Would you move to Hong Kong, Shanghai or Beijing?

[marcopolo79]

I think it's a matter of personal preference and comfort levels.

To boil this argument down to the essentials, in my experience I have found that the good life in Beijing is one in which you can afford to escape and insulate yourself from the surrounding environment, while the good life in Shanghai and Hong Kong is one in which you can maximize your enjoyment of your environment.

If you to have a more quintessential Chinese experience, definitely choose Beijing, if you want comfort while still having the benefits of living in China (although the compartive cost will be much higher) choose Shanghai. Shanghai is also a better choice if you are not a homebody, it's much more convenient to go out and engage Shanghai as a city than to attempt to do this in Bejing.

Hong Kong offers every last ammenity conceivable, is well connected to all parts of the world (especially the interesting bits of S.E. Asia that make for fabulous little getaways), and has the highest standard of living in East Asia outside of Tokyo. Your money will go no further there than in New York, although food is somewhat cheaper, rent is also quite steep. HK has a fascinating culture that is Chinese at heart but international and sophisticated in expression, but it is definitely not China. If comfort is key, choose Hong Kong, but if you want the expereince of living in China, choose either Beijing or Shanghai.

[BeijingSlacker]

but as I've heard, Shanghai becomes more and more NY of the East (those who say Paris, don't have a clue) and HK is polluted and dirty dump (sorry, Skylee, didn't mean to insult you or other HK-people).

I've never been to SH or HK, but anyways, from what I know, SH might be becoming HK or Singapore. It is highly unlikely SH will become anything like Paris or NY.

About the pollution in HK, I would guess it's much worse in Beijing.

[skylee]

About pollution, perhaps we could use some data here (while this may seem objective, it is actually arbitrary as I don't have comprehensive data so I just take a snapshot here).

The Air Pollution Index (API) of 19 Jan 2005 given by the authorities -

Beijing - 55

Shanghai - 99

Shenzhen - 69 (for reference as this figure is from the same report as BJ and SH and the city is very close to Hong Kong)

Hong Kong - 50 to 85 (depending on the location)

Sources -

http://www.zhb.gov.cn/english/air-list.php3?offset=0

http://www.epd-asg.gov.hk/eindex.php

[hparade]

Sorry off topic, but I really think one should not always assume a spouse is always a female wife.

[taibeihong]

not quite off topic.

[hparade]

ok,

[BeijingSlacker]

About pollution, perhaps we could use some data here (while this may seem objective, it is actually arbitrary as I don't have comprehensive data so I just take a snapshot here).

The Air Pollution Index (API) of 19 Jan 2005 given by the authorities -

Beijing - 55

Shanghai - 99

Shenzhen - 69 (for reference as this figure is from the same report as BJ and SH and the city is very close to Hong Kong)

Hong Kong - 50 to 85 (depending on the location)

Sources -

http://www.zhb.gov.cn/english/air-list.php3?offset=0

http://www.epd-asg.gov.hk/eindex.php

Still hard to believe. I have been under the impression that Beijing is the most polluted and HK is the least. I remember Beijing was once ranked as one the ten most polluted cities in the world.( Don't remember seeing SH or HK in that list)

[wushijiao]

2/13:

Beijing 122

Shanghai 59

Hong Kong 40ish

I think if you check the links regularly you'll see that Beijing is the most polluted of the three.

[gato]

No wonder China is so aggravating.

http://www.epd-asg.gov.hk/english/api_you/apitell.php

101 to 200 Very High

Air quality worse than both short-term and long-term AQOs. People with existing heart or respiratory illnesses may notice mild aggravation of their health conditions. Generally healthy individuals may also notice some discomfort.

[bluepoppy]

101 to 200 Very High

Air quality worse than both short-term and long-term AQOs. People with existing heart or respiratory illnesses may notice mild aggravation of their health conditions. Generally healthy individuals may also notice some discomfort.

I always wondered why that was. I mean, the traffic volume is definitely high in Beijing, but is there a problem with Chinese car engines or something?　Why are the engines creating so much more fumes than car engines in other countries?

I voted Beijing, even though I think it has the worst weather out of anywhere I've ever been. One minute it's minus 15 and you have to wear so many layers of clothes you look like a giant Michelin Man, the next it's so dry that your clothes are dry almost as soon as you hang them out, no plants are growing and the sky sometimes turns completely yellow with dust. Next at some point in March, almost overnight the average temperature becomes 40 degrees (sorry, 39.9) and if you don't have air-conditioning your spare time hobby will be sitting in front of a fan or dashing accross town in a taxi to see your friends who have an air-conditioned appartment! Finally, there is a window of three weeks pleasant weather in September when it is just right ^_^

[gato]

They must be trying to save money by not installing better emission control systems. Hondas and Toyotas are known in the U.S. to have the most environmentally-friendly passenger cars. They also tend to be more expensive. Do you see many of them in China?

http://www.thecarguy.com/articles/environ.htm

The new [California] emission guidelines were followed in 1961 by one of the first emissions control devices that we still have on cars to this day: the positive crankcase ventilation (PCV) system. Prior to the use of the PCV system, crankcase combustion gases were piped directly out of the engine into the atmosphere. The PCV system was employed to channel "blowby" engine gases back into the engine's incoming air/fuel mixture to be "reburned" before finally exiting with the exhaust gas. While not eliminating the gas completely, this step reduced its toxicity.

It wasn't until 1966 that widest automobile exhaust emissions standards were imposed on new cars sold in California. This was also the first time that the automobile was looking less like a miracle of transportation and more like a genie out of the bottle ... and industry insiders were looking for that second wish.

Subsequently, California has continually led the national smog control campaign by imposing the most aggressive exhaust emission reduction standards in the United States. As a result, since 1968 automobile exhaust emissions have been reduced nationally by more than 90 percent.

http://www.corning.com/environmentaltechnologies/auto_emissions_magazine/archived_issues/2003-1/article1.asp

Among numerous devices in emission-control technologies, the catalytic converter system is responsible for as much as 90% of the emissions control function. This traditional emissions-control technology has played a pivotal role in helping vehicles meet Tier-1 regulations and SULEV (super ultra-low emissions vehicle) levels in a short period of time. However, the catalyst needed to enable this technology is very expensive, is produced only in limited areas, and carries unpredictable pricing which creates potential problems for vehicle and equipment manufacturers.

[BeijingSlacker]

2/13:

Beijing 122

Shanghai 59

Hong Kong 40ish

ya, this sounds right to me.

They are moving some big factories out of Beijing. Hopefully that will help.

[kailin]

I lived in Hong Kong for six years growing up, and recently spent a year in Beijing. In brief, HK is an infinitely more expensive city, and one in which it can be hard to branch out from the expat scene. If you're looking for basic comforts and ease, choose HK. If you're looking for something a little deeper than the expat lifestyle and can hack things being a little rough and the edges, my recomendation would be Beijing (ad the salary you're looking at means plenty of RMB left over for things like cheap facials and market shopping in Beijing.) I've got no experience with Shanghai - sorry!

[taibeihong]

it's BEIJING.

[Chili]

Hi

Some of my european friends told me, that it is not possible to just get an apartment where ever you like. I would like to have some Siheyuan near Beijing, but they say that I have to live in one of those fortresses wiith a lot of guards like they live in. I would hate to live in some kind of mini europe with guards all around. Is this really true???

[Ardison]

龙床不及狗窝，都是自己家好。Hongkong is the best!

Hongkong is absolutely not 狗窝。