If I see one more dumbass American make another stupid YouTube video saying "China is the future," I'm going to lose my mind.

I'm so tired of these "We've Been Lied to About China" videos on YouTube. How about making more videos about China forcibly returning North Korean asylum seekers and the serious human rights abuses they can face after being sent back? Maybe remind people about those realities instead of only showing a polished image of China.

To be clear, I don't hate China or Chinese people — I'm still learning Chinese myself. My issue is with influencers and celebrities who visit China and create the impression that it's basically an Anglicized country where everything works just like it does in Bali, Thailand, or Japan. It doesn't.

China has its own political system and foreign policy, including close relationships with Russia, Iran, North Korea, and Myanmar. If you watch a few carefully curated travel videos and assume living in or traveling to China will be simple without knowing the language, or that the experience will be the same as other popular Asian destinations, you may be in for a reality check. It's worth looking beyond influencer content and understanding the country from a broader perspective.

I've encountered people who seem to genuinely believe that China is some hidden Anglicized paradise that has been kept from the world by America or the West. That's not what I'm saying. China is not a bad country simply because it is different — it is a different system, with a different language, culture, and way of life. If you want to live there or truly understand it, you need to recognize that Mandarin is the language used in daily life and that adapting requires understanding a society that operates differently from Western countries. China also maintains close relationships with countries that are often in opposition to Western governments and the broader Anglosphere, which is another important reality to consider.

Hello, I am just writing a list of things I deem to be selfish and inconsiderate behaviour regardless of culture.

1. Smoking in doors around others, especially children.

2. Cutting in line when other people have already been queueing up.

3. Driving through a zebra crossing when pedestrians are trying to cross.

4. Beeping your horn in residential areas, especially in the middle of night.

5. Not washing your hands, or merely wetting your hands for a second under a tap, after defecating.

6. Undertaking someone using the hard shoulder on a motorway.

7. Playing brainrot social media content at full blast on public transport.

8. Going to a museum and shouting at your friend or family member when they are standing next to you.

9. Taking pictures of other people's white children as if they were zoo animals.

10. Pissing and/or shitting in public places such as the side of the road.

11. Pushing into the back of people who are queuing up to enter the train and are letting people exit first.

12. Beeping your horn at someone because they stopped at a stop light.

13. Staring at your phone while at a red light and then not realising the light has turned green and now everyone is waiting for you.

14. Taking an ebike into a pedestrian area illegally and then honking at people in your way.

15. Picking your nose on public transport and then rolling it between your fingers and then flicking it away.

16. Cutting off someone while driving without using an indicator.

17. Coughing without covering your mouth.

18. Taking your shoes and socks off and putting your feet up on public transport.

19. Driving through red lights, coaxing pedestrians to play chicken.

20. Farting in public spaces, particularly enclosed ones where the stench of decaying hotpot will linger.

So if people could stop this, I think society would be a lot better. Thank you.

Sightseeing is 7/10. The history is rich and well documented. Country side is also quite beautiful when you go far enough. 10/10 if it were actually clean. Pictures look great, but when you are actually there, you see how it’s so superficial. Everything is covered up. The grass is patched with artificial turf, the moldy walls are painted over, the broken tiles, even in government buildings, seemingly left there in pieces. Things are commonly patched with duct tape, or glue. Pollution is also a problem, there is an abundance of garbage wherever you go.

People: 3/10. There is little consideration for Hygiene…. Esp in restaurants. Like they sneeze and blows their nose on the floor. Or when they spit wherever they feel like it… a few times I’ve walked away from my meal because I saw some disgusting shit. It’s wild how they don’t care. The entitlement… everyone feels like they’re the main character. Little to no regard for families with young children, elderly, and disabled people. Rude and obnoxious, always trying to cut the line even when you’re standing right there. Lack of hygiene and cleanliness. But I have been to some secret local spots in the villages where the locals are among the friendliest and most respectful, but still unhygienic af. It seems the big cities is where it’s worst. This is one of the main things that make me not want to come back.

China for convenience is 8/10 solely for the delivery system, transportation, and payment system. Super convenient once you learn how to use the apps. Meituan, Didi, and Taobao is great, and the new one I forget the name. I’d give it a 10, but the language barrier is an issue. Wish they had an English version for these apps, it would really help the foreigners.

Cost of living is 9/10. Premium 92 octane gas equivalent to $1.40 CAD, while I pay $2+ for a litre of regular 85 octane. A meal for my family of six, $40-50 max with leftovers available. Whereas in Canada, it would have costed me well over $100 to eat out. $120+ for delivery. Shopping in malls are not cheap, but shopping via apps is like 2-5x cheaper. Hotels are quite cheap, but the cheaper it is, the lower quality obviously. However, I’ve stayed in 5-star hotels where you question how they got that rating (Sheraton, Marriott, etc)

Hi all,

Wanted to seek youe opinions if this is reasonable or too ambitious

I have a air china flight reaching PEK 315pm from singapore and flying out to europe at approx 300am the next day.

I was going to leave the airport, take didi/airport train (which one is quicker?) to tiananmen sq and wangfujing street, have dinner, then book a cheap hotel at WFJ area for a shower and a couple of hrs of shut eye and take an air china airport transfer car back to PEK at 0050am. (Based on amaps looks like 30 min without traffic) Is that enough time to clear PEK immigration? The baggage would have been checked thru to the 2nd flight from SG so ill just have carryons. Last time ive been to PEK was more than 10y ago so i have absolutely no idea. Thank u!

我目前从事将商品从中国运往孟加拉国的生意。起初我使用本国的第三方代理，但费用太高；后来我尝试直接在1688等网站采购，发现成本依然不低（而且我费了好大劲才注册了微信）。之后我发现了拼多多，但听说那里卖的都是破损、有缺陷或质量极差的商品，所以价格才那么低。你能帮我核实一下这些说法吗？另外，中国当地人通常去哪里淘到物美价廉的商品？作为一个资金有限的年轻人，我现在感到非常吃力，请帮帮我——或者说，我目前拿到的价格其实是合理的？
用中文写这个是为了帮到你 :)

I want to visit Dongbei soon and someone told me life there can be like living in a Russian enclave. That of if I get into an argument with 东北人 I should apologise for being wrong and beg for forgiveness - Or else my parents might not recognize me the next day.

That 东北女孩 are very domineering and materialistic, to be avoided at all costs. Is this true?

Hi everyone,

I’ve been doing a bit of research before moving to China and I know there are services like Wise and SkyRemit that many people use for transferring money abroad.

What I’m struggling to find a clear answer on is whether the Chinese banks themselves let you make overseas remittances through their mobile apps, or whether you generally have to visit a branch every time you want to send money overseas.

For those with experience, are there any banks whose apps support international transfers for foreigners, or is in-person verification still the standard regardless of which bank you use?

I’d be really interested to hear which banks you’ve had good or bad experiences with, and whether you can now do everything through the app once your account has been set up.

Thanks in advance, I appreciate any advice!

Hi everyone!

I'm planning my first trip to mainland China in November 2026

We're flying → Hong Kongand have around 15 days. We'd like to avoid domestic flights completely and travel by high-speed rail and possibly the Yangtze River Cruise.

Current itinerary:

Hong Kong (1 night)

🏞️ Yangshuo / Guilin (3 nights)

⛰️ Zhangjiajie (3 nights)

🌆 Chongqing (2 nights)

🚢 Yangtze River Cruise

🌃 Guangzhou (2 nights)

🇭🇰 Hong Kong (1 night)

A few questions:

• Does this route make sense, or would you change the order?
• Is the Yangtze River Cruise worth including?
• Would you replace any of these destinations with somewhere else in southern or central China?
• Are there any "must-do" experiences along this route?

hello everybody im visiting shanghai and have been looking for a place i can try real orange chicken or crab rangoons. when i ask people they look at me confused or suggest a stir fry chicken. where in shanghai can i find them thanks

Hi, I'm traveling to China soon, I'll be in a few major cities over 4 weeks.

My iPhone 13 mini battery is shit and it need a replacement. In my country I can't get it done for $80/530 CNY. I'd prefer an original battery.

I'm wondering whether it's worth the hassle of doing this in China instead. What could the cost be and am I risking a lot in case the repair shop I go to does a bad job?

If you were me would you do replace the battery where I live or do it in China?