By Corey Pyke. Corey lives in Xiamen, and has been a teacher in China since 2019.
If you have ever spoken to someone who has either been to or lived in China then you might have heard them say that China is unlike anywhere they have visited before – and it’s true. There are obviously big differences in food, language and even weather, but for now, I’m going to focus on the biggest difference – the culture. Whilst I never experienced culture shock myself, I know plenty of people that did, and its easy to understand why.
Curious locals
A big surprise that you are likely to experience is the attention that you receive just by being foreign. Its common to have subtle (or not so subtle!) photographs taken of you by curious people, have people stop in the street to point and stare, or having people come up to you wanting to practice their English. Being a country of 1.4billion people, it’s easy to realise that there will be a lot of people who have never seen a person from another country before, explaining the curiosity. Whilst these interactions may feel a bit uncomfortable, negative interactions are very few and far between. The majority of Chinese people are incredibly friendly and interested in learning about other countries. Most are respectful, and will ask before taking photos – don’t be afraid to say no if you don’t feel like it! A lot of interest comes from young children or older adults – I have had many conversations in my apartment elevator with older people curious about what I do here and very young children with their parents wanting to say hello!
Safety
The biggest cultural difference and possibly one of the best things about living in China is the safety. I’m sure that you’ve all heard about the cameras – and it’s true, they are everywhere – but if you’re not breaking the law then there’s absolutely nothing to worry about. Being female, walking home alone in the dark wouldn’t be something I would consider doing in my home country, however I have no issues doing it in China. Petty crime is at an extremely low level, to the extent that people will leave laptops or phones in coffee shops and come back later to find them in the same place. There have been instances where I have accidently left the keys in my ebike overnight, and returned the next morning to find them hanging on the handlebars. Taxis and Didi (Chinese Uber) have cameras inside, and you will be alerted by apps if the driver changes course from your selected route – usually they change to avoid traffic, but its nice to have the extra security. Residential complexes are incredibly safe too. Older complexes have security guards stationed at entrances, whilst the newer ones have facial recognition to open gates. Many newer apartments now have panels in the apartment that allow them to see who is at the door to the apartment block and open it, call security, or call maintenance.
Cleanliness
One of my personal favourite things about China is the cleanliness. I live in Xiamen, which is a coastal city with plenty of parks and green spaces – something that may be a bit limited in bigger cities with more high rise buildings. Here, I constantly see workers planting flowers along the barriers in the middle of the roads and along the seafront, people using litter pickers to pick up stray bits of trash and trucks pressure washing the roads. Most indoor public places are incredibly clean too. There appears to be a never ending rotation of workers mopping the floors in shopping centres, and the same with shops and grocery stores. This all applies to all major cities, however, less so in rural areas. There are a few things that are culturally appropriate when it comes to cleanliness that we might question. It is still acceptable here to spit in the street and for young children to go to the bathroom in the street. Luckily, I notice the latter considerably less often than 5 years ago, but be aware that it might be something you see!
Being such a big country, there are of course many cultural differences that could be discussed, but for me these are the ones that are the biggest change from home. These differences make China the country it is and are a huge reason why I love it so much. Living here will be unlike anything you have experienced before, but if you take it all in, you can make it one of the best experiences of your life!
You can start today by applying here 🙂
