China is honestly light years ahead of the US. I live in one of the most expensive cities in the US and am here on vacation for a month traveling through China and it is insane how far ahead of us they are. From the high speed rail system that I have been using to go from city to city, the absolute cleanliness everywhere, no crime, no worry about getting pick pocketed/mugged, nice friendly people, no homelessness, no tent cities, affordable/cheap prices for food and basic necessities. Every little town I pass I the high speed line had massive construction going on from high density apartments to infrastructure. Honestly the only complaints I have is that the entire country is hot as balls right now and the food situation is a bit rough as a person who's both vegan and a somewhat picky eater, they only seem to have mainly Chinese food everywhere and as good as it is I need some variety in my diet and it is hard finding all vegan places as well.
I honestly I have now come to realize that the reason we are so strongly propagandized against China in the US is that it would break the average Americans brain if you saw how well they are living here compared to the absolute under-devoloped shit we put up with in the US.
Ask me any questions you have and I can also post pics if interested!
Hell yeah China gang
I’m there in 2 days. Get to go a couple times a month. Lie-flat accommodations and mediocre airline food. For free! Since I fly the airplane. But the crew only gets about 30 hours max before we turn around and come back :/
How are the
s? Ticket-wise too. I heard the popular routes sell out pretty fast. Also damn they built up the network fast. I remember going for the 2008 Olympics and the network was nothing at all like it is now.
There’s been a lot of change even in just the past 10 years. I first went in 1999. The development is amazing. I guess there’s some minor frustrations too. You used to be able to stroll into Tiananmen Square whenever you felt like it, at any time of day. A few years ago someone rammed a vehicle into the crowd so now you have to go through a security and ID check to enter a protected area. You also need a reservation beforehand.
How difficult is it without speaking Mandarin? I do so I feel like I’m not really in tune with that experience.
woah, you're an airline pilot? That's amazing, I love flying!
The trains are amazing, they are always on time and well organized, the tickets I got through trip.com easily and you just show your passport at the gate to be let in. The only route so far that was really packed was the HK to Guilin route, but all the other ones were easy to get and they have so many of them all through the day, I truly am amazed by the rail network here!
It hasn't been too difficult not speaking the language, the people here use an app that they talk into and it translates for them and I use the same thing in the alipay app. Everyone is really nice and friendly and willing to wait patiently while we figure out communications lol.
Yeah. It’s fun! Especially with a union that actually does things
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Also, trains, on time? Unheard of in burgerland. Contrast with the hours-long Amtrak slog from New York to DC getting passed by bikes half the time.
And I can’t imagine an American taking their time with a foreigner who doesn’t speak the language.
A comment as to the food: there used to be a chain in Beijing and Shanghai called Element Fresh that served vegan options, but they shut down in 2022 due to COVID. But if you’re going to be in Beijing I would still try the Sanlitun area, it’s a cosmopolitan-type place and there’s a decent chance you could find something there.