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are you talking also about Paris, London or NYC? All with crowds, bad air quality and high price.
Naturally, the more attractive a city is, the more crowds you will see.
Even on a bad day in LA - which has worse smog than London, Paris, or NYC - I could see from my rooftop in Beverly Hills all the way to the skyscrapers in Downtown LA, which was about ten miles.
On a bad day in Guangzhou, I can't see the IFC tower, which is about a kilometer from my apartment. It's not uncommon that I can't see the Canton Tower which is another couple kilometers or so away further and lit up.
The first time I flew into Shanghai, I couldn't see the terminal from my window when we landed and couldn't see terminal 1 from terminal 2 after I got off.
Let's not sugarcoat it, Shanghai's pollution is legendary.
To answer your original question though, I think Shanghai is already a fairly major tourist destination. Ten years ago, if you said "China" the first city that popped into mind was Beijing, with images of pandas and people wearing army fatigues and riding bikes, now it's Shanghai, with images of expensive cars and women in pencil skirts and diamonds. It's long held a place in the Western psyche and is known to be a cosmopolitan city with great nightlife. I knew more people in the US who had been to Shanghai than anywhere else in China; same with most of the people I met from Europe or Australia.
^Because nobody is allowed to criticize Shanghai in OP's book.
Btw I do doubt that list of annual tourists number,there's no way that Taipei is ranked higher than Beijing.Taipei doesn't reallly have that many things to offer for tourists and it's by no means an economic center either.Not to mention how ridiculously inconvenient it is for tourists to get into town from our ugly and poorly-managed airport.
I have never been to Beijing but despite the notorious air pollution and the disgusting big ass portrait of Mao,it seems like a fascinating tourists destination.I don't have to name many,just the Forbidden city is more worth seeing than the entire Taipei imo.
Never had the urge to visit any of the mainland Chinese cities, because of the pollution.
The only places I would visit are Hong Kong and Taipei, well... and maybe the panda resort to look at the cute bears.
Maybe off topic, one of my friends studied in Beijing and her Russian roommate went missing.
Days later they found her dead body, with all the organs missing. The media did not report on the incident.
After hearing that I have decided that I will never set foot in mainland China, for at least another decade.
Never had the urge to visit any of the mainland Chinese cities, because of the pollution.
The only places I would visit are Hong Kong and Taipei, well... and maybe the panda resort to look at the cute bears.
Maybe off topic, one of my friends studied in Beijing and her Russian roommate went missing.
Days later they found her dead body, with all the organs missing. The media did not report on the incident.
After hearing that I have decided that I will never set foot in mainland China, for at least another decade.
If one applies the same logic, no foreigners should ever visit an American city either, right?
If one applies the same logic, no foreigners should ever visit an American city either, right?
True. But at least you hear about the shootings in the US media.
I don't think foreign students disappear and have their organs harvested in Boston or New York, and not make news.
True. But at least you hear about the shootings in the US media.
I don't think foreign students disappear and have their organs harvested in Boston or New York, and not make news.
That is disturbing too.
Isn't the fact that you can read about this the difference?
And my friend who finished her study in Beijing says she feels safer in American cities.
Can't speak for myself, never been to China.
That is disturbing too.
Isn't the fact that you can read about this the difference?
And my friend who finished her study in Beijing says she feels safer in American cities.
Can't speak for myself, never been to China.
I have lived in both countries, and I can safely say in terms of big cities, Chinese ones are a lot safer.
Chinese cities have a lot of petty crimes such as pocketpicking and online/phone scams, but in terms of violent crime, it can't be compared with America. However Chinese society nowadays lacks any genuine trust between people, and people seem to be capable of doing anything for money and therefore they simply stopped trusting each other. This is one of the most plaguing problem for the country.
The US is generally safe in the countryside, suburbs and small towns, but its major cities have a lot of crimes. Cities like Chicago, Philadelphia, Washington DC, not to mention Detroit, New Orleans have 10 times more violent crimes than other western countries such as Europe and Canada. I used to have a student in the US who suddenly stopped showing up in class and a week later, it was discovered he was shot in downtown LA. I attended his memorial myself. 20 years old with great personality. No one knows what exactly happened.
Last edited by botticelli; 05-07-2014 at 01:33 PM..
Sorry to hear about your student, such a loss.
Guns should be banned everywhere, period.
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