Posted on 01/24/2019 3:37:38 AM PST by vannrox
This article was written in response to a discussion that I had with a friend of mine. He made the statement, “You wouldn’t be able to believe how these (Chinese) people lived! You and I could never live like that!” Turns out that he saw some propaganda from the UK and was convinced that the Chinese lived in windowless hovels. Not so. Not by a long shot.
Over the last thirty years, China has experienced a period of enormous growth. It began in the 1990’s. It started when the progressive socialist policies of Mr. Mao were replaced with the Free-Market Conservative policies of Mr. Deng. The result was predictable and resulted in an explosion in the overall quality of life for all Chinese people. A period of exceptional growth ensued and a middle class appeared. Here, we talk about the direct result of that change. We discuss the Apartment Houses that Chinese middle class live in.
Typically, most Chinese live in apartment complexes. There is a percentage, of course, that have their own houses. There are those that share, what we in the West refer to as “Townhouses”. There are those that occupy (rent-free) ancient dilapidated old complexes that can still be seen everywhere. (Why not? They might be old and ugly, but living in them is free!!!!) Not to mention, the others that live on farms, villages, and in the hinder-land.
Let’s talk about the Chinese apartment houses. Chinese Apartments
In China, the apartment complex consists of an area that is surrounded with a fence and is guarded by guards (24-7) with video cameras and gates. Within that complex are the buildings that make up the complex. Now, in China, you might have a
(Excerpt) Read more at metallicman.com ...
Proof positive that most freepers have no taste in architecture.
Whoa...
LOL. Go to the dude’s home page and read the details, checking out his sidebar links.
He’s got an Asian girl fetish, a colorful (alleged) work history and just a ‘bit’ of bias.
As well, this is a blog and should have been treated as such.
Yeah, but the girls in that article made ME want to move there. Especially the one dancing in the outdoor park.
Also, did you notice all the fancy cars in the parking garage?
I am sure that is one of the nicer apartment complexes.
I do believe the updated security in the newer parts of China. I would expect that this new technology is being incorporated into new construction in US, Japanese and European apartment buildings
In watching classic movies of the 30’s & 40’s era, those did exist. Somehow or another our culture evolved away from beds like that shown.
As a kid my mom had two “hide-a-ways”, which was a single bed that folded up into a narrow carriage on castors so it could be stored until the next guests arrived. Today it would be unthinkable for guests to sleep on something that crude. They were very comfortable and practical.
Yeah, wild stuff, didn't read it but looked around.
I have traveled through MUCH of China in the past 18 years. There are, indeed, some beautiful parts... The large Western hotels are some of the finest on the planet.
But, LARGE parts of China are also 100% FAKE. I can’t tell you how many 20 building apartment complexes I have seen that are COMPLETELY empty. Just last week, I passed an impressive set of maybe 10-15 huge buildings... Glass walled, all alike, all maybe 10 floors high? Looked beautiful. When my car passed around to the other side of them, where the sun could shine through, I could see that they were ALL empty. Complete shells of a building. NOTHING but bare floor on the inside. And, no signs of construction anywhere.
That, is not an uncommon site in China.
The Airport in X’ian has 25 baggage carousels that are each 50-70 yards long. They’re in a building that must be half a mile in length, easily. When I was there, 2 were in use. I’m sure, on Golden Week, they use more... but, 25?? Give me a break.
They build things NOT because they are needed, but because the government needs to provide work for the masses.
In my opinion, China is a conflicted mass of communism, capitalism, cronyism and corruption. In some ways, Chinese people are MORE free than we are (They can ride a bike without a helmet). But, in other ways, they are deeply repressed... (No Google, limited ability to live where you want, etc.) The government there is riding a tiger.... I don’t know how they will be able to control it. The people have had a taste of freedom. I can’t see them giving it up.
Depends on where you go in China.
We need to remember that Taiwan and mainland China are apples and oranges.
First tier cities like Beijing, Shenzhen, Shanghai and others are great. They are the showpiece cities for the communist regime. Ultra modern, very classy with all the amenities you could find anywhere in the world. Like top class cities everywhere they are expensive to live in. Most business travelers go to first tier cities.
Second tier cities are grouped in three classes; Upper, Middle and Lower.
Upper second tier cities are the up and comers. They have most of the amenities a westerner would look for but apartments are smaller and more cheaply constructed and dirty. So dirty that no apartment has carpet because it can’t be kept clean. Due to pollution in China people mop their floors daily and the mop water is black when they’re finished.
Air conditioning usually works...most of the time.
Upper second tier cities include Hangzhou, Nanjing and Jinan.
Middle second tier have smaller apartments and fewer amenities. South of the Yangtze river means no heat in the winter. Not good when you live in a concrete building with concrete interior walls!
In middle second tier apartments the bathroom is one open room with a drain in the floor. You can sit on the throne and shower at the same time. A.C. works most of the time.
Middle second tier includes Chengdu and Wuhan.
Lower second tier are just a step up from slums. The A.C., if there is any, may or may not work at any given time.apartments are small and crowded and streets and alleys are filthy.
Third tier cities ARE slums. The kind of places workers from the countryside move to to find a job...hoping to move on asap. Amenities? Fuggedaboutit!
The countryside?
Think Appalachia during the worst of times. Little electricity, squat toilets, few doctors and terrible teachers.
At no time in any city anywhere in China will you see people drinking tap water. ALL the water in China is polluted. The people there boil water to wash the dishes then put the dishes into a dryer with uv light to kill the bacteria. Those who can afford it buy purified water for cooking and drinking.
No one in China owns their home. As a communist country the state owns everything. If you “buy” a house in China you really sign a seventy year lease with the state.
You can sell your lease but in the end the state still owns it. The new owners merely sign a new seventy year lease with the state.
You die and the state takes possession and resells the place.
Look beneath the veneer of the first tier cities and Asia ain’t all that great.
You committed a major sin by saying that on FR lol.
Reminds me of Vancouver BC
I’m in China all the time for business. That picture of Shanghai is pretty cool, I stay in one of the hotels in that picture just to the right of center.
Unfortunately it doesn’t tell the whole story, that’s a showcase area with high end hotels, malls, and fancy restaurants. There’s even a Hooter’s right off the river that you can’t make out in that picture.
The vast majority of Chinese don’t live like that, to put it mildly most of the high rise apartment complexes are dumps. Trust me when I say you wouldn’t want to live in them.
I want one that folds out into a train set...
Anhui is far more typical. Among other strange things, vendors butchered chickens in the street and left the offal behind. Not the heads, they are a delicacy, just the inedible parts of the offal. That wasn't all, if you get my drift. Every couple of days, an old man with a card, broom and shovel would come by to clean up and haul it away.
She shared a Stalinesque style apartment with a roomie who also taught English at the same local academy, middle school grades because the administrator decided my daughter was better with the elementary and high school kids.
Interestingly, they had pretty good internet service (as long as they stayed off forbidden websites), bought a local computer for just over $100 in local currency and were told not to spend a dime on software. The school, or one of the school contacts, installed just about anything they wanted, most likely pirated.
There were beggars everywhere. The local friends she made or those from the neighborhood with whom they'd made friends would shoo them away if they were around, but they soon learned it was less hassle just to take a cab to the grocery store and back so as not to deal with them.
Her roomie couldn't wait to go home after the semester assignment was over. My daughter accepted an invitation to move to Beijing to study Mandarin at the University, which she picked up quickly thanks to a good foundation.
She was invited to attend Olympic events every day during the Olympics. She confined herself to one or two during the weekends so as to concentrate on her studies.
It was quite an education for her as she got to see how both the regular people and the upper crust lived.
Sorry.
I’m sure it was all setup.
“Asia has very developed parts but masses living in squalor. India and Red China have such extremes...”
Exactly.
There’s stupid stuff out there about China.
But Metal Man is a ChiCom propagandist.
“All that information that you present is technically accurate but functionally flawed.”
Yes. He’s a ChiCom propagandist/apologist.
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