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Visited Guangzhou in 2005 while I was in Hong Kong for business. I took the KCR Train into China form Hong Kong and could recognize immediately when we crossed into Mainland China (my cell phone carrier started to roam with a different carrier and I could see somewhat of a formal border designation).
A colleague of mine met me at the train station and we took a taxi to the hotel (very nice 5 star hotel at a great price).
Nothing really stood out for me, except good food and how fancy the hotel was (flat screen TV, gold finishing in the bathroom, large sized room) for the price. I also saw some Western tourists (from New York) and also European tourists around my area.
Yes, Chengdu and Chongqing. When I was a single man, and visited Chengdu, I was absolutely surprised. I didn't think beauty could be that condensed.
Previous to visiting Chengdu, I didn't really think Chinese could hold a candle in the beauty department to Korean of Vietnamese. But Chengdu certainly stood out.
South East Asian women are really unattractive, imo. Especially Vietnamese. They have a very pre historic look to them. They can't hold a candle to Chinese or Koreans.
I've lived in Shanghai for 10 years and in 2012 moved to Guangzhou and I have to say its was a nice change. Guangzhou weather is great in the winter, yet the summers (like most of China) are brutally hot. Guangzhou is hit or miss as some neighborhoods are run down and ugly looking why others (Tianhe) have brand new sky scrappers and Starbucks at every corner. Guangzhou (Formerly known as Canton) has great food (Cantonese food) might be the best in China. A train to Hong Kong is about 3 hours and its a nice escape from the mainland.
In the 1980s and 1990s, Guangzhou offered much better salaries than inland cities, which attracted many young people. Nowadays, such an advantage is not prominent.
Kunming probably has the best weather among major cities in China. In the winter, the highs are around 15 C; and in the summer, the highs are around 25 C. It has much more sunshine than either Guangzhou or Shanghai.
For those of you who have been to Guangzhou... how do you like it? How do you think it'd be for a (white) foreigner living there? I have a friend who taught English over there with a major company and is now in charge of their HR department; he told me he can get a me a job with good placement and has told me what a blast it is... but, he's also told me how isolated he feels with no American friends, so I get the feeling that some of what he's saying is just to get me to go over there.
For those of you who have been to Guangzhou... how do you like it? How do you think it'd be for a (white) foreigner living there? I have a friend who taught English over there with a major company and is now in charge of their HR department; he told me he can get a me a job with good placement and has told me what a blast it is... but, he's also told me how isolated he feels with no American friends, so I get the feeling that some of what he's saying is just to get me to go over there.
I'm of the opinion Guangzhou's great, but I'm Asian and can speak Mandarin and make gibberish Cantonese. I'm a bit surprised that your friend said he has no American friends since I noticed most expats generally stuck to the same areas so they were all condensed and saw each other all the time (and often dated each other almost incestuously). In Guangzhou, it's mostly Zhujiang New Town/Tianhe district--maybe ask your friend if the workplace is anywhere there since it's possible he's living/working way out of the center (Guangzhou's physical boundaries are huge). Landing with a secure (not fake) job could be pretty great and it's a pretty good adventure as well a great jumping off point to visit the rest of China, Hong Kong, and Southeast Asia (and maybe South Asia as well).
Last edited by OyCrumbler; 01-29-2013 at 03:30 AM..
I'm a bit surprised that your friend said he has no American friends since I noticed most expats generally stuck to the same areas so they were all condensed and saw each other all the time
As a long-term expat in Asia, I agree.
If you're a foreigner in Asia, your world in every city becomes very small. You get to know other foreigners amazingly quickly. You make friends extremely quickly and easily as well.
But, it sounds like that other guy is just looking for another friend to join in on his fun.
For those of you who have been to Guangzhou... how do you like it? How do you think it'd be for a (white) foreigner living there? I have a friend who taught English over there with a major company and is now in charge of their HR department; he told me he can get a me a job with good placement and has told me what a blast it is... but, he's also told me how isolated he feels with no American friends, so I get the feeling that some of what he's saying is just to get me to go over there.
I have been there three times, the most recent being a year ago. Personally I like the "developed world" lifestyle if that makes any sense so I did not like Guangzhou very much. From a distance on post cards you see a lot of gleaming skyscrapers and think it looks so modern, but on the street level it is very run down and cruddy looking across so much of the city, with a few pockets here and there that are actually nice and modern, developed looking. Basically you are well aware in most places you go that you are still in the develop-ING world, a place that still has quite a ways to go. Exciting to visit for sure because it's so different, but I could never imagine having to live there.
On a positive note, the people there seem to be much friendlier and more low-key than they are in Beijing (extremely rude and pushy in Beijing from my experience). Also I have to disagree a bit with what another poster mentioned, I think the women in Guangzhou are very beautiful. (not that this has much affect on whether it's a good place to live, but just saying
Also I have to disagree a bit with what another poster mentioned, I think the women in Guangzhou are very beautiful. (not that this has much affect on whether it's a good place to live, but just saying
Many women in Guangzhou are actually from Hunan, Sichuan and Jiangxi etc.
Anyway, western people seem to have a different "taste" on Chinese women. All Chinese men I know consider Lucy Liu very ugly, for example, but she is a Hollywood star. Chinese men do not seem to like sharp facial features, not to mention dark skin.
This is from the forum on shanghaiexpat.com
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by JasUK » Mon Jun 27, 2011 11:23 am
The girls in the office seems to say why foreginers go out with so ugly chinese girls. I think Lucy Liu is drop dead gorgeous but Chinese think she is ugly!!!! I just wish there were more ugly girls like Lucy Liu about i would not mind dating someone who is hideously ugly like her.
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