Studying and working in China

[宝莉]

Hi guys! Last year I lived in Hangzhou, China for 11months. I loved the studying experience there, 浙大 is amazing. It was pretty easy to find a job also.

Have u been to china? Where did u stidy/work, how did u like it?

I'm looking forward to ur reply, cause I'm considering going to other cities now:)

[anonymoose]

I worked in Dalian for 13 months from 2004 to 2005, and worked and studied in Shanghai from 2006 to 2015. In terms of convenience of living, Shanghai was very good. When I had enough free time, I went travelling, so did, on occasion, get to experience some of the less developed parts of China.

 

That China is developing very quickly is, of course, well known, but to actually have lived through much of this change makes one appreciate it that bit more. For the people of China, the modernisation and increase in standard of living (for those, at least, that it has reached) is undeniable. From the point of view of a (western) foreigner though, I feel that the days of "the authentic China experience" à la Peter Hessler, for example, are going, if not gone. Of course, anyone going to China will have an experience, every bit as authentic, but different, of the new, modern China.

 

As a foreigner, you will still stand out. But, in my experience, you draw much less attention now than, say, fifteen years ago. Maybe it's because I'm not as young and handsome as I was then. But I feel that, with smart phones, connection to the world-wide-web (restricted though it is), more affluence and opportunity for Chinese people to travel abroad, and a greater number of foreigners in China and foreigners that can speak Chinese and so appear on television, the penetration of foreigners into the Chinese consciousness is such that the curiosity towards foreigners has diminished substantially. Strangers will still be curious, and will still compliment you on your Chinese, but gone are the days where, for them, it's like meeting an alien, and the utter disbelief that a foreigner could even conceivably speak Chinese.

 

China now, in many ways, has surpassed the west. The development of infrastructure is mind-blowing. Compared with the UK where it takes decades of arguing and toing and froing to build a new railway line, or even just add another runway to an existent airport, China has developed the world's greatest network of high-speed railway, built from scratch numerous airports and, by far, has the largest number of metro systems of any country. Cash has also become more-or-less obsolete as people pay for everything with their smart phones.

 

This is, in contrast to a country fifteen years ago, where, for example, getting from Hangzhou to Shanghai was a coach ride of several hours, or, by train, even longer (as opposed to the 45 minutes now possible by high-speed rail). A country where many towns were only accessible by dirt track. A country where you would get a wad of banknotes in change after buying a bottle of water. (Who remembers the 1 fen banknotes?)

 

So, in summary, I really enjoyed my experience in China, and I'm glad I had it when I did. I still visit China frequently, and if I had the time, I'd definitely like to go back for longer, but for me at least, it's not same as how it  used to be.