white man's seeds germinating in Chinese and Asian women's bodies, Chinese people will become attractive.
China’s rapid development is on a whole other level. I first visited Shenzhen in 2006 and I didn’t have the best experience. I got approached by random dodgy people either trying to get me to stay in their hotels, or to follow them to some unknown place. Didn’t help that the hotel I stayed in turned out to be really seedy and my room wasn’t even prepared. Visited again in 2022 for a business trip and the city felt completely different and modern. I actually thought I went to the wrong city for a moment because there weren’t any people staring and giving me weird looks.
My nephew from San Francisco works for Square in Shenzhen and after 6 years in China he is apparently adapted to the country's lifestyle. He can read and fluently speak Mandarin, Cantonese and Fukienese dialect . He concurs that great changes have taken place in China, especially in Shenzhen (China's Silicon Valley) since it was first nothing more than a fishing village. He says that there is now a high speed train which connects Shenzhen to HK and it takes 19 minutes. Previously it took 2 hours (mostly because of a Custom stop at the border between Shenzhen and HK) why a Custom stop? Because HK is a Special Administrative Zone with it's own regulations. Now here's a kicker comparing China to the U.S (especially SF): homelessness is almost non-existent, at least not noticeable in China's large cities and if you see an occasional beggar in the street don't be surprised to see him holding out his cellphone so that a passerby can donate him some money just by connecting their cellphone QR codes! How about that for a cashless society? Privately many Chinese citizens may not like XiJinPing and the CCP but they feel as long as their standard of living is not impinged they tolerate things the way it is. An analogy would be trading freedom for economic well-being. In the current Israel vs Hamas war some say Israel is trading security for land (when you consider the history of Jewish settlements)
One thing I was upset about safety issues when studying in US was not that they happen a lot, but how people in the end are always just "accepting" it as a reality and be numb. I was studying in a small college town in Colorado where it was considered a "bubble" in mid US from violent crimes, but just 1 month ahead of my departure, the largest mass shooting in decades in the town happened, in a supermarket just a few km from my place. I couldn't believe it and never felt so real about the threat, even I saw those kind of news happen a lot around the country. I guess if I were to grow up in the US I would be numb too and all I can say is "praying for the victims and their families". But when you look at other countries, not just China, it's a shame. It's not like natural disaster or the country doesn't have the ability to do something, it's man-made problem and the men choose to divert attention by creating more problems around the world.
It's indeed a shame. I immigrated to the US form China in the late 90's and I think my generation was the first generation of US kids that have to experience lockdown drills in case of mass shooting. We did more of those in school than tornado drills in my memory. Both parties use the issue to milk votes and money and they don't care of the average people get shot on a daily basis. The entire US government, all three branches of it, is corrupted.
Lol you don't mention how homelessness and drugs addicts now become epidemic. Mass Shooting is just tip of the iceberg when people feed up and snapped over chaotic society.
I worry more about being targeted for being an Asian, the US is just not friendly toward Asians, there's a lot of racism and you're more likely to get robbed or mugged if you're Asian
How about over one million Uyghurs in concentration camps and hundreds of thousands of other Chinese citizens being jailed or executed for political or religious opinions?
Coming from the Netherlands, I can agree on so many points, being just back from Guangzhou and having visited the city numerous times in the past. I am literally seeking opportunities to work in China!
im an east asian studying in the nl currently, and it was nothing like a expected maybe im in a rather boring city(enschede) the life here is just as flat as the country itself, also the random yelling teenagers I was really terrified at first they were yelling at me when i was walking down the road and i didn't even know wtf they were saying just some random words . Yeah there is nothing much to do here in city im living
@@sugarmandeka4628 Hey, I have lived most of my life in Enschede. Sorry to hear you are not having a great time here. Yeah, people can be quite racist here. In my store we regurlarly have to deal with racist youth.
Really? I'm not very convinced from her video, as card-check-in at trains, which are fast and (honestly, statistically) quite well on time, we also have great online shopping platforms, food delivery etc. Like, I'm just sitting here thinking "yeah we all have that, lady, nothing new here"
Living in Dutch now😂 I really miss all the stuffs in China! Transportation, food… as a student, it’s really inconvenient to go out. The Dutch trains really blow me away, preventing me from traveling for all sorts of weird reasons besides the usual delays. Such as a strike, or train station maintenance. Unbelievable, since 2years ago, the train station in my city has been repaired several times, often causing people in the whole city to take the bus to the next city to transfer to the train.😅
@@sama-sc3vy That is a good point, and a strong critique I've never really had, so far. I've never been in another country for more than two months consecutively, so I've never noticed if trains have more or less outages, there.
safety is something I could never believe how much better China is vs the US, is simply horrible in the US and you hear about these horrifying stories around you about robberies, shootings every single day.
Although China has been demonized by the Western media, the Chinese never slack off for a day. The Chinese do not argue, but work hard on the ground. They use facts to prove everything. I believe that one day everything will be self-evident.
Yeah the political prisoners having their organs harvested felt real safe I'm sure... Muslims in xinjiang as well.. all nice and safe unless you rock the boat and speak your mind
Once you are sitting on the lap of luxury in China, it is very difficult for you to adjust to other countries where services outside China are not easy to get, eg domestic cleaning help at a reasonable cost!😂😂😂 congrats to you 👍
Actually, there is another thing I love about China, which is people embrace nerds. Actually, nerds are one of the most popular kinda people in China. It's one of the reasons why China has developed so rapidly. So many STEM talents are treated as role models, heroes even.
This is also the reason why Chinese football cannot develop. The vast majority of parents believe that everything is inferior, and only education is superior. No parent is willing to waste their child's adolescence by letting them play football, especially among the lower middle class.
@@frankfleming1103 - they are working on it ... ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-GgWZDvgW9OA.html ( primary school football in a poor region of China)
@@frankfleming1103 So true. I actually discussed it before. It's not just football. Judges, lawyers, doctors, writers, artists, teamwork game athletes, philosophers, and other humanities and social sciences also lack outstanding talents. Students with talent flood into STEM-related courses. Thank God there is Political Economics. Because the Chinese economists are not so good, either.
@@spencer7404 I think that in such a huge country as China, it is too big and too difficult to study the national economy related to the behavior of 1.4 billion people. Ordinary people can only study the economy of one province at most. But no one will Willing to claim to be an economic expert specializing in a province
People who say China is a safe country because of the surveillance cameras are in denial. Foreigners usually say that! China is a safe country because it doesn't have drug problems, guns problems, gambling problems, easy access to all sorts of porn. Being a cashless society also helps. The surveillance cameras are essentially for national security.
I dont understand why some guys care about the caremas. If you are not a bad guy and wanna do some illegal things, what are you worrying about? Actually. if the goverment wanna arrest you, you will be arrested quickly, because we are living in a morden soociety, and the important data, for example, your address, your phone number, your education backgroud, your relatives have already been collected when you born, go to school, go to hospital, rent a house.
You often see videos of crime scenes in the US and in the UK. Hey, these are taken by CCTV in public places, which means they do have a lot of surveillance cameras everywhere. They don't talk about it but love to smear China on this. In fact, I have seen figures that the density of CCTV over population in the UK and the US is actually higher than China😁😁 These western countries are just hypocritical about privacy, human rights, and freedom. They just have a hegemonic media disseminating lies, smear, and propaganda to the general public.
its the camera and the high punishment, Ai contribute the most. the camera system not just flag up on the suspect, it flag up everyone get in contact with the suspect then arrest everyone involved. Hell if they caught you do drug, they will flag up everyone around you and request them to come in for a drug test.
I definitely am going to recommend and promote your channel to people who have negative views on China! There are sooooo many many ignorant Americans who think China is so backward!
I think Alysa's intention is to introduce the real China to the Western world full of criticism and prejudice. Unfortunately, most viewers are still Chinese perhaps here to learn English. We should think of a way to promote Alysa's channel to our Western friends, more European and American need to learn the truth. As an expat working in the Philippines, I lost my job because I expressed my appreciation for China's contributions to global well-being and humanity. It appears that the Dutch colleagues, along with the American country manager and pro-US Filipino clients I worked with, took issue with my viewpoint. Regrettably, the true reason for my departure would not be acknowledged, which is disheartening and reflects a common occurrence of double standards and hypocrisy.
It's weird how Philippines and Vietnam hates China so much when it's America that waged all the wars against them and committed all the heinous crimes. I had similar experience going to the Philippines and Vietnam.
@@gipsyking2011 Yes, but the consequence is that I have yet found my next job. I wish I can work in mainland China, but I am 50 years old and evidently, it has been challenging to come across any career opportunities.
I was born in Jiangsu but moved to the States when I was 5, so I have this HUGE disconnect when I do go back to China. Came too early so I lost the ability to read/write, but I can still speak it semi-fluently. Your videos help non natives (such as myself) understand the current timeline thats going on in China. Those battery bank stations on every floor in malls n stuff are a lifesaver the last time I went back to Chengdu to visit the in-laws. Thanks for taking the time and putting in the effort to make this video!!! Cheers~
Once you live in China, lots of things in my own country is really complain-able lol. Hello from Indo here. My second home was and will always be Shanghai. You right, China doesn’t give pr easily even after staying there for decades… I heard that they will have 华侨证, hopefully they approve that in near future.
Hard to believe Guang Zhou, getting into a modern city in such a short period of time, good for you and good for people living there, l wish Los Angeles could have the same convenience.
It is sad that Chinese citizenship is so hard to get. By the way, it is not only Guangzhou. The majority of the big cities have changed drastically. Welcome your stay in China and thanks for sharing your experience in China to the world.
Allowing large numbers of westerners to become citizens and do whatever they want has destroyed many, many nations. It's better this way, China can't help anyone if it's no longer China.
I was born and raised in Malaysia but my great grandparents are from guangzhou. I look forward to visiting the place one day once I have some free time and money.
Yes, it is sad that she is unable to become a citizen (or even just get a green card) after 24 years. My daughter and her husband and young children moved from Australia to Switzerland for university study and then academic work more than 20 years ago. Now they are all Swiss citizens, a difficult process that takes time and effort (and the ability to speak one of the Swiss languages). Maybe China could look at a system like this? @@piercejiang6602
Good morning from Indonesia. Hello best friend. I really like your content. SUCH AN AMAZING, SMART AND CREATIVE EXPLANATION. Thank you for wanting to share a very good, interesting and inspiring video for all of us. Hopefully this year 2023, we can all be better than previous years, healthier, stronger, successful, happier and always under God's protection.
Thanks for the changes observed and shared through out your stay in Guangzhou, my ancestor came from Sunde Guangdong, I'm from Malaysia anyway! Thanks again!
I'm from Philippines, and saw you graduated in Jinan University (暨南大学华文学院）and makes me miss Guangzhou so much!!!! I miss my alma mater. ❤ And I could't disagree of what you just mentioned. China Guangzhou will always be a home to me, and if given a chance where I wanna migrate, that's definetly Guangzhou!
Oh, given the amount of food choices available in China, I must congratulate you on your self restraint! I gained 5 kg in three weeks visiting Shanghai and Beijing end of April and beginning of May. Those Lelecha drinks are so damn tasty!!
Clothing wise, it's the opposite for me. I'm on the smaller side so I either have to buy kids' clothes or import from Asia 🤣 I guess it makes sense China bans some western sites and apps. They've got everything to support their digital business China really is looking like the country of the future. I wish Brazil had developed this much.
I was born in Taiwan, then grew up in the States, then lived in Shanghai for 5 years. My impression of China was leaning toward the negative side too. But after experiencing everything on my own I’d grow to love this amazing country. I now have moved to Taiwan again but I often miss my time, my friends in China just as much as those in the US. China is definitely not the back water, hostile place many in the West or Taiwan believe it is. China, its culture and people really is something you’d appreciate once you actually lived there. I hope more people in the world would have the chance to experience it.
@@UfjjmmWedw Some of them are, that’s true. But you gotta look at the big picture. China has over 1.3 billion people. Of course there will be people that are rude or loud. They spit and even pee on the streets. But there also millions of lovely, sophisticated, cultured people everywhere in the huge country. Don’t judge people based on their nationality, instead judge a person on their own merits or the lacking of it. There are angles and asxholes anywhere you go.
Greetings Alysa, I'm a journalist at iChongqing. I find your story very interesting. Please let me know if you would accept an online interview. Kind Regards Alex
I have an nearly reversed trajectory of yours. I grew up in GuangZhou and went to Michigan for University. Now I have lived in the middle west for about 10 years. I am glad that you enjoy GuangZhou enough to call it home! I do feel your pain about the VISA status. I wish China can be more inclusive too as it really has a lot to offer. Hope to bump into you some day back home!
I just subsribed, i think i first got introduced to u watching an episode from hazimeng, the japanese lady that interview people in china. Loved that episode, if im not mistaken, your the person that does sound voice. Great to know u have your own channel.
Anyone remember the song 1 million bicycles in beijing, or chun lis stage in sf lol yup the change in china has taken EVERYONE by surprise even the Chinese.... its more notable among the Chinese who have lived and moved there etc.... would love to visit or even live work there one day..... closest ive been is HK!!! discovered you on Hezhimeng!!! Love that channel!!
Great Video. I had the same experience at my college alma mater which has a large international presence. I was part of an international friendship program. I have also been to China many times and saw the growth in China with transportation, amenities, and everything. Even took a high-speed rail from Tianjin to Beijing and I loved it. I wish the US had something like that but we don't, generally. When I first came to Guangzhou, they had two airports, one for international flights and one for domestic flights. Had to walk some 1000 feet to get from the international terminal to the domestic terminal. Now I love the new Guangzhou Airport. Very big and modern. Anyway, I am glad China has services similar to Amazon, DoorDash, Uber, etc.
Wow, from what you describe,China is more like... heaven on earth. But, can I humbly ask you a few questions: 1. If China is such a paradise, how is it that Chinese are trying to move in droves to America (where I am from)? 2. You boast with how quickly you get customer service if you call in China but did you try to call Amazon? Well, I called them yesterday, here in the US, and they answered instantly. But forget about customer service, if you call. The question is, What quality of products or food do you get? All over the world Chinese products are "famous" for inferior, low quality. 3. I see you bash the US for crime. How about over a million Uyghurs in concentration camps in China and many other dissidents, political and religious people who are arbitrarily detained or executed? 4. I like to criticize my government for its shortcomings. Can you do the same in China? 5. I am a religious person. Are you free to go to church in China? 6. You compare a huge city like Guangzhou with your small town in Michigan and then complain that you don't see so many foreigners in your tiny American town. But, did you ever go to a university campus in America, any campus, and see how many foreign students, including Chinese, are there? By the way, can you instead compare life in "small town in Michigan" with a small village in China? Or, you've never been exposed to the deep poverty more than half of Chinese people live in the countryside? 7. How about China being one of the most polluted countries in the world? 8. You boast you lived in China for so long. After living for so many years in any Western country, you would be by now citizen of that country with full rights. Are you a Chinese citizen? Let me tell you my conclusion... You are FULL of communist propaganda and you should be ashamed of yourself.
For the safety problem in China, I have another point of view. China has very few crimes because the rapid growth of economy, which allows most people have a job and feed themselves. China used to be very very poor, and many people do not have jobs. Once they have a job, and can live a slightly better life than they used to have, they would rather work hard than take the risk to be put in jail. Tireness is better than staying in jail.
It is very interesting to hear your story of growing up in Guangzhou. I am your new subscriber from HK, being an old man. Of course, I have been to Guangzhou for so many times. Best wishes to your life in China.
I really enjoyed your video! I grew up in GZ and graduated from the university shown in your video. I have been living in USA for many years. Your video invokes my home-sick. Keep up the good works! 加油！靓女！
It's definitely an interesting life you have so far. I came to the states in 2002 right after college for grad school and now I've lived in the states for 21 years. I often wonder what life would be like if I didn't come to the us or I just went back to China in 2009 after I finish my degree. It's insane how much china has transformed. Pace is much slower in the states:) Enjoy your content, keep up the good work and best of luck!
Could you make a video speaking Chinese to people in town, or, maybe, reviewing American RU-vidrs Chinese speaking ability? Those would be very interesting.
China is las vegas to rich people, disneyland to middle class families, and literally HELL to more than half of Chinese people , who working at sweatshops or something close that, treated like slaves, without any rights, freedom, respects. So, convenience, safety or whatever which are all made up by those people's life. China has over 600 million poor (42% of the total population) with $140 monthly income in 2020, so, what kinda life can they live? (btw i'm Chinese, don't spleak English, by googletranslator)
Girl why don’t you say the CHINA CCP CONDITIONS between Taiwan n HK …… the real real world deep down with CHINA CCP RULING ….. are you all brave enough to share and talk about them!!! Do you see how the villagers that work hard and still in hungers ….. OMG!!! I respect about your topics but you not touching the realities world and tell the whole wide world what is CHINA CCP IS ….. exactly like RUSSIA !!!! You have 9K because you say ONLY/ MERELY the beauty and good things of CHINA …………
神奇的RU-vid算法把我带到这里 😅 I have been living in Michigan(Troy) for more than 12 years since I came here for college and never left US in the past 12 years! Now finally I am going back to my hometown Changsha. I have no clue how different it has become since my old memories😂
Thanks for sharing your story in Guangzhou. I graduated from Jinan University暨南大学 as well. I moved from Guangzhou to Canada. It's the Canadian version of your Guangzhou story. But the Canadian version is not that fun, I really miss Guangzhou. Planning to go back to Guangzhou one day!
My wife went to shenzhen with her friends yesterday for leisure, it’s a one hour ride from Hk and she hasn’t been there for almost 10 years, she had lunch dinner and spa massage and it’s less than Hk$500, she just amazed how SZ has changed in the last 10 years and she said she would make it a monthly event😂
Nothing compared to your experience but I moved to China in 2011, I've lived in Suzhou, Shanghai and now Qingdao. I remember when I was living in Suzhou there was no DIDI and we had to flag taxis in the street and be very focused during the trips since we would have to tell them...turn right, turn left, go straight ...now just order a didi and relax :) I also remember I had a qq account that I used to chat with my bf, now husband and father of our kids :) i only had him as contact in the app :) Time flies, I came here as a graduate intern and I'm now a mother of 2 who can't imagine moving back to her country...
haha Alysa, sounds like i am just the opposite of your life experience because i lived in China for the first 14 yrs, and then i moved to the US and have been living here for 20+ years now...... I love both countries and really wish to go travelling in China, hopefully some time soon ^^ although China is my home country but i think i need a tour guide like you :P nice to meet you ^^
Good to hear your quick summaries of the things in china. Your 24 years in china really help facilitates many to quickly understand many of the daily essentials in china, such as the App to use, and how to get things done. So basically you are a 'bridge' for many. Very much thankful for that. Keep up the good work, lady.
