I’ve been living in China since 2018. Four years in Shanghai and one year in Changzhou. And in that time I visited many cities. Overall I will say that all the cities in China are very clean orderly and safe.
@funnymudpee-tf3dg In contrast, we will put portable loos on the streets, distribute free tents, decriminalize drugs, set up needle exchange programs and build safe injecting rooms. This is a lose-lose American wisdom.
@funnymudpee-tf3dg Actually it's not precisely going on like what you said.The project to clean the diffrent region of a city wiil be provide to some labor companies, and these companies will recruit some old unemployed people to finish the job. And, please remember that, we Chinese citizens do not discriminate against cleaners. we regard them as unsung heroes in a sense.
For me the best way to get to know about China is to come to China and to see China by yourself instead of listen from other people or mainstream media. I was so shocked by what I witnessed in China. I was shocked by how different it is from what I heard and told by mainstream in the U.S. I felt that the U.S. is not as modern as China is. So many positive surprises have given me pleasant feel about the country and made me felt that I have been cheated by the mainstream media in the U.S.
If possible, you can go to some new cities to take a look. Beijing is considered relatively dilapidated in the current Chinese environment because it developed too early. If you go to the suburbs, you will clearly find that technology and modernity are stronger than those in the city center. Now Beijing is working hard to replace old equipment in the central area.
In Shanghai, a lady lost her loose diamonds on the street, the police were able to retrieve those tiny diamonds from some street cleaner’s trash cart a couple of hours later. thanks to those cameras that can be used for lost and found as well.
Beijing is always my favorite city in China, visited 15 times since 1992! Planning another visit early next year. You really get the old and new architectures, so beautiful!
I first came to Nanning China in 2006. Spent 2 short weeks here and knew that this is where I would retire. Finally in 2009 I got to retire and moved to Guilin China and have lived in this wonderful country since. I had to laugh when you spoke of the people sneaking photos. When I first got here it happened to me a lot. When I caught them I would smile, face them, and put up my 2 fingers like the victory sign. They would generally laugh and run away. Great memories.
@@GooseGander I read but it was a few years ago that the Chinese government put in place a system that allowed foreigners to live their retirement in China but was it only for foreigners married to Chinese I do not wonder remember.
Love how the parks in Beijing are full of older people dancing and being active. Parks here in the US are overrun with homeless, drug addicts and irresponsible dog walkers.
@@junyin5950 I heard some playing '80s British pop music one time, which was surreal. I took a video...One Way Ticket, by Boney M. I wonder if they ever imagined such a thing when the performed it.
I wouldn't put them on a pedestal. China does have its a-holes. No culture is without people who have daily stress, problems, lack of judgement, impatience, etc and may have victimized another person in someway.
I imagine any pothole and cracks cannot be tolerated it’s a priority for them to get fix rework or patch up. Cleanses is the key for millions of people that are sharing the same streets with you.
In fact, there will be cracks and potholes, but when they appear, you can call the relevant management department, and someone will deal with them the next day
I am white. I have had people in Shanghai want photos with me. I thought it was a scam but it was just local tourists from other areas of China where there wasn’t any white people.
Had an opposite experience in Egypt at Giza plateau. Two young men came up asking to take selfie with me with great pyramids at the back. I. I thought that was a nice and friendly gesture until they started asking for money after that. Let’s just say I learned my lesson after that
@@rogerw830 lmfaooooo had the same in Rome lol mfs tried to 'sell' me shit too by shoving shit in my bag then said I owe them a certain amount of euros
5:25 This guy is actually not a security guy riding a bike, but professional driver who provides driving services at night for those person who drove to the restaurant, drank too much alcohol and were not able to drive themselves home. So they hired the professional driver to drive them home. In the video, this guy was likely going to serve the next guest wearing reflective vest to protect himself in the late night.
Those are surrogate drivers. They usually ride a foldable bike or scooter to their customers and then drive their cars to their homes for them when they have had too much alcohol. This is because China now has very tough laws against drunken driving. If you get nabbed for driving under influence, you go to jail and you lose your license.
What surprised me is that, it’s year 2023 already, with all those open source information on the internet, people in USA still have the image of China that Sly has. It’s amazing how close minded and under informed the US people are, as the most advance IT country on earth.
Are there many cameras in China? Maybe, I read a document saying that the density of cameras in London is the same as that in Beijing. If only installing a lot of cameras can stop crime, then the problem of crime will not be a problem. Besides, many small cities in China don’t have many cameras installed. But just as safe. Cameras with different functions are installed by different departments of the Chinese government. There are cameras installed by the traffic department to manage traffic conditions, cameras installed by the fire department to monitor whether the fire exits are occupied, and municipal departments to manage municipal facilities and The cameras that are maintained, and there are many cameras installed privately in shops on the street, these cameras can of course be called if the police feel the need, which is the same as in any country.
Two cities with lots of cameras ... one is super clean, no graffiti and totally safe - while the other is dirty, covered in graffiti and unsafe after the transit system stops. I'll let you figure-out which city is which. (LOL)
The tidiness of the city has nothing to do with the cameras. 15 years ago, Chinese cities were always criticized for not being clean by visitors from developed countries and developing countries. As the economy of China progresses, the citizens’ awareness of tidiness is also increasing. In addition, all governments, including central, provincial, city level, town level, implemented the Patriotic Hygiene Movement throughly all year long and all city government employed thousands of cleaning workers on the street everyday to keep the streets clean. After all these years improvement, Chinese cities are kept clean everywhere. The cameras on the street are mainly for providing video evidences for traffic accidents, traffic rules violations, crimes, etc.
Most Western tourists thought Beijing was like New Dehli, with crowds everywhere, full of poverty, pollution, and crime. However, after they went there, they always had a 180-degree turn in their minds😂 This is the difference between China and India. After visiting one Chinese city, you want to explore more; after visiting one Indian city, you just want to go home😂
I don’t recommend the railways system either... 😢 Let’s face it, India is Corruption at the top level, Railway bosses rather not pay for upgrading the old & falling apart Rails Networks, its profit V life’s...& we know who WON... Modi won’t do a thing, because he’s paid by the same ELITES few % who really runs the country 🙄
@@armamentarmedarm1699 its not good to laugh at India, its a good place to visit too. but Chinese cities were never that dirty, in the old days, some were dusty, old, lack maintenance, but never dirty, at least after PRC established.
Great video, I have lived over the world and now in China for over 10 years, China is by far the safest country I have lived in, nobody will touch even a woman walking home in the middle of the night. And clean, most cities in China are super clean, they constantly clean where ever you go. I hope you are visiting other cities in China and not stay in Beijing. Shanghai and some other cities will blow your mind. Beijing is not reflecting how modern and advanced China is compare to most of the world.
Well, the Tangshan video shows crimes are not at zero level, as you say. The UN statistics for murders sent by China government are : from 1.02 to 0.53 x 100.000. Japan is at 0,26 x 100.000.
@@peppermint210 I actually know someone who was murdered in Beijing. People would be surprised if they knew about all the crime happening around them. It really depends on whether or not the government or media tells people about it. If you aren't involved in crime, you would have no idea it is happening. I personally don't think it is important to inform the public, unless its about someone who was caught that is being harshly punished to deter crime
Sly, have you ever been to Zone 798 in Beijing? It is an amazing art precinct occupying what once used to be a huge conglomerate of electronics factories, some of them built in the German Bauhaus style. If you are into modern art, this would make an interesting video, there is much to see there!
I am honestly a bit confused how anyone in the year 2023 would think that Beijing was dirty, loud and underdeveloped. Even if you have never seen it, the prevailing conversation is always about how modern the place is. This is the first time I've heard the opposite.
Even when I was there the first time in 1994, Beijing wasn't dirty and unsafe. Definitely clear blue sky, everyday. The most significant changes are no bike lanes and clean public toilets with doors.
I’m not from the USA but I still think like that. No offence intended, just what my (wrong) impression over the years. I’m going to Beijing later this year to experience it myself. Can’t wait ❤
Whenever I see you talk about "7 things no one told you" about a place I know you are about to leave for another city or country. However, I have really enjoyed your Beijing's Vlogs, a lot! Thank you very much, sir. You are the best!
Spitting is also considered as rude and uncivilized in China. China has progressed very rapidly in the past 40 years from a poor country so many people still keep the old habit. It is easier to transform the infrastructure but it takes generations to get rid of bad human behavior. The good thing is that younger generation are much more civilized.
I believe China is a pretty safe country. From my experience, I visited different Chinese cities a number of times in the 1970s (during the Cultural Revolution) where there was not even a single CCTV camera then. As a young man, I could walk almost anywhere at any time without the fear that something bad might happen to me. So in my opinion, it is not the cctv cameras that are keeping you safe but the respect for the law and the importance in the Chinese culture to maintain harmony. I live in a country where the capital city is full of cctvs (probably more than Beijing per Capita) yet all kinds of crime including stabbings and gang clashes are almost a daily occurr ence. So if cctv prevents crime, such a place where I live should in theory be almost crime free but sadly it is not so. That said, I enjoy your video and look forward to more.
Those people you called security in late night are parttime driver(Drunk people were not allowed to drive so they hire these people to drive them home).
When you walk on the streets of Beijing, please pay attention to the stone-paved road under your feet. It is possible that each stone has a history of several thousand years.
some of the bricks have the worker’s name or supervisor’s name and factory’s name on them, because of the QA stamp system the ancient Chinese government had thousands of years ago
@@DaddyBear205indeed! I found these seals and stone carvings on the floors of ancient city walls in many places. Apart from the time when the bricks were made, some were made by manufacturing institutions, individual craftsmen, and more commonly made in the name of a certain village or block.
Hey Sly! I'm an American studying at Tsinghua University, Chinas best and most beautiful University! I speak a basic level of Mandarin, if you want to come see the campus this or next week I'd be down to show you around! Reply to the message if you want to come over, and we'll figure out how to exchange info. We can just add our wechats!
Great footage. I learned a lot about China from this beautiful footage. Keep doing the great job. I am from South Africa and will like my country to have law and order like China. Beautiful Video.
You are half right about the spitting thing, it is an “old habit”, but it is something the government absolutely opposes, one of the first thing Chinese kids learn at school is not to spit in public. In fact, spitting was the main cause of tuberculosis in China decades ago. I just hope the habit could die out quickly.
Interesting observation. Your comment about tourists from other parts of China reminds me of New York City. On most days, tourists out numbers the locals. Some of them are Americans from other states. Of course, since the Chinese population is four times that of America, there would be more Chinese tourists visiting Beijing. For them, Beijing is not only the capital, it is also history lessons.
Why don't people talk about the gun crimes in USA when they discuss so-called safety in China? WTF, how dare a black make comments about safety given most Americans never go to a black community especially at night. It's cliché and disgusting to use safety as a gimmick to talk about China, because China is safer than 80% of countries on earth.
@@IwasUnknownUser I lived on 122nd St and I worked in west Harlem. I'm a white guy and I wasn't there back in the days of the crack epidemic, but I've never felt nervous in that predominantly black section of NYC even in the middle of the night. Gun violence is a real problem everywhere in the United States and, considering our legal structure, it probably will be for the foreseeable future. I've been to Beijing and from what I saw it is both a cleaner and safer city than New York, but I didn't find New York to be dirty or dangerous, especially when compared to other American cities. And I certainly don't think that a community being predominantly black makes it inherently dangerous.
@@alanfriesen9837 Why don't you move to a black community? I am not interested in your American political correctness to depict Negro as a special group, your country has statistics to show crime rate of each ethnic group, I have Jewish classmate and I know one thing for sure, if a white lives in a black community because you are poor white, and rich or affluent blacks never live in black-dominated community, let them explain to you, I have no patience with you.
There are many nicely preserved and charming ancient cities all over China, each with its characteristics, such as Wuzhen, Lijiang, Dali, Pingyao, Phoenix Town, Furong, etc. Walk East YT channel has some of them.
@@gmanlee575 Guangdong is a province. I am not aware of ancient towns in Guangdong. In that province, Shenzhen, Guangzhou, Zhuhai are nice but they are modern cities in general, maybe with some preserved ancient streets.
I love all your videos on Beijing Sly. Very informative and objective, and clearly you approached city with an open mind without any preconceived biases. I’ve been to many cities in China in the course of business travel, and I’m with you, I prefer Beijing to Shanghai - but I know I’m in the minority on that one.
I remember i saw an interview yrs ago, an American is complaining people in china spitting, and the chinese guy confused and ask 'so what u gonna do when u feel something in your throat and u want to spit?' And the American answer 'u swallow it' and the chinese was like😮, and said 'that's disgusting, that's uncivilized and unhygienic' so... Yea it's a culture difference i guess.
No, as a Chinese I can tell you that the clearing the throat mucus isn’t that acceptable. But it’s hard to change the older generation behaviours, I guess it will get better maybe after 20 year or so.
When you visit other cities in China, you will find that the modernization level of other cities is similar to Beijing, but the style may be different. I look forward to visiting some natural landscape, such as Jiuzhaigou 😉
So a little backstory. My parents adopted my sister and I when we were babies. When we were 12 and 11 my parents took us back for a orphanage trip. And as you mentioned we got a lot of stares, especially when we were in smaller cities/towns. I remember one time we were at this small restaurant and these boys probably around the ages of 7-10 were just starring at my mom. They probably hadn't seen too many white women in their lives. We could see them creeping around the kitchen door trying to get a glimpse of my parents (both white). Your comment about starring made me remember this! Another short story is from a different trip I took to China when I was 17, without my parents, and we ended up going to Starbucks frequently and the cashiers were so baffled when a bunch of Chinese looking people started to speak English 😂
I see comments noticing that you may leave Beijing, but I just want to remind you that Beijing is a really big city, you also have lots of places that can visit, welcome you back to Beijing sometime. And If you like historical cities, there are many thousand-year-old cities in China waiting for you to explore.
Local Beijingers probably are not willing to do such work, they are more like to enjoy the life they already have. Just like in US, there are a lot of jobs people don't want to do. This might be why there are a lot of non-Beijingers you saw or met in Beijing.
I’ve seen people spitting at bus stops in Chicago for a few times. On the ground, especially around bus stops, there are a lot of round black spots. I was always wondering what those are and if those were peoples spitting, frozen on the ground because of the cold weather…
Japan not quite the same anymore depends on where you travel to. Influx on Koreans into the Yakuza ruined the unspoken 'rules' there. Places like Shibuya became quite rough at times
in 2012 I went to San Fransisco for a weekend, I saw African American guy just literally peeing on the pavement street (not in the bush or along the trees), along with the parked cars. That's cultural shocking.
Seemed like an honest opinion of the city; the use (or overuse) of the term "relatively safe" make me think that it's not really that 'safe' - lack of context for 'relative'!
It’s safe because of the cameras and you’re absolutely right 😂 I don’t think any people are different,we are all the same,the difference is how government protects us and punish the criminals. If you have another week in Beijing, I suggest you go to the museum and theatre,Chinese tradition music and clothing are very unique,wish you like it.
London has most numerous public cameras in this planet and also the first city installed cameras in this world, you can’t see CNN reports them but only focus on China, why ? Americans anti China propaganda
Hey, that guy in uniform riding bike in the middle of the night is not security 😅 he is a Daijia, he took orders online for driving folks vehicle back home, cause caught by police driving after drinking is serious deal and can end up in jail.
I want to ask an inappropriate question, which one do you think is more dangerous, an old man who spits or a homeless man who injects drugs? Which do you think is more civilized?
Personally, as an American, I think a little bit too much is made of the spitting. I mean old people or country people, are probably a lot more alike than you think all over the world. Defected American cities are uninhabitable . Is a different thing. They are in the middle of destroying the United States, and this is just a symptom.
It's not possible to be unsafe in Beijing. It's the capital of the country. It may not be the same in US but Chinese politicians take pride running their country in a prosperous way.
All fair points. The spitting used to be even worse, but almost never happened during the pandemic - really since SARS-1 - and has been getting less and less common. It isn't really considered acceptable among Chinese even but is really phasing out a the generations pass. It used to be that parents would have their kids pee and poo in the streets, but that has become unacceptable over the past several years, so things can change really quickly. You're lucky you didn't have to experience that. Iinm, there was a program by the government to radically improve public toilets across the country so perhaps that helped a lot too. They used to be really bad but the government works for the people all over.
All fair observations. He's going through the process from unbelieving to believing in the fact that the socialistic China can actually improve people's lives keeping them safe and driving prosperity.
Living in Beijing for more than 15 years, I have never been to hot tourist attractions like the Summer Palace or the Forbidden City. Because they are full of tourists when I'm on vacation. LOL. But I still have visited many places. I would say the national museum is always worth visiting. And there are also some very old tourist attractions that are now used as free parks, like the Temple of the Sun (日坛，Ri (the fourth tone) Tan (the second tone)).
Hey bro, love the vids as I lived in Beijing for 5 years in probably one of the most exciting times for Beijing! I literally witnessed ( in 5 years ) the development of it!. One thing I would say is…. You been there a lot longer than needed! You need to get yourself out to yuanan province . I spent a few weeks out there from the south up to the far north west ! Look into itineraries from kunming to Yu beng village ! I been all over the world and I think that was myself and my wives favorite trips
@@constantineding8700 China is big so everywhere is a long way ! Like I said me and my wife traveled near on everywhere in China and for me the Yunnan province had a he biggest impact as a traveler! That’s why I suggested it! The hardest challenges yield the biggest rewards ! Just couldn’t imagine traveling to China and spending so long in BJ ! I lived there ( and as much as I love Bj) everything can be done within a couple of days!
@@constantineding8700 in a nutshell … China has so more to offer than BJ ! This you tubers videos are great none the less ! Thanks for a glimps into how my one of my favorite cities in the world is keeping
@@urbanroots84tt45 For that I agree. Beijing has a lot of historic sites but speaking of natural beauty what it can offer is very limited. Have you visited Jiu Zhai Valley and Zhang Jia Jie? These two places are like heavens... But never try to go there on national holidays to avoid being jammed with too many tourists...
Regarding the issue of spitting, it generally occurs among middle-aged and elderly people over 50 years old. This is because China has developed too rapidly, and when these people were young, their surroundings were purely natural with many dirt roads. At that time, it was a habit to spit directly when their throats were uncomfortable. However, as they grew older, the whole society has transformed into an era of reinforced concrete and asphalt, and the habit has already formed, making it difficult to change.
Spitting usually happens to elder people. A lot of them smoked when they were young, in addition the country was badly air polluted decades ago. So, they've developed some kind of habit and chronic disease with their throat.
Chinese native here， younger generations definitely hate the spitting in public behavior, but it was very common for the older generations, it was just cleaning their throat for them.
It’s so nice of you being extremely patient with those people that full of curiosity and eager to do photos with you, cuz Chinese tend to be shy, lot of them got social anxiety
You are right, China is big and there are 1.4 billion of people, actually every Chinese would like to visit Beijing because it's capital and has been capital for many dynasties, therefore, a lot of history and story related to many locations. Top universities, all big companies headquarters, all top artiest, scientist are all in Beijing, it's so attactive to all Chinese. That's why when you ask an old man or women where they want to visit the most, normally they will say Beijing, that's why you can see a lot of Chinese torist group in Beijing.
Spitting is a kind of cultural thing - they believe they should spit out all internal liquids and having it inside is unhealthy. But yes, that's a nasty habit of them.
02:46 May I respectfully asked how those assumptions about Beijing were formed, given that you'd done minimal research (as you said) and it was your first visit? Those assumptions sound like an accurate description of some of the poorest places in the US. 04:02 In terms of safety, as an American black man you may in fact be safer in Beijing, where you are less likely to be shot than you would be in the US. 05:38 London has a lot of surveillance cameras, especially in the centre. All the major supermarkets put them in the self-service tills like a mirror so you can see your own nasal hair as your buying stuff. 06:29 Beijing is clean. It's a developed 21st century capital city. I've seen good and bad in every European capital I've visited. No joke you can still see rats the size of toy dogs in east London, and in some parts of Paris the smell is pretty bad. 07:08 Spitting is practically an Olympic sport in the UK lol. But to be fair people seem to do it less than they used too. There is still a lot of dogshit on the street though.
Before coming to China, his views on China were not different from other biased Americans with prejudice against China. Prejudice is not inherent but rather a result of long-term education and media propaganda. Many Western media have a low level of professional ethics, and in the terrible false propaganda about the genocide in Xinjiang, the media has reached a new height of shamelessness. In almost every major city in China, you can find restaurants owned by Uyghur people. Uyghur TV hosts, celebrities, basketball players, football players, and others are also very common in China. In the recent men's U20 football match, the Chinese team had several Uyghur players, and in some matches, Uyghur players even scored goals. However, in the reporting of Western media, Uyghurs are portrayed as if they are all locked up in Auschwitz.
@@cchen6522 I guess its good that he is opening his mind and sharing the experience with similarly minded people. TBH its not like the Chinese media is a bastion of free and impartial reporting though lol
@@yongzhu8454 lol, I watched videos on CZcams of driving and walking tours of Cjina. That ity scared me the most. I am afraid of heights 😄. It looks lovely though. I am a fan of Electric vehicles, that's why Shenzhen is the city that interests me. I think Beijing could also be interesting because I saw place that said reggae on one of his videos. He was walking along a waterfront where there was alot of places where singers where performing. I think there was a guy passed out in that bar/restaurant 😄. I am Jamaican living in Ottawa Canada.
I appreciate you for having respect for each countries, for doing basci research on you own. Stay safe, have fun, and I hope you make the most of it. I am Korean, I just guess you are having the most fun in Japan. Anyway I enjoy your videos
This was (in my opinion) your best video from your trip to Beijing! The cameras are there to keep everyone safe ... even those troublemakers that were dancing in the park! You will feel frustrated when you return to the US and see CNN, FOX, NBC and the WSJ painting China as some dystopian police state where people huddle in fear 24/7. The people of Beijing (and most other parts of China) seek safety, stability and prosperity ... something that's abundant when you see families and seniors in the streets and parks.
Once you get passed noticing cameras EVERYWHERE (I'm talking 7-8 of them on each rooftop corner pointed in all directions) and some other things, at least as a foreigner, there's a lot of great things to see and to do. People are pretty friendly and more curious to actually meet a foreigner than the news stories that say Chinese people want to drink your children's blood, etc. I've been fortunate to travel around the country a bit and even a few times I've had people literally cross the street and walk towards me, grab and shake my hand with a smile, and then they keep walking on their way. Pretty friendly for sure! Safety? Much safer than any large city I've ever been in around the US. Women walk the streets at late night by themselves, etc and zero issues. I agree, people need to visit firsthand and make their own conclusions from their own experience. If you go and visit, make sure that you go to the night parks with all of the lights and music!
Went to Beijing in 2012 for summer camp due to my school raising money for select students to go, I had the best time of my life. I truly can't wait to go back now as an adult and see how things may have changed or stayed the same.
Well, Beijing population was under 8 million 20 years ago. Now the size and population tripled, so that 70% of them you encountered on the street are newcomers or migrant workers. Unfortunately the spitting habit come with those people.
A very insightful analysis. If you are interested in history and culture, Beijing and Xi'an are great choices. If you want to experience the nightlife of ordinary Chinese people, you can consider visiting Guangzhou. There are many shops there that don't close at night.
Another likely big reason as to why China is the safest big country by far is it's become largely as cashless society. And yes, East Asian countries are by and large relatively safe to begin with, and China probably tops the list.
I hope you travelled to OTHER CITIES in China, Beijing is part of China, not China though, SO MANY other great cities out there Xianmen, Haikou, Chongqing, Chengdu...and these are just the major ones, peace man.
Honestly and with all respect. It is ignorance what makes people ignore and not bother to truly research and travel. Americans in general have a very poor concept of the whole world cuz most don't travel abroad. those who travel of course aren't close minded nor judgmental. Also, honestly every where around the globbe is safer than the USA where shootings occur even at libraries, churches and metro stations.
Haha, for foreigners, Beijing and Shanghai may be the only cities they know about China, but Chinese people don't like it very much, especially Beijing. People in China prefer southern cities like Suzhou, Hangzhou and Chengdu, which are more suitable for tourism and life, and have better greening.
I’ve been living in China since 2018. Four years in Shanghai and one year in Changzhou. And in that time I visited many cities. Overall I will say that all the cities in China are very clean orderly and safe.
Let me guess, are you from Germany?
Changzhou is my hometown. 😊
@funnymudpee-tf3dg In contrast, we will put portable loos on the streets, distribute free tents, decriminalize drugs, set up needle exchange programs and build safe injecting rooms. This is a lose-lose American wisdom.
welcome to Changzhou where is my hometown 😀
@funnymudpee-tf3dg Actually it's not precisely going on like what you said.The project to clean the diffrent region of a city wiil be provide to some labor companies, and these companies will recruit some old unemployed people to finish the job. And, please remember that, we Chinese citizens do not discriminate against cleaners. we regard them as unsung heroes in a sense.
For me the best way to get to know about China is to come to China and to see China by yourself instead of listen from other people or mainstream media. I was so shocked by what I witnessed in China. I was shocked by how different it is from what I heard and told by mainstream in the U.S. I felt that the U.S. is not as modern as China is. So many positive surprises have given me pleasant feel about the country and made me felt that I have been cheated by the mainstream media in the U.S.
If possible, you can go to some new cities to take a look. Beijing is considered relatively dilapidated in the current Chinese environment because it developed too early. If you go to the suburbs, you will clearly find that technology and modernity are stronger than those in the city center. Now Beijing is working hard to replace old equipment in the central area.
agree
おめでとうございます。西側メディアが織りなす情報の繭を突破することに成功しました。🎉
@@alexeykangrotov2868 what are you saying, sorry.
@@peterwilliams7335idk either... the Google translate is giving me a stroke haha
In Shanghai, a lady lost her loose diamonds on the street, the police were able to retrieve those tiny diamonds from some street cleaner’s trash cart a couple of hours later. thanks to those cameras that can be used for lost and found as well.
Beijing is always my favorite city in China, visited 15 times since 1992! Planning another visit early next year. You really get the old and new architectures, so beautiful!
I will be there soon . Could you pls tell me how do pay for things? What do you get for your phone esim? Sim? Thank you very much
I first came to Nanning China in 2006. Spent 2 short weeks here and knew that this is where I would retire. Finally in 2009 I got to retire and moved to Guilin China and have lived in this wonderful country since. I had to laugh when you spoke of the people sneaking photos. When I first got here it happened to me a lot. When I caught them I would smile, face them, and put up my 2 fingers like the victory sign. They would generally laugh and run away. Great memories.
桂林山水甲天下，您真的很有眼光唉
Curious what visa you are living under to allow you to remain in China for so long.
@@GooseGander I read but it was a few years ago that the Chinese government put in place a system that allowed foreigners to live their retirement in China but was it only for foreigners married to Chinese I do not wonder remember.
Guilin is my hometown
@@GooseGander
I married a Chinese woman so I can get temporary resident visa.
Love how the parks in Beijing are full of older people dancing and being active. Parks here in the US are overrun with homeless, drug addicts and irresponsible dog walkers.
but sometimes their dance music is also too loud😂
They are all old people. Young people can't persuade them. They won't listen🤣
@@yuantian838 They're old music is suppose to be loud
@@junyin5950 I heard some playing '80s British pop music one time, which was surreal. I took a video...One Way Ticket, by Boney M.
I wonder if they ever imagined such a thing when the performed it.
@@yuantian838 they turn up the volume because elderly people are mostly hard of hearing
The more cities in China you visit, the more you would like China and Chinese culture and its people.
I wouldn't put them on a pedestal. China does have its a-holes. No culture is without people who have daily stress, problems, lack of judgement, impatience, etc and may have victimized another person in someway.
@@mbklandmark Sorry for you....I know its not for everyone.
All honest and truthful critics are welcomed. Thank you for your unbiased video.
Are you representing Chinese governments?
@@riot2630 you are a joke
There are no cracks and potholes in major streets in China. Streets are maintained unbelievably well, compared to streets in other countries.
I imagine any pothole and cracks cannot be tolerated it’s a priority for them to get fix rework or patch up. Cleanses is the key for millions of people that are sharing the same streets with you.
And China will keep it that way ! We don’t want far left liberal BS none sense here ! You can keep that in the west. The west is dying
In fact, there will be cracks and potholes, but when they appear, you can call the relevant management department, and someone will deal with them the next day
@@user-iq2ej9er1j 不用打电话啊，他们没隔几个月就会重新翻修。就算道路一点问题也没有，他们也会把路刨开重新修，这是它们捞钱的一个途径
@@phantris2459 那是以前，现在有谁还敢这么干？
I am white. I have had people in Shanghai want photos with me. I thought it was a scam but it was just local tourists from other areas of China where there wasn’t any white people.
In New York City , it was just a scam , I was shocked when they ask me to take photos and ask me money, it is illegal in China
Just like a panda 🐼 see a polar bear 🐻❄️ at the first time 😂
Had an opposite experience in Egypt at Giza plateau. Two young men came up asking to take selfie with me with great pyramids at the back. I. I thought that was a nice and friendly gesture until they started asking for money after that. Let’s just say I learned my lesson after that
@@DaddyBear205 so cute image metaphor🐼🐼🐼🐻❄🐼🐼🐼
@@rogerw830 lmfaooooo had the same in Rome lol mfs tried to 'sell' me shit too by shoving shit in my bag then said I owe them a certain amount of euros
5:25 This guy is actually not a security guy riding a bike, but professional driver who provides driving services at night for those person who drove to the restaurant, drank too much alcohol and were not able to drive themselves home. So they hired the professional driver to drive them home. In the video, this guy was likely going to serve the next guest wearing reflective vest to protect himself in the late night.
designated driver
是的我们叫“代驾”有偿替喝多酒的人把车开回家。非常挣钱，请他们开你的车回家，比打车还贵哈哈！
Those are surrogate drivers. They usually ride a foldable bike or scooter to their customers and then drive their cars to their homes for them when they have had too much alcohol. This is because China now has very tough laws against drunken driving. If you get nabbed for driving under influence, you go to jail and you lose your license.
@@MrSuperunix 比打车贵是应该的：一是夜晚骑行危险；二是开别人的车不熟悉，出事了也更麻烦。
yes, their electric bike is foldable
What surprised me is that, it’s year 2023 already, with all those open source information on the internet, people in USA still have the image of China that Sly has. It’s amazing how close minded and under informed the US people are, as the most advance IT country on earth.
Most people, not limited to people in US, are ignorant and choose to believe in what they want to believe.
The states IT is built by the foreigners now 😂
Quite a number of Americans and Britons are accused of taking money from the Chinese government when they present China in a positive pespective.
That proves the media in the US and the West are super evil.
美国政府在美国人的脑子里树立了一面信息铁幕
Are there many cameras in China? Maybe, I read a document saying that the density of cameras in London is the same as that in Beijing. If only installing a lot of cameras can stop crime, then the problem of crime will not be a problem. Besides, many small cities in China don’t have many cameras installed. But just as safe. Cameras with different functions are installed by different departments of the Chinese government. There are cameras installed by the traffic department to manage traffic conditions, cameras installed by the fire department to monitor whether the fire exits are occupied, and municipal departments to manage municipal facilities and The cameras that are maintained, and there are many cameras installed privately in shops on the street, these cameras can of course be called if the police feel the need, which is the same as in any country.
Two cities with lots of cameras ... one is super clean, no graffiti and totally safe - while the other is dirty, covered in graffiti and unsafe after the transit system stops.
I'll let you figure-out which city is which. (LOL)
The tidiness of the city has nothing to do with the cameras. 15 years ago, Chinese cities were always criticized for not being clean by visitors from developed countries and developing countries. As the economy of China progresses, the citizens’ awareness of tidiness is also increasing. In addition, all governments, including central, provincial, city level, town level, implemented the Patriotic Hygiene Movement throughly all year long and all city government employed thousands of cleaning workers on the street everyday to keep the streets clean. After all these years improvement, Chinese cities are kept clean everywhere.
The cameras on the street are mainly for providing video evidences for traffic accidents, traffic rules violations, crimes, etc.
as a Chinese i can confirm that spitting is a real thing that i hate. normally elder ppl do that. i really hope one day ppl dont do that anymore
😂😂😂thats true everyday i hear people kekeke😢😢😢 make me wanna vomit
@@Lzkhere 在几十年前都是农村，大家都没有认为这是个坏习惯，然后就有很多的上一辈人喜欢这样。年轻一代已经基本没有了。
需要时间，老一代的人已经难以改变，接受更多教育的新生代取代老人的时候，这些不文明现象会有好转
@@Lzkhere Those are uneducated old people who love to split, you also can see old people split in Hong Kong, but not the younger generation anymore.
@@dalaoliu9992 政府应该在电视上宣传教育那些到处吐痰的老头，甚至利用相声等娱乐节目来讽刺他们，这样才让他们知道自己的错。
Most Western tourists thought Beijing was like New Dehli, with crowds everywhere, full of poverty, pollution, and crime. However, after they went there, they always had a 180-degree turn in their minds😂 This is the difference between China and India. After visiting one Chinese city, you want to explore more; after visiting one Indian city, you just want to go home😂
I don’t recommend the railways system either... 😢
Let’s face it, India is Corruption at the top level, Railway bosses rather not pay for upgrading the old & falling apart Rails Networks, its profit V life’s...& we know who WON... Modi won’t do a thing, because he’s paid by the same ELITES few % who really runs the country 🙄
@@armamentarmedarm1699 its not good to laugh at India, its a good place to visit too. but Chinese cities were never that dirty, in the old days, some were dusty, old, lack maintenance, but never dirty, at least after PRC established.
China killed poverty last year, in nationwide level, it took decades of efforts, which wasn't easy.
@alexdeutschina2784 Spitting nation😁
🤣🤣🤣
I'm glad you feel good about China. Thank you for showcasing a true China to the world (as far as I know, most Western media is vilifying China).
你精神不正常
一个美国黑人谈论中国安全不安全
难道他就不问问美国黑人安全不安全吗
几乎没有在晚上去黑人社区
谁都知道黑人社区和黑人聚集区有多不安全
竟然跑到中国谈论安全
这典型的属于卖弄和恶心
Great video, I have lived over the world and now in China for over 10 years, China is by far the safest country I have lived in, nobody will touch even a woman walking home in the middle of the night. And clean, most cities in China are super clean, they constantly clean where ever you go. I hope you are visiting other cities in China and not stay in Beijing. Shanghai and some other cities will blow your mind. Beijing is not reflecting how modern and advanced China is compare to most of the world.
To add about the spitting, that is one bad habit that all foreigners here struggle to get use to.
Well, the Tangshan video shows crimes are not at zero level, as you say.
The UN statistics for murders sent by China government are : from 1.02 to 0.53 x 100.000.
Japan is at 0,26 x 100.000.
@@peppermint210 I actually know someone who was murdered in Beijing. People would be surprised if they knew about all the crime happening around them. It really depends on whether or not the government or media tells people about it. If you aren't involved in crime, you would have no idea it is happening. I personally don't think it is important to inform the public, unless its about someone who was caught that is being harshly punished to deter crime
Sly, have you ever been to Zone 798 in Beijing? It is an amazing art precinct occupying what once used to be a huge conglomerate of electronics factories, some of them built in the German Bauhaus style. If you are into modern art, this would make an interesting video, there is much to see there!
I am honestly a bit confused how anyone in the year 2023 would think that Beijing was dirty, loud and underdeveloped. Even if you have never seen it, the prevailing conversation is always about how modern the place is. This is the first time I've heard the opposite.
I guess you are not from US?
Even when I was there the first time in 1994, Beijing wasn't dirty and unsafe. Definitely clear blue sky, everyday. The most significant changes are no bike lanes and clean public toilets with doors.
I’m not from the USA but I still think like that. No offence intended, just what my (wrong) impression over the years. I’m going to Beijing later this year to experience it myself. Can’t wait ❤
这几十年中国发展太快，城市里的中老年人很多是从农村出来的，他们年轻时候的经济条件很差，在村庄田野也没人在意随地吐痰的事，很难让他们所有人都改掉随地吐痰的坏习惯。中老年人吐痰是让人讨厌但勉强可以理解的，年轻人吐痰还是被大多数人鄙夷的。
Whenever I see you talk about "7 things no one told you" about a place I know you are about to leave for another city or country. However, I have really enjoyed your Beijing's Vlogs, a lot!
Thank you very much, sir. You are the best!
Spitting is also considered as rude and uncivilized in China. China has progressed very rapidly in the past 40 years from a poor country so many people still keep the old habit. It is easier to transform the infrastructure but it takes generations to get rid of bad human behavior. The good thing is that younger generation are much more civilized.
这跟人民的健康息息相关， 如果很多人有鼻炎或呼吸道疾病，咽喉疾病。。那么吐痰是无法避免的。就好比人感冒了，你还能要求对方不要咳嗽吗？ 不能。因为咳嗽是无法主观控制的，正如咽喉有痰一样。。
人民身体健康了，吐痰这事自然就会消失
@@user-in5kc9eu8b they can use tissue 😂
@@user-in5kc9eu8b 很多人是因为老抽烟引起的喉咙不舒服而到处吐痰，政府应该在电视或社区教育这些老头，相声等娱乐节目都可以用来讽刺他们让他们知道自己的错。
@@DaddyBear205 Those uneducated stubborn old men just don't care.
@@LH1xx 我有鼻炎，所以经常有痰，你说我要不要吐？不吐的话鼻塞我呼吸都困难。。近段时间健身鼻炎症状轻了。。就没必要吐痰了。
所以，与其讽刺人民，不如提高人民健康，人民都健康了没痰了，自然也不会吐了
I believe China is a pretty safe country. From my experience, I visited different Chinese cities a number of times in the 1970s (during the Cultural Revolution) where there was not even a single CCTV camera then. As a young man, I could walk almost anywhere at any time without the fear that something bad might happen to me. So in my opinion, it is not the cctv cameras that are keeping you safe but the respect for the law and the importance in the Chinese culture to maintain harmony. I live in a country where the capital city is full of cctvs (probably more than Beijing per Capita) yet all kinds of crime including stabbings and gang clashes are almost a daily occurr
ence. So if cctv prevents crime, such a place where I live should in theory be almost crime free but sadly it is not so.
That said, I enjoy your video and look forward to more.
ロンドナー？
Those people you called security in late night are parttime driver(Drunk people were not allowed to drive so they hire these people to drive them home).
When you walk on the streets of Beijing, please pay attention to the stone-paved road under your feet. It is possible that each stone has a history of several thousand years.
some of the bricks have the worker’s name or supervisor’s name and factory’s name on them, because of the QA stamp system the ancient Chinese government had thousands of years ago
@@DaddyBear205indeed! I found these seals and stone carvings on the floors of ancient city walls in many places. Apart from the time when the bricks were made, some were made by manufacturing institutions, individual craftsmen, and more commonly made in the name of a certain village or block.
Hey Sly! I'm an American studying at Tsinghua University, Chinas best and most beautiful University! I speak a basic level of Mandarin, if you want to come see the campus this or next week I'd be down to show you around! Reply to the message if you want to come over, and we'll figure out how to exchange info. We can just add our wechats!
Great footage. I learned a lot about China from this beautiful footage. Keep doing the great job. I am from South Africa and will like my country to have law and order like China. Beautiful Video.
You are half right about the spitting thing, it is an “old habit”, but it is something the government absolutely opposes, one of the first thing Chinese kids learn at school is not to spit in public. In fact, spitting was the main cause of tuberculosis in China decades ago. I just hope the habit could die out quickly.
是的，我也是长大后突然发现原来大家普遍有这个不好的习惯，这是不对的。在我的上一辈有很多人有这个习惯🤣🤣现在的年轻人不会了。
赞同， 00后出生的这个现象应该会基本消失
@@rocket4433 这跟人民的健康息息相关， 如果很多人有鼻炎或呼吸道疾病，咽喉疾病。。那么吐痰是无法避免的。就好比人感冒了，你还能要求对方不要咳嗽吗？ 不能。因为咳嗽是无法主观控制的，正如咽喉有痰一样。。
人民身体健康了，吐痰这事自然就会消失
They are all old people. Young people can't persuade them. They won't listen
@@user-in5kc9eu8b 咳嗽要带口罩，吐痰要吐在纸巾上扔掉，小学老师都有教～～
Interesting observation.
Your comment about tourists from other parts of China reminds me of New York City.
On most days, tourists out numbers the locals.
Some of them are Americans from other states.
Of course, since the Chinese population is four times that of America, there would be more Chinese tourists visiting Beijing.
For them, Beijing is not only the capital, it is also history lessons.
Why don't people talk about the gun crimes in USA when they discuss so-called safety in China?
WTF, how dare a black make comments about safety given most Americans never go to a black community especially at night.
It's cliché and disgusting to use safety as a gimmick to talk about China, because China is safer than 80% of countries on earth.
@@IwasUnknownUser I lived on 122nd St and I worked in west Harlem. I'm a white guy and I wasn't there back in the days of the crack epidemic, but I've never felt nervous in that predominantly black section of NYC even in the middle of the night. Gun violence is a real problem everywhere in the United States and, considering our legal structure, it probably will be for the foreseeable future. I've been to Beijing and from what I saw it is both a cleaner and safer city than New York, but I didn't find New York to be dirty or dangerous, especially when compared to other American cities. And I certainly don't think that a community being predominantly black makes it inherently dangerous.
@@alanfriesen9837 Why don't you move to a black community?
I am not interested in your American political correctness to depict Negro as a special group, your country has statistics to show crime rate of each ethnic group, I have Jewish classmate and I know one thing for sure, if a white lives in a black community because you are poor white, and rich or affluent blacks never live in black-dominated community, let them explain to you, I have no patience with you.
There are many nicely preserved and charming ancient cities all over China, each with its characteristics, such as Wuzhen, Lijiang, Dali, Pingyao, Phoenix Town, Furong, etc. Walk East YT channel has some of them.
How about guongdong
That is cool to know. I'd like to see some of the ancient architecture.
@@gmanlee575 Guangdong is a province. I am not aware of ancient towns in Guangdong. In that province, Shenzhen, Guangzhou, Zhuhai are nice but they are modern cities in general, maybe with some preserved ancient streets.
Don't forget Zhouzhuang ... it's outside Shanghai
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zhouzhuang
And to add to the list all the ancient water towns
Been coming to China since 2013. Living here for 5 years now. I love Beijing. It’s a incredible city, always to discover
The way to get attention and traffic is to say that China is the most dangerous place in the world, full of violence, killing, dirty...
It is so nice to see a different perspective than the media in the states!
Nice to hear "Beijing" pronounced correctly 😁
that was not security riding at night, hahaha
thats Daijia, someone you can hire to drive your car after you drink somewhere
Good point
请他们开你的车比打Tax都贵！当然你如果被警察抓住酒驾,基本就是坐牢15天还要罚款3000元人民币！
@@MrSuperunix 比打taxi贵很正常啊。。。怎么可能比出租车便宜，人家要赚钱的啊这又不是慈善工作。嫌贵打出租回家改天再来把自己的车开走好了，或者直接不要开车去喝酒。
酒驾是拘留15天吊销驾照半年扣12分。醉驾是要判刑坐牢永久吊销驾照的。看来你对中国法律不太了解哦。何况不要酒驾除了是法律要求之外，也是对自己对社会负责。
I have to say that a so high level of safety is not only because the cameras because 20 and 25 years ago it was really safe without cameras
20年前还有很多骑摩托当街抢劫的，还有晚上去抢劫出租车司机的。摄像头对安全性的提高功不可没。另外还有经济发展，提供了大量就业岗位，也是犯罪减少的重要原因
I think it also has something to do with the culture. People value safety and benefit for society more over individualism
I love all your videos on Beijing Sly. Very informative and objective, and clearly you approached city with an open mind without any preconceived biases. I’ve been to many cities in China in the course of business travel, and I’m with you, I prefer Beijing to Shanghai - but I know I’m in the minority on that one.
I remember i saw an interview yrs ago, an American is complaining people in china spitting, and the chinese guy confused and ask 'so what u gonna do when u feel something in your throat and u want to spit?' And the American answer 'u swallow it' and the chinese was like😮, and said 'that's disgusting, that's uncivilized and unhygienic' so... Yea it's a culture difference i guess.
Much better than any cities in US. I have been to both
No, as a Chinese I can tell you that the clearing the throat mucus isn’t that acceptable. But it’s hard to change the older generation behaviours, I guess it will get better maybe after 20 year or so.
When you visit other cities in China, you will find that the modernization level of other cities is similar to Beijing, but the style may be different. I look forward to visiting some natural landscape, such as Jiuzhaigou 😉
So a little backstory. My parents adopted my sister and I when we were babies. When we were 12 and 11 my parents took us back for a orphanage trip. And as you mentioned we got a lot of stares, especially when we were in smaller cities/towns. I remember one time we were at this small restaurant and these boys probably around the ages of 7-10 were just starring at my mom. They probably hadn't seen too many white women in their lives. We could see them creeping around the kitchen door trying to get a glimpse of my parents (both white). Your comment about starring made me remember this! Another short story is from a different trip I took to China when I was 17, without my parents, and we ended up going to Starbucks frequently and the cashiers were so baffled when a bunch of Chinese looking people started to speak English 😂
你好！谢谢分享你的故事。
I see comments noticing that you may leave Beijing, but I just want to remind you that Beijing is a really big city, you also have lots of places that can visit, welcome you back to Beijing sometime. And If you like historical cities, there are many thousand-year-old cities in China waiting for you to explore.
Local Beijingers probably are not willing to do such work, they are more like to enjoy the life they already have. Just like in US, there are a lot of jobs people don't want to do. This might be why there are a lot of non-Beijingers you saw or met in Beijing.
I’ve seen people spitting at bus stops in Chicago for a few times. On the ground, especially around bus stops, there are a lot of round black spots. I was always wondering what those are and if those were peoples spitting, frozen on the ground because of the cold weather…
Worse, it could be chewing gum that was spit on the ground
@@alexeykangrotov2868 Chewing gum? But there are a lot… why would people spit chewing gum on the ground?
Thanks for sharing and surfacing the truth. 👏👍
Japan and China are some of the most safe countries in the world.
Japan not quite the same anymore depends on where you travel to. Influx on Koreans into the Yakuza ruined the unspoken 'rules' there. Places like Shibuya became quite rough at times
in 2012 I went to San Fransisco for a weekend, I saw African American guy just literally peeing on the pavement street (not in the bush or along the trees), along with the parked cars. That's cultural shocking.
Seemed like an honest opinion of the city; the use (or overuse) of the term "relatively safe" make me think that it's not really that 'safe' - lack of context for 'relative'!
It’s safe because of the cameras and you’re absolutely right 😂 I don’t think any people are different,we are all the same,the difference is how government protects us and punish the criminals.
If you have another week in Beijing, I suggest you go to the museum and theatre,Chinese tradition music and clothing are very unique,wish you like it.
Nah. Asians in the west have the lowest crime rate where there are no cameras.
London has most numerous public cameras in this planet and also the first city installed cameras in this world, you can’t see CNN reports them but only focus on China, why ? Americans anti China propaganda
awesome video! thank you for uploading. i love hearing your perspective. fellow viewer from North Carolina
Hey, that guy in uniform riding bike in the middle of the night is not security 😅 he is a Daijia, he took orders online for driving folks vehicle back home, cause caught by police driving after drinking is serious deal and can end up in jail.
I want to ask an inappropriate question, which one do you think is more dangerous, an old man who spits or a homeless man who injects drugs? Which do you think is more civilized?
都不文明吧，比烂真的不必要。
Personally, as an American, I think a little bit too much is made of the spitting. I mean old people or country people, are probably a lot more alike than you think all over the world.
Defected American cities are uninhabitable . Is a different thing. They are in the middle of destroying the United States, and this is just a symptom.
It's not possible to be unsafe in Beijing. It's the capital of the country. It may not be the same in US but Chinese politicians take pride running their country in a prosperous way.
Most Chinese cities are very clean, China has given each city the task of "creating a clean city", and now the quality of people is also very high
The younger generation spit much less than the older generation.
All fair points. The spitting used to be even worse, but almost never happened during the pandemic - really since SARS-1 - and has been getting less and less common. It isn't really considered acceptable among Chinese even but is really phasing out a the generations pass.
It used to be that parents would have their kids pee and poo in the streets, but that has become unacceptable over the past several years, so things can change really quickly. You're lucky you didn't have to experience that. Iinm, there was a program by the government to radically improve public toilets across the country so perhaps that helped a lot too. They used to be really bad but the government works for the people all over.
中国人 吐痰和中国的气候 地理有很大关系，北方干燥寒冷 北方黄土高原 沙漠 ，灰尘多风大
As a Chinese ,I did not very noticed it until western keep saying . It is interesting to find out the difference of issue concerned . 😂
@yx z 我是马来西亚华人，很奇怪为什么有那么多如方方，袁腾飞之类的公知误导人民搞认知作战而中国政府居然还容许它们胡说八道？？我最讨厌那凤凰台的印吹窦文涛，鸟话一大堆。
@@jianiao96 不認同你的講法，如是這樣，隨地吐痰應該是種普遍現象，為什麽大部人都不隨地吐痰？宁波杭卅上海深圳等地，很少有人隨地吐痰，我認為還是一種習慣和素質問題。
@@gyx2749 大城市也有，就是以前的习惯问题，只是农村地区多一些，现在的年轻人不会了。我认为这就是发展的问题。
Try London.. lol cameras everywhere
Is it safe ? mannn.. it is safer than anywhere in america anytime, anyplace anywhere mate 🤣🤣
My uncle in Shanghai got caught jaywalking on a traffic camera. ¥20 fine. That was in 2019.
All fair observations. He's going through the process from unbelieving to believing in the fact that the socialistic China can actually improve people's lives keeping them safe and driving prosperity.
Living in Beijing for more than 15 years, I have never been to hot tourist attractions like the Summer Palace or the Forbidden City. Because they are full of tourists when I'm on vacation. LOL. But I still have visited many places. I would say the national museum is always worth visiting. And there are also some very old tourist attractions that are now used as free parks, like the Temple of the Sun (日坛，Ri (the fourth tone) Tan (the second tone)).
Hey bro, love the vids as I lived in Beijing for 5 years in probably one of the most exciting times for Beijing! I literally witnessed ( in 5 years ) the development of it!. One thing I would say is…. You been there a lot longer than needed! You need to get yourself out to yuanan province . I spent a few weeks out there from the south up to the far north west ! Look into itineraries from kunming to Yu beng village ! I been all over the world and I think that was myself and my wives favorite trips
Yunnan is too faraway from Beijing. It takes more than 3 hours by air.
@@constantineding8700 China is big so everywhere is a long way ! Like I said me and my wife traveled near on everywhere in China and for me the Yunnan province had a he biggest impact as a traveler! That’s why I suggested it! The hardest challenges yield the biggest rewards ! Just couldn’t imagine traveling to China and spending so long in BJ ! I lived there ( and as much as I love Bj) everything can be done within a couple of days!
@@constantineding8700 in a nutshell … China has so more to offer than BJ ! This you tubers videos are great none the less ! Thanks for a glimps into how my one of my favorite cities in the world is keeping
@@urbanroots84tt45 For that I agree. Beijing has a lot of historic sites but speaking of natural beauty what it can offer is very limited.
Have you visited Jiu Zhai Valley and Zhang Jia Jie? These two places are like heavens... But never try to go there on national holidays to avoid being jammed with too many tourists...
I love your videos Sly!
Any plan to other cities in China?
Regarding the issue of spitting, it generally occurs among middle-aged and elderly people over 50 years old. This is because China has developed too rapidly, and when these people were young, their surroundings were purely natural with many dirt roads. At that time, it was a habit to spit directly when their throats were uncomfortable. However, as they grew older, the whole society has transformed into an era of reinforced concrete and asphalt, and the habit has already formed, making it difficult to change.
welcome to China,Very nice video and I really recommend you visit Chongqing where I’m living😊
Spitting usually happens to elder people. A lot of them smoked when they were young, in addition the country was badly air polluted decades ago. So, they've developed some kind of habit and chronic disease with their throat.
Chinese native here， younger generations definitely hate the spitting in public behavior, but it was very common for the older generations, it was just cleaning their throat for them.
It’s so nice of you being extremely patient with those people that full of curiosity and eager to do photos with you, cuz Chinese tend to be shy, lot of them got social anxiety
Spitting is the old age people style, it will get better
You are right, China is big and there are 1.4 billion of people, actually every Chinese would like to visit Beijing because it's capital and has been capital for many dynasties, therefore, a lot of history and story related to many locations.
Top universities, all big companies headquarters, all top artiest, scientist are all in Beijing, it's so attactive to all Chinese. That's why when you ask an old man or women where they want to visit the most, normally they will say Beijing, that's why you can see a lot of Chinese torist group in Beijing.
事实上北京的地位一直在下降，因为其他城市的商业氛围和自然景观在一直提升，所以北京的人口这十年一直在外流
Spitting is a kind of cultural thing - they believe they should spit out all internal liquids and having it inside is unhealthy. But yes, that's a nasty habit of them.
Those bad habits you mentioned are being done by the old folks. I bet you if the police see them, they will be talked to.
Lovely video, pleasant narration.
02:46 May I respectfully asked how those assumptions about Beijing were formed, given that you'd done minimal research (as you said) and it was your first visit? Those assumptions sound like an accurate description of some of the poorest places in the US.
04:02 In terms of safety, as an American black man you may in fact be safer in Beijing, where you are less likely to be shot than you would be in the US.
05:38 London has a lot of surveillance cameras, especially in the centre. All the major supermarkets put them in the self-service tills like a mirror so you can see your own nasal hair as your buying stuff.
06:29 Beijing is clean. It's a developed 21st century capital city. I've seen good and bad in every European capital I've visited. No joke you can still see rats the size of toy dogs in east London, and in some parts of Paris the smell is pretty bad.
07:08 Spitting is practically an Olympic sport in the UK lol. But to be fair people seem to do it less than they used too. There is still a lot of dogshit on the street though.
Before coming to China, his views on China were not different from other biased Americans with prejudice against China. Prejudice is not inherent but rather a result of long-term education and media propaganda. Many Western media have a low level of professional ethics, and in the terrible false propaganda about the genocide in Xinjiang, the media has reached a new height of shamelessness. In almost every major city in China, you can find restaurants owned by Uyghur people. Uyghur TV hosts, celebrities, basketball players, football players, and others are also very common in China. In the recent men's U20 football match, the Chinese team had several Uyghur players, and in some matches, Uyghur players even scored goals. However, in the reporting of Western media, Uyghurs are portrayed as if they are all locked up in Auschwitz.
He said he likes to be surprised in a previous video. So doesnt do any research on the places he visits, as to truly take it in without any biases.
@@aussiecomrade5972 Well he clearly came in with a suitcase full of biases. But its good of him to acknowledge them I will say that.
@@cchen6522 I guess its good that he is opening his mind and sharing the experience with similarly minded people. TBH its not like the Chinese media is a bastion of free and impartial reporting though lol
Local tourists taking selfie with you? You laterally became the attraction man 😂
Shenzhen is the city i would go because of the electric vehicle lifestyle there. All busses, taxis and mopeds are electric.
I recommend Chongqing. It is a city in another dimension with a truly stunning architectural history.
@@yongzhu8454 lol, I watched videos on CZcams of driving and walking tours of Cjina. That ity scared me the most. I am afraid of heights 😄. It looks lovely though. I am a fan of Electric vehicles, that's why Shenzhen is the city that interests me. I think Beijing could also be interesting because I saw place that said reggae on one of his videos. He was walking along a waterfront where there was alot of places where singers where performing. I think there was a guy passed out in that bar/restaurant 😄. I am Jamaican living in Ottawa Canada.
I appreciate you for having respect for each countries, for doing basci research on you own. Stay safe, have fun, and I hope you make the most of it. I am Korean, I just guess you are having the most fun in Japan. Anyway I enjoy your videos
This was (in my opinion) your best video from your trip to Beijing! The cameras are there to keep everyone safe ... even those troublemakers that were dancing in the park!
You will feel frustrated when you return to the US and see CNN, FOX, NBC and the WSJ painting China as some dystopian police state where people huddle in fear 24/7.
The people of Beijing (and most other parts of China) seek safety, stability and prosperity ... something that's abundant when you see families and seniors in the streets and parks.
Once you get passed noticing cameras EVERYWHERE (I'm talking 7-8 of them on each rooftop corner pointed in all directions) and some other things, at least as a foreigner, there's a lot of great things to see and to do. People are pretty friendly and more curious to actually meet a foreigner than the news stories that say Chinese people want to drink your children's blood, etc. I've been fortunate to travel around the country a bit and even a few times I've had people literally cross the street and walk towards me, grab and shake my hand with a smile, and then they keep walking on their way. Pretty friendly for sure! Safety? Much safer than any large city I've ever been in around the US. Women walk the streets at late night by themselves, etc and zero issues. I agree, people need to visit firsthand and make their own conclusions from their own experience. If you go and visit, make sure that you go to the night parks with all of the lights and music!
Went to Beijing in 2012 for summer camp due to my school raising money for select students to go, I had the best time of my life. I truly can't wait to go back now as an adult and see how things may have changed or stayed the same.
7:12 meanwhile in Singapore it's a whole nother story...
👍👍👍 Good Personality - Good Verbal - well Behave - Wise - Gentleman 👍👍👍
Well, Beijing population was under 8 million 20 years ago. Now the size and population tripled, so that 70% of them you encountered on the street are newcomers or migrant workers. Unfortunately the spitting habit come with those people.
I hope you spend sometime in Shanghai.
A very insightful analysis. If you are interested in history and culture, Beijing and Xi'an are great choices. If you want to experience the nightlife of ordinary Chinese people, you can consider visiting Guangzhou. There are many shops there that don't close at night.
I am one of the rare USA foreigners in China at the moment, around the terracotta soldier area. Been here for 4 weeks so far....
You are in my hometown... Xi'an
thanks for your fascinating perspective, it was nice to see China from your unique perspective, hope you enjoyed your stay!
我越来越喜欢看你视频哦，多謝你分享中国的状况，加油，我们永远支持正能量的人，
Thank for sharing!
You are a fast learner, gotta watch all your videos in the coming future.
a chengdu person who lived in beijing 15years also think chengdu`s urban life much more better than beijing
Another likely big reason as to why China is the safest big country by far is it's become largely as cashless society. And yes, East Asian countries are by and large relatively safe to begin with, and China probably tops the list.
I hope you travelled to OTHER CITIES in China, Beijing is part of China, not China though, SO MANY other great cities out there Xianmen, Haikou, Chongqing, Chengdu...and these are just the major ones, peace man.
Honestly and with all respect. It is ignorance what makes people ignore and not bother to truly research and travel. Americans in general have a very poor concept of the whole world cuz most don't travel abroad. those who travel of course aren't close minded nor judgmental. Also, honestly every where around the globbe is safer than the USA where shootings occur even at libraries, churches and metro stations.
Thank you 😊😊😊😊
I'm curious as to whether you travel with a US passport. The US Travel Advisory now ranks China at a Level 3 (i.e., "Reconsider Travel").
Haha, for foreigners, Beijing and Shanghai may be the only cities they know about China, but Chinese people don't like it very much, especially Beijing. People in China prefer southern cities like Suzhou, Hangzhou and Chengdu, which are more suitable for tourism and life, and have better greening.
喜不喜欢北京不说，怎么中国人就更喜欢南方了。总的来说我讨厌大城市，不管南北，但是南方小城市我也不喜欢，一方面气候难受，太热太潮，另一方面我不喜欢小桥流水，太逼仄了，喜欢大山大河的开阔感。
北京是中国的首都，根本不用问，肯定是所有中国人都想到访的城市。喜欢哪里取决于个人的品味和层次及出生地。文化层次高一些的人会喜欢北京，喜欢吃喝玩乐的人一定喜欢一些更新兴现代的城市。北京是首都，在风水上占有重要的位置，城市规划是按照充分体现中华文化传统的阴阳平衡，天圆地方，端庄对称内敛的理念和风水布局设计的，不允许那些花里胡哨的东西，在二环路以内限制建高层建筑。央视那个著名的“大裤衩”遭到过许多人的抨击吐槽，还好傍边又建了一个高于它的中国樽，镇压住邪气。北京气候比较干燥风大，南方人不习惯，但是北方人也不喜欢南方潮湿炎热的夏天，只能说一方水土养一方人吧。
There are so many cities with different atmospheres in China. I hope you don't only stay in Beijing on your China trip.