You don’t really see much if China through the western media, so I don’t really get that western propaganda at all. CNN just doesn’t talk about China enough to provide any picture of it (sort of like those “I don’t think of you at all meme”). I lived in Beijing for 9 years (2007-2016) and did 6 months languages study in 2002, my first visit being in 1999. There were of course scam artists back then and I’ve gotten scammed a few times (eg an original iPhone repair that I didn’t watch close enough). I don’t think those people exist much anymore in 2025, compared to 2008.
The face thing is still annoying to me and the GFW frustrates me to no end (no, VPN to get around it don’t grow on trees). However, compared to the crap going on in America China is looking very appealing at this point. Of course, my view of China is biased by being mostly Beijing, if you visit southern cities they are much more organized and nicer (I haven’t been to any other city than BJ since 2015 or so). I urge anyone visiting China to consider skipping Beijing.
The face thing is still annoying to me and the GFW frustrates me to no end (no, VPN to get around it don’t grow on trees). However, compared to the crap going on in America China is looking very appealing at this point. Of course, my view of China is biased by being mostly Beijing, if you visit southern cities they are much more organized and nicer (I haven’t been to any other city than BJ since 2015 or so). I urge anyone visiting China to consider skipping Beijing.