5 Things I Hate About China
There is a great group writing project going on over at Lost Laowai, called China: Love it Hate it – head over there and check it out if you haven’t already. The main idea behind the project is to write a post about something you love and hate about China.
A while back, I had a post giving five reasons why I love China – you can go check that out if you haven’t seen it, but here are five things I hate about China, both for balance, and to harmonize with the group writing project at Lost Laowai:
1. The Way Poor People Are Treated
It’s one thing to have massive income inequality within a society – one could argue that all developing countries must go through this stage – it’s quite another to treat those without much terribly.
The less well off are not treated well in China. Whether it be farmers who have had their land stolen by local developers, poor bicycle or motorbike riders who are left helplessly bleeding on the ground until they don’t stand a chance of living, cars that almost never give pedestrians the right of way, children who are not given a chance for education beyond the elementary level, living in crowded & cramped dormitories while earning much more than peanut wages, or workers who end up getting shafted by not being paid, those without much money in China have some pretty rough lives.
This isn’t a problem confined to China – but it is nonetheless a serious issue and something that I hate about China – how about you?
2. The Pollution
Pollution in China is a well known problem – the human costs are huge. While I don’t have any diseases directly attributable to pollution, it has made life less enjoyable in China, and after three years in China my lungs feel like those of an old smoker. Those who must spend their entire lives subjected to serious pollution (a large portion of China’s people) have it much, much worse.
3. Large Swaths of its Education System
There are just too many problems with China’s education system. It kills creativity, encourages cheating, and teaches students to accept hugely inefficient ways of learning – which has reverberations for many people’s entire lives.
4. Always Being Seen as a Foreigner, or at best ‘Guest’
It gets old getting stared at all of the time, hello shouting, and just almost always feeling like you are an outsider in China no longer how long you have been here.
5. Complaints That Can’t Be Listed for Political Reasons
There’s certainly more to add, but having this site swallowed up by the Great Firewall of China is not a goal I have while living in China.
What do you love / hate about China?
Instead of listing things below (which is okay), why not head over to the China: Love it Hate it group writing project listed above and get started on a post of your own?
Hey, cheers for taking part – and yeah, I doubt there’s anyone that could disagree with those “hates”… now I’m off to check out what you loved about China
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well,Pollution in China real is a well known problem ,i hate it too.
skity’s last blog post..Map of the Beginnings of Ancient China
I’ve been meaning to publish my own list of similar fives. The attention you receive as a foreigner is definitely on there. I’ve been living in the same area for 15 months now, and it still gets under my skin.
Okay, can I just say, China does have it’s problems, but what country doesn’t? You say China is polluted, but its not as if China is not trying to change that fact. They are limiting cars, moving factories etc. Also, China’s education most certainly does NOT encourage cheating. For the monthly test, students arent even allowed to bring cell phones, and bags have to be transparent. How is THAT encouraging cheating? Finally, about the always seen as a foreigner thing, I personally know what it feels like on both sides. I have a blonde friend, ( I am Chinese American), and everywhere she goes, there are people like “Oh, shes pretty.” and “Can I take a picture with you?” Its not called making you an outsider, Chinese people RESPECT other cultures, they actually revere American culture, though they would not like to say it. I know, because even if I look Chinese, just having an american passport makes me queen of the school , well year. Because I go to a normal local Chinese school and not an international school. So I would just like to say that even though China does have problems, it is not sitting idly by waiting for it to pass. It is taking ACTION, and people who don’t know the WHOLE story shouldn’t just assume.
1. The way poor people are treated: Yea, you’re right that it sucks when poor people are left begging on the streets, but there are also those who SCAM people by pretending to be poor. You can tell the difference between the legitimatley poor and the pathetic con artists when you see one begging for money. As soon as they spot you (the american) they make a bee line straight for you and just won’t leave you because they have it stuck in their heads that you’re full of money.
You think the cars don’t give pedestrians the right of way? Come on man! The stupid pedestrians go wherever they want and walk wherever they want! Everyday, I see them just walking on the road like it’s the sidewalk and the real sidewalk is right next to them! Maybe they think that they’re so important that they can do whatever they want as they throw trash on the road.
2. The pollution: Sure there are factories that care less about the air that they breath in and more about the money they can make, but it is mainly the people’s fault for such a polluted country! I’ve been all around the country and I always see people throwing their trash on the ground. Maybe they think they’re too important to be bothered with throwing away their own trash. “It’s alright”, they say. “Somebody else will pick it up.”
3. Large Swaths of Education System: The chinese teachers here probably hate their jobs and they take it out on the students, making their lives as miserable as humanly possible. But hey, I can understand them. After being an english teacher for a year (big mistake) I came to understand why the teachers act in such a way. The students are lazy and don’t want to study at all, no matter how much effort you put in to teach them. They won’t stay still for more than five minutes and then they get up and cause trouble for the rest of their classmates. After the first two weeks of teaching english in china, I immediately knew that this was not a career for me. That and the fact that I shouldn’t have to pay money (for a work permit) to have a job, albeit in a foreign country.
4. Always Being Seen as a Foreigner, or at best ‘Guest’: God I hate it when these stupid people just stare at me like I’m an animal in the zoo. Everyone from old to young will just stare at me like they’ve never seen a white person before. That and the daily enjoyment of hearing the little kids yell “foreigner! foreigner!” It’s not just the little kids, but can even be college students who will instantly turn into a little one again and cry out to their friends that they see a foreigner. And they were so surprised and even hurt when I decided to up and leave on them.
5. Complaints That Can’t Be Listed for Political Reasons: Hey editor! If you’re going to let Hu Jin Tao hold you by the balls like that then fine. Enjoy feeling less like an american (assuming that you are american) as you die a little inside. You know what I’m talking about.
For anyone that hasn’t gone to china and is thinking about going, DON’T! Take it from someone who’s been there, it’s not that fun. Sure there are good times and bad times, but in the long run, the bad times far outweigh the good ones. AMERICANS: stay in america and be happy that you live in the best country in the world. Don’t even start to argue with me, America is the best country this world has ever seen.
The last post was a little over zealous with the ra-ra-USA bit. America has plenty of its own problems: poverty that people would never stand for in places like western Europe(which nobody talks about or acknowledges in America), racism/extremism, one of the worst education systems in the world, corporations have more rights than individuals, the poor are taxed while the rich get tax breaks “because that’s capitalism son, we all pull ourselves up by the bootstraps” (some of our bootstraps happen to be fine Italian leather-our daddies bought them for us).
As far as China. I hate that travel is so expensive here. I feel that it is artificially inflated. Everything feels like a scam or a racket. I was totally shocked the first time I went to a Buddhist temple in China and they charged me to get in (OK, so maybe preserving the building costs money-I can hang with that), and then a “monk” tried to make me pay for a tour and then proceeded to take me directly to the gift shop where other “monks” tried to sell me a bunch of lame crap. I mean, is nothing sacred? I happen to actually be a Buddhist as well and was totally offended. You would never find anything like this in any other Asian country.
In fact, I hate that a lot of things are more expensive in China, especially if you are a foreigner. Which leads me to the other thing I hate the most, that Chinese people assume that if you are white you are both rich and stupid and therefore willing to pay twice what you would in a western country for the same goods. I understand that in a way I am rich compared to poor Chinese people, but lets be purely logical. If you charge far more than you know something is worth to a person who is of a specific ethnicity, is that not racism or at the very least totally dishonest?
The final thing I hat is that you can’t trust in the health and safety of products and services. There is just zero accountability and no regulation of anything. I would get into it but out of respect for the firewall issues I won’t. I think we all know how not so long ago a Chinese winery was caught selling “wine” that had 0% grape juice and was in fact 100% chemicals and tap water. It’s hard to enjoy food or other products when you are always wondering what is truly in what you are eating. Will this lotion cause me to get cancer? Is this carrot actually a radish carved to look like a carrot and then dyed/flavored with hazardous chemicals?
There’s plenty to love as well, but those are the things that I hate.
P.S.
I happen to like that people are interested in foreigners. I don’t mind the looks and the inquiries. I find it kind of endearing and honest. There are those who take it too far and make me feel like the white dancing monkey, but overall I think people are just genuinely curious.
Another thing, the Chinese education system DOES encourage cheating. I work for a school and the teachers are all forced to pass the students and write false positive comments about them on their report cards in order to “save face”. All my foreign teacher friends report the same in both public and private schools. Plus, the kids of wealthy/powerful parents are always the laziest and naughtiest kids but are somehow always reported to be at the top of the class.
Is this carrot actually a radish carved to look like a carrot and then dyed/flavored with hazardous chemicals? loolllzzz
I have never been to china, but i would like to travel there one day.
You guys say stuff about how foreigners treat you like outsiders.
Is there anything like discrimination or like mean stuff..
Being pointed out or stuff like that would seem to be normal if theres not many white people walking around….
are there? idunno
As a blonde/blue eyed, tall Australian guy who spent 4 years living and working in China. I can relate to the authors comments.
However, I LOVE China and Chinese people. I have so many wonderful friends there that I re-visit regularly.
Yep, the pollution is an issue that the Government is desperately trying to address but there is a lot more to the country than the polluted cities. Guilin, Yangshuo, Suzhou old city, Yalong Bay, gorges in Yunnan…endless beauty.
Being a foreigner in China I too attracted the “Waiguoren” comment (Foreigner) but I smiled and responded with “I’m an Australian!” in Mandarin or chanted “Chonguoren” (Chinese person) back to them still smiling and they LOVED it! I’ve lost count of the photos I’ve been asked for and always responded positively. Guys! This is a GREAT way to endear yourself to Chinese ladies!
I taught some English there voluntarily and yeah, kids will try and cheat but ALL kids will try to cheat sometimes!
My advice is to visit China, be open minded, respectful and try to learn a few words of Mandarin and learn a little of China’s history. You’ll be an instant hit and make a heap of new friends.
Oh, by the way, my Chinese doctor fiance and I will marry in October.
I am Chinese but I have no relation with China. I never born there or grow up there. Been there once when I was a kid, didn’t enjoy much there. The main reason why I hate China is because of Taiwan. I love and adore Taiwan but I’m not from Taiwan either. And no, don’t jump to conclusion that I’m from America. I live in Asia… so pick your guess. If you wanna visit China, skip it. Go Taiwan, it’s beautiful and there’s nothing hateful about that.
I hate China! I hate them because they torture animals like no other country. I hate them because they skin alive animals, they kill dogs (with owners) that are more than 35 cm tall, they boil alive cats and dogs…and so on. I hate them because they don’t have any respect for life. They sell organs on black markets, they have no respect for humans, nor animals.I know I shouldn’t generalize, but I hate China! They are too many and too brutal. They will concur the world one day…
you are stupid. if you hate china for animal/political rights reasons you have probably never lived here. there are lots of things to hate about china, dont get me wrong. the people are rude, lie, and are unendingly fake. the food is not good. its not terrible but as a previous poster mentioned there is no regulation and it is scary to live and eat here, plus most of it tastes the same and is oily and nasty. the streets are dirty, people poop in public(not behind bushes, on the sidewalk) there is no moral standards here, people will tell you what you want to hear so they can screw you over. nobody is actually your friend here, they just want something from you. the electricity goes out all the time. thought is discouraged. people are so ignorent to logic and efficiency here it makes life very difficult. plus they think they know more about it than you or anyone else even if they cant preform the task. they cant bake for shit. most of the coffee here sucks. people refuse to learn, they will,however, copy what others do usually very poorly.people are so superficial that even after knowing someone for months the deepest conversation you will have is about what you had for lunch. i miss crab rangoons. somebody should teach them how to make good chinese food. lame. dont move to china. it sucks bad. this is the first country out of 10 i have lived in that makes america seem like an awesome place. and i hate america too.