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Even when you fly in across the city it just looks like a 3rd world city with some modern buildings mixed in. Maybe I'm a bit of a "developed world" snob in that regard, I see all the cities in China like this, there are some modern parts of course but so many of them are just so depressing in how run down so much of them are, or how spartan so many buildings and homes are- but Beijing was much worse in this regard from what little I saw.
You should try some other third-world countries and then will realize how good China is, compared to them.
When I was in Cairo, Egypt, I felt I lived in China of 1980s.
Even some European countries have a strong "third-world" atmosphere.
lol @ Betta. Chinese don't use Weibo because they don't want to speak English; Facebook has Mandarin support and everyone in Taiwan uses it (none of them use Whatbo or whatever lame knockoffs are approved by The Party); they use it because the government controls the media. Sure, The Party line is that Chinese use Chinese products because they're Chinese, but the truth is that The Party forces the population to use these inferior products that they control because they're afraid of the people. Chinese online presence will always be hobbled by this practice, because Chinese make up less than 1/3 of the online world, so they'll always be in a stern chase with regards to the free media innovations of the rest of the world.
Oh, I heard Tudo used to be great for watching streaming Mandarin-subtitled illegal copies of western movies, but that's been cracked down on, I hear.
I agree with you that the "3rd World" statements were over the top. Beijing is a pretty cosmopolitan place for the most part. It's pretty much a paradise of high technology and comfortable living compared to, say, Delhi.
Last edited by sponger42; 02-01-2013 at 08:01 AM..
Reason: More info
lol @ Betta. Chinese don't use Weibo because they don't want to speak English; Facebook has Mandarin support and everyone in Taiwan uses it (none of them use Whatbo or whatever lame knockoffs are approved by The Party); they use it because the government controls the media. Sure, The Party line is that Chinese use Chinese products because they're Chinese, but the truth is that The Party forces the population to use these inferior products that they control because they're afraid of the people. Chinese online presence will always be hobbled by this practice, because Chinese make up less than 1/3 of the online world, so they'll always be in a stern chase with regards to the free media innovations of the rest of the world.
Oh, I heard Tudo used to be great for watching streaming Mandarin-subtitled illegal copies of western movies, but that's been cracked down on, I hear.
I agree with you that the "3rd World" statements were over the top. Beijing is a pretty cosmopolitan place for the most part. It's pretty much a paradise of high technology and comfortable living compared to, say, Delhi.
There's no doubt China government controls the media and blocks facebook and youtube, for example.
However, you also need to realize the fact that the Chinese substitutes of those things are actually VERY GOOD. You heard of QQ? It copied ICQ at the very beginning, but now it is the best IM tool in the world, I would say. Of course people out of China don't use them often.
So there are two sides here: (1) China blocks some social media (2) China develops its own social media, with very good quality.
(2) China develops its own social media, with very good quality.
If it's good quality, why don't Mandarin users outside of China (Taiwan, Chinese Malaysians, Chinese Expats in the US) use these systems? There's a LOT more Mandarin users on these Chinese networks, than there are on the external social media, yet Mandarin users who have a choice universally ignore the Chinese systems.
If it's good quality, why don't Mandarin users outside of China (Taiwan, Chinese Malaysians, Chinese Expats in the US) use these systems? There's a LOT more Mandarin users on these Chinese networks, than there are on the external social media, yet Mandarin users who have a choice universally ignore the Chinese systems.
That last part isn't wholly true though. Facebook is by far more popular than any of the China-developed stuff, but baidu and sina weibo definitely get usage outside the mainland. I don't understand where you got that bit of info.
As for why people don't use it, it's probably because China is generally late to the party so by the time China has internally developed a good facsimile, the original its based off of probably has already gotten a good lot of traction and a big userbase doing mostly the same thing so with little incentive to switch.
If it's good quality, why don't Mandarin users outside of China (Taiwan, Chinese Malaysians, Chinese Expats in the US) use these systems? There's a LOT more Mandarin users on these Chinese networks, than there are on the external social media, yet Mandarin users who have a choice universally ignore the Chinese systems.
People use them only if they are interested in contacting people in China, because the vast majority of the users are from China. So some Taiwanese do use Sina Weibo and QQ, but many others don't.
The videos on youku and tudou are mostly about China too, so outsiders may not be interested.
It's no secret that some Taiwanese "hate" mainland Chinese and refuse to use anything from there, too.
In addition, mainland Chinese use simplified characters but people in Taiwan and Hong Kong use traditional characters. Although the software can translate that easily, some nuances in terminology and grammar are still there.
Last edited by Bettafish; 02-01-2013 at 12:51 PM..
People use them only if they are interested in contacting people in China, because the vast majority of the users are from China. So some Taiwanese do use Sina Weibo and QQ, but many others don't.
The videos on youku and tudou are mostly about China too, so outsiders may not be interested.
It's no secret that some Taiwanese "hate" mainland Chinese and refuse to use anything from there, too.
In addition, mainland Chinese use simplified characters but people in Taiwan and Hong Kong use traditional characters. Although the software can translate that easily, some nuances in terminology and grammar are still there.
I'm pretty sure the existing userbase and traction thing probably goes a lot further in explaining things in Taiwan than most other factors including hatred for/fear of mainland Chinese products.
Does anyone else find a greater number of rude/gruff people in Beijing than in other cities?
Last edited by OyCrumbler; 02-01-2013 at 02:48 PM..
I'm pretty sure the existing userbase and traction thing probably goes a lot further in explaining things in Taiwan than most other factors including hatred for/fear of mainland Chinese products.
Does anyone else find a greater number of rude/gruff people in Beijing than in other cities?
Trimac20, you honestly answered your own question as to why most do not care for Beijing.
The city of Beijing is dirty and the air pollution reaches dangerous levels. I have not even mentioned the fact it's located in China, which means Beijing is second world and communist.
Hong Kong is the best choice for a traveler wanting to get a taste of Chinese culture and it can be accomplished in a first world environment without wearing a mask.
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