So I arrived today in Guangzhou and I'm very impressed so far with the city. I'm even more impressed by GZ than by Hong Kong which is crazy to think of as HK is considered one of the top 5 premiere cities in the world. I'm staying in Tianhe, a very chich and nice part of town. I'm meeting tonight with a beautiful Chinese lady I met on a dating site. She will be bringing a friend of her as well (a girl as well) so it's looking promising. Is it common for Chinese girls to bring a girlfriend to meet a guy?
Nonpareil's China Adventures
Quote: (09-07-2012 07:01 AM)Vacancier Permanent Wrote:
So I arrived today in Guangzhou and I'm very impressed so far with the city. I'm even more impressed by GZ than by Hong Kong which is crazy to think of as HK is considered one of the top 5 premiere cities in the world. I'm staying in Tianhe, a very chich and nice part of town. I'm meeting tonight with a beautiful Chinese lady I met on a dating site. She will be bringing a friend of her as well (a girl as well) so it's looking promising. Is it common for Chinese girls to bring a girlfriend to meet a guy?
Haven't been to Guangzhou, but it's definitely on the list because I have several friends down there, biz cats.
As for the bringing a girlfriend on a date, I have never encountered that, but then again, what I have done in China so far, I have done without OL pipelining, so I think that's part of the reason; she just wants to ensure that you aren't suspect (there is some unease, despite the desire, of the foreigners for many Chinese girls).
Wish I could give a more detailed answer, but I'm in the middle of class.
Great new sheet Nonpareil, thank you.
Guangzhou sucks balls... cockroaches, people everywhere and theres no sugo/walmart on every corner (this sucks in China).
GZ is not representative of China and would highly recommend visiting some of the northern cities before you make a decision with a girl. Hit up Urumqi for an awesome experience. Food up there is excellent, food in guangzhou is mostly sh1t.
If you are in tianhe go to PIZZA 2 PIZZA... the best pizza in the world, hands down. Just get the regular with olives, costs about 83 rmb but its big and really damn good.
If you're not down with using the squatty potty then you can buy a stool that is basically a western fold out toliet seat, used one for a few months in my last city.
GZ is not representative of China and would highly recommend visiting some of the northern cities before you make a decision with a girl. Hit up Urumqi for an awesome experience. Food up there is excellent, food in guangzhou is mostly sh1t.
If you are in tianhe go to PIZZA 2 PIZZA... the best pizza in the world, hands down. Just get the regular with olives, costs about 83 rmb but its big and really damn good.
If you're not down with using the squatty potty then you can buy a stool that is basically a western fold out toliet seat, used one for a few months in my last city.
For some reason, almost all of my contacts (chinese) from China live in Guangzhou. For some reason its a very popular city or might be just some odd occurrence.
Guangzhou was actually going to be my selected city to start my China trip. Right now it is between Guangzhou, Beijing, and Shenzhen. But I hear Beijing is very expensive.
Guangzhou was actually going to be my selected city to start my China trip. Right now it is between Guangzhou, Beijing, and Shenzhen. But I hear Beijing is very expensive.
Well informed data sheet on Hangzhou NP. I thought of throwing one up after my time there, but my general knowledge of the place(or lack there of) was so threadbare that it would have been incomplete at best. I can vouch for basically everything that NP says about HZ and I'll throw my hat in the ring with some additional info.
My impression is that if you're looking for a "real" China experience and don't want to travel to Western China to do it, then HZ is your city. When I was there, I was literally one of a half dozen Western people in the entire city. It's to the point that hardly anyone has even a basic grasp of English and you will be the albino tiger on the street.
Getting in is pretty easy. It's only a 50 minute train ride from Shanghai - Honquiao and the taxi system from the train station is rather simple, however disgusting as you wait in an enclosed underground loading station with a couple of hundred taxis running diesel engines. To say you can't breathe is being generous.
Getting a taxi is next to impossible and you will have to take the bus with little idea of where you're going occasionally. I made an art out of wandering around as clueless as possible to make it a point that I needed help. It was a rather effective strategy as people seemed genuinely interested in going out of their way to assist me.
The old city is beautiful and well worth a stroll, especially at night when much of the food comes out. HZ is so off the beaten path that I struggled to find places to out at night. I literally could not explain to anyone that I wanted to go to the best club there to dance, hence I really didn't get out much at night. I was pretty OK with that because I enjoyed everything else about the place so much.
In terms of eating, 143 on Gaoyin St. is the pick of the bunch. GZ cuisine is more fish-centric and my contact pointed me to this restaurant and it was confirmed with locals in the city, IIRC there is a McDonalds at the corner of Ding'an Rd. and Humin Rd. Head up one flight from the Mc Donalds and you will see a manic restaurant immediately on your left on the second floor. It's regarded as one of the best in HZ. Basically I went here everyday and ate my ass off.
I can't imagine ANYONE else having been to HZ, it really is off the beaten path, but I encourage you to go. With NP's info about where to party, you could really have a great experience here.
My impression is that if you're looking for a "real" China experience and don't want to travel to Western China to do it, then HZ is your city. When I was there, I was literally one of a half dozen Western people in the entire city. It's to the point that hardly anyone has even a basic grasp of English and you will be the albino tiger on the street.
Getting in is pretty easy. It's only a 50 minute train ride from Shanghai - Honquiao and the taxi system from the train station is rather simple, however disgusting as you wait in an enclosed underground loading station with a couple of hundred taxis running diesel engines. To say you can't breathe is being generous.
Getting a taxi is next to impossible and you will have to take the bus with little idea of where you're going occasionally. I made an art out of wandering around as clueless as possible to make it a point that I needed help. It was a rather effective strategy as people seemed genuinely interested in going out of their way to assist me.
The old city is beautiful and well worth a stroll, especially at night when much of the food comes out. HZ is so off the beaten path that I struggled to find places to out at night. I literally could not explain to anyone that I wanted to go to the best club there to dance, hence I really didn't get out much at night. I was pretty OK with that because I enjoyed everything else about the place so much.
In terms of eating, 143 on Gaoyin St. is the pick of the bunch. GZ cuisine is more fish-centric and my contact pointed me to this restaurant and it was confirmed with locals in the city, IIRC there is a McDonalds at the corner of Ding'an Rd. and Humin Rd. Head up one flight from the Mc Donalds and you will see a manic restaurant immediately on your left on the second floor. It's regarded as one of the best in HZ. Basically I went here everyday and ate my ass off.
I can't imagine ANYONE else having been to HZ, it really is off the beaten path, but I encourage you to go. With NP's info about where to party, you could really have a great experience here.
Quote: (09-07-2012 07:39 AM)Smitty Wrote:
Quote: (07-27-2012 10:18 PM)MaleDefined Wrote:
Quote: (07-27-2012 05:23 PM)FretDancer Wrote:
@MaleDefined: Will you tell us which school that is?
Sorry, but no. Ask a Chinese girl what American Universities she wants to go to. It's one of those.
Why not just give the name of the university?
My privacy is paramount. Someone could theoretically connect dots with that info, as well as my travel and career info. I'm not in an industry that would look at this forum with a smile.
I spent some time in Nanchang, Jiangxi as a massive beta trying to notch this girl I'd been chatting with on MSN for years. Didn't work (she is now a shengnu - 'leftover woman', at about 28 years old and unmarried).
I can cosign on the following things:
- As my first experience in a non-first world country (Tijuana notwithstanding), I was surprised by the relative level of squalor and the BAD SMELLS EVERYWHERE. The entire city - natch, everywhere - smelled like diesel fumes 100% of the time. Even in the countryside. The only place we ever got away from it was inside a shopping mall with purified air, and let me tell you, I did not want to leave it.
- The horns blasted starting at 6AM every ady (I did the same 1-minute horn test as stated earlier in the thread, and counted 37, although I was counting individual presses and not entire sequences, so honk-honk-honk from one car counted as 3). Nevertheless, if you're a light sleeper like myself then forget about a good night's rest.
- Anyone who complains about America as being crassly commercial - believe me, the US has NOTHING on China. We went to an ancient-ish temple, paid the admission fee only to see a gift shop installed on every floor.
- I never once felt physically threatened, although I did have someone try to pickpocket me. He was nowhere near my actual wallet, but he tried to follow me in the elevator to my hotel room when I ducked into my hotel to avoid him and there were severe language barriers in trying to get him to go the fuck away. The last thing I want to do is get thrown into a Chinese prison, but I really wanted to just knock him the fuck out. (Granted, I probably wouldn't have even if I'd have thought I'd have gotten away with it.) Otherwise, though, China does seem pretty safe overall. I've definitely felt more threatened in many American cities.
- We fell victim to the 'I want to go to this karaoke bar' game when she and I met this other girl at a bar. I thought it was my boyish good looks. Nope, it was my fat American wallet. Fortunately the evening only ended up costing $100 American for a big ass fruit platter and 4 strippers so it wasn't really a disaster.
- You DO feel like a superstar or a hot American girl when you walk around and everyone is just fantastically impressed by you simply because you're white. People come up to you and start trying out their English. It's a little flattering for awhile - I was only there for two weeks at once, so it didn't get old. The girl I was with mentioned overhearing two girls chattering about me, saying I was handsome.
- It's easy to love these girls because a lot of them are actually pretty sweet and don't at all act like entitled American bitches. Bring your anti-kryptonite ballerism.
- A lot of them do not shave armpits. Warning.
- It's easy to forget that a lot of things are the way they are simply because they don't have any money, so don't hold it against them. Girls don't shower all the time? It's because they have no hot water in their apartment and they can only afford a public bath once or twice a week. They drink their soda warm? Yeah, because most of the stores simply can't afford to run a refrigerator 16 hours a day. And so on. It's seriously survival mode shit sometimes for people. Remember, this is the country where Foxconn has to implement anti-suicide measures for their employees because it sucks so much working there.
- It's scary not being able to even sound out the street signs. I felt completely helpless and lost over there most of the time, and had to resort to business cards or my sleeping dictionary (heh) to get me around. After a few weeks of it, I couldn't WAIT to get home. I'd feel much more comfortable in a European country where at least I could make a legitimate stab of sounding out something written in Cyrillic, for instance.
- Lots of minor scams at all times, so simply learn to say 'no' a lot.
I can cosign on the following things:
- As my first experience in a non-first world country (Tijuana notwithstanding), I was surprised by the relative level of squalor and the BAD SMELLS EVERYWHERE. The entire city - natch, everywhere - smelled like diesel fumes 100% of the time. Even in the countryside. The only place we ever got away from it was inside a shopping mall with purified air, and let me tell you, I did not want to leave it.
- The horns blasted starting at 6AM every ady (I did the same 1-minute horn test as stated earlier in the thread, and counted 37, although I was counting individual presses and not entire sequences, so honk-honk-honk from one car counted as 3). Nevertheless, if you're a light sleeper like myself then forget about a good night's rest.
- Anyone who complains about America as being crassly commercial - believe me, the US has NOTHING on China. We went to an ancient-ish temple, paid the admission fee only to see a gift shop installed on every floor.
- I never once felt physically threatened, although I did have someone try to pickpocket me. He was nowhere near my actual wallet, but he tried to follow me in the elevator to my hotel room when I ducked into my hotel to avoid him and there were severe language barriers in trying to get him to go the fuck away. The last thing I want to do is get thrown into a Chinese prison, but I really wanted to just knock him the fuck out. (Granted, I probably wouldn't have even if I'd have thought I'd have gotten away with it.) Otherwise, though, China does seem pretty safe overall. I've definitely felt more threatened in many American cities.
- We fell victim to the 'I want to go to this karaoke bar' game when she and I met this other girl at a bar. I thought it was my boyish good looks. Nope, it was my fat American wallet. Fortunately the evening only ended up costing $100 American for a big ass fruit platter and 4 strippers so it wasn't really a disaster.
- You DO feel like a superstar or a hot American girl when you walk around and everyone is just fantastically impressed by you simply because you're white. People come up to you and start trying out their English. It's a little flattering for awhile - I was only there for two weeks at once, so it didn't get old. The girl I was with mentioned overhearing two girls chattering about me, saying I was handsome.
- It's easy to love these girls because a lot of them are actually pretty sweet and don't at all act like entitled American bitches. Bring your anti-kryptonite ballerism.
- A lot of them do not shave armpits. Warning.
- It's easy to forget that a lot of things are the way they are simply because they don't have any money, so don't hold it against them. Girls don't shower all the time? It's because they have no hot water in their apartment and they can only afford a public bath once or twice a week. They drink their soda warm? Yeah, because most of the stores simply can't afford to run a refrigerator 16 hours a day. And so on. It's seriously survival mode shit sometimes for people. Remember, this is the country where Foxconn has to implement anti-suicide measures for their employees because it sucks so much working there.
- It's scary not being able to even sound out the street signs. I felt completely helpless and lost over there most of the time, and had to resort to business cards or my sleeping dictionary (heh) to get me around. After a few weeks of it, I couldn't WAIT to get home. I'd feel much more comfortable in a European country where at least I could make a legitimate stab of sounding out something written in Cyrillic, for instance.
- Lots of minor scams at all times, so simply learn to say 'no' a lot.
Check out my occasionally updated travel thread - The Wroclaw Gambit II: Dzięki Bogu - as I prepare to emigrate to Poland.
I suppose half of this shit goes for anywhere outside of the US/Western Europe, really.
Check out my occasionally updated travel thread - The Wroclaw Gambit II: Dzięki Bogu - as I prepare to emigrate to Poland.
Quote: (09-07-2012 07:01 AM)Vacancier Permanent Wrote:
So I arrived today in Guangzhou and I'm very impressed so far with the city. I'm even more impressed by GZ than by Hong Kong which is crazy to think of as HK is considered one of the top 5 premiere cities in the world. I'm staying in Tianhe, a very chich and nice part of town. I'm meeting tonight with a beautiful Chinese lady I met on a dating site. She will be bringing a friend of her as well (a girl as well) so it's looking promising. Is it common for Chinese girls to bring a girlfriend to meet a guy?
wouldn't say it is normal, but it does happen. Basically means she is prude. Hopefully I'm wrong.
Depends on the city, some are more traditional than others, for guangzhou I would say it is not normal.
In 5 years never happened to me, but know some others that have done it.
Quote: (09-07-2012 12:58 AM)Nonpareil Wrote:
Hangzhou Data Sheet: Xihu District
Someone pointed out something; there is a definite negative correlation between level of English spoken and attractiveness in the women, but I think I have this one cracked; you see, China is smarter than the US with University; instead of creating debt slaves by giving 17 and 18 year olds with zero future-time orientation or impulse control massive student loans, in China, you don't go to University until you're 20, and you graduate when you're 24, and I really think this is how it should be done; you graduate high school at 18, work for a few years to get some experience and capital and THEN you go to school
Not sure where you pulled this info but I don't think it is accurate.
Most chinese that attend University go right after finishing high school, at 18-19 years old and finish at 22 or 23. If they wait a year they are studying more or their parents are still saving, the kids just study more, from what I saw.
Also Chinese count age differently than westerners. The day you are born you are 1 year old according to Chinese thinking.
Never once met a chinese kid that worked after high school before attending University. Met some that worked while attending U. Not saying it's impossible but I don't think it is the norm.
Every Chinese graduate that I met had their first job after college. The don't work summers in high school they study more.
The cost of tuition for a typical Chinese family is about 50% of their annual income to send a kid off to school, hence the enormous pressure and one of the reasons Chinese save 50% of their income, not bc they are more enlightened than westerners it is bc it's the only way to pay for healthcare or college for your kid.
Kid with a degree= good job= money to take care of the parents that sacrificed so much for the kid.
Obviously many poor people can't afford it, there are very few if any grants, loans, or scholarships available. (They are in the process of changing this)
Tsingua (the most respected Uni in China) reported a month ago that the majority of 2012 Chinese college graduates (around 70%) earn less than migrant workers.
think that will anger a few million people that paid that tuition every year?
Thanks for the Hangzhou datasheet, ain't been there since '05.
So last night, they wanted me to go to where they were. But I told them to come get me as I don't know anything about the place. So they came and picked me up. They wanted to go for barbeque. I was expecting to be taken an expensive place at the expenses of the gringo but I was pleasantly surprised that they took me to their part of town, a modest area of GZ called if I remember correctly, Tong Hue or something. Very modest area. I felt a little bit concerned as I was well dressed and had a wallet full plus my credit card on me. But all that worry was for nothing, thanks god. We went to this street small restaurant with tabales outside where you would choose your meet and they would cook it for you and bring them to your table. It was absolutely delicious! Specially the way they cooked the eggplant was to die for!
The 2 girls that showed up, one was a short and so so but who spoke good english and the good looking one, tall, pretty face, curvy body, didn't spoke a word of english and the friend was translating for me. The one I was interested in was sweet and flirty but quite shy and I could see from her behaviour that she is quite traditional however she did drink a bit which was a positive thing to keep in mind for next time.
What's the best game to run on a traditional girl Chinese girl that doesn't speak much english? I guess get her drunk and isolate and take it from there? or take her to my room to show her my travel pics and then take it from there?
What are good options for place to go out on a saturday night? how about for sunday night?
Went for a walk earlier today and I was very impressed by the talent out there. It is true that the Chinese girls in China have mad style are super feminine and incredibly sexy and cute. Gotta get myself one of those tall stunning ones with the white creamy skin and big boobed honeys.![[Image: banana.gif]](https://rooshvforum.network/images/smilies/new/banana.gif)
The 2 girls that showed up, one was a short and so so but who spoke good english and the good looking one, tall, pretty face, curvy body, didn't spoke a word of english and the friend was translating for me. The one I was interested in was sweet and flirty but quite shy and I could see from her behaviour that she is quite traditional however she did drink a bit which was a positive thing to keep in mind for next time.
What's the best game to run on a traditional girl Chinese girl that doesn't speak much english? I guess get her drunk and isolate and take it from there? or take her to my room to show her my travel pics and then take it from there?
What are good options for place to go out on a saturday night? how about for sunday night?
Went for a walk earlier today and I was very impressed by the talent out there. It is true that the Chinese girls in China have mad style are super feminine and incredibly sexy and cute. Gotta get myself one of those tall stunning ones with the white creamy skin and big boobed honeys.
Quote: (09-07-2012 10:13 PM)redneckpunk Wrote:
Quote: (09-07-2012 07:01 AM)Vacancier Permanent Wrote:
So I arrived today in Guangzhou and I'm very impressed so far with the city. I'm even more impressed by GZ than by Hong Kong which is crazy to think of as HK is considered one of the top 5 premiere cities in the world. I'm staying in Tianhe, a very chich and nice part of town. I'm meeting tonight with a beautiful Chinese lady I met on a dating site. She will be bringing a friend of her as well (a girl as well) so it's looking promising. Is it common for Chinese girls to bring a girlfriend to meet a guy?
wouldn't say it is normal, but it does happen. Basically means she is prude. Hopefully I'm wrong.
Depends on the city, some are more traditional than others, for guangzhou I would say it is not normal.
In 5 years never happened to me, but know some others that have done it.
I spent a few weeks in GZ this summer and my favorite restaurants were Bosphorus (Turkish) and Pandan (Indonesian). Found myself at one of those two every few days. And if you have some free time, spend an afternoon or evening walking around the small alleys in Xiobei. Thousands of Africans and other immigrants working mostly import/export.
GZ is not my favorite city in China, but hey at least you're in Tianhe. Geographically its in good region with decent transportation and close to Shenzhen, HK, Hainan, etc. Also good place if your looking to buy goods to ship back home. You going to the Canton Fair in October?
GZ is not my favorite city in China, but hey at least you're in Tianhe. Geographically its in good region with decent transportation and close to Shenzhen, HK, Hainan, etc. Also good place if your looking to buy goods to ship back home. You going to the Canton Fair in October?
I'm loving all the golden nuggets being dropped here about the different Chinese cities! Keep'em coming guys. I will be contributing my comments too once I've been here long enough.
Yeah Tianhe is awesome and I'm loving it here so far. I'm looking to relocate here, learn the language and live here for a few years as this is THE place to be for business. Thanks for the tips, I'll check them out.
Any suggestions for places to go out/clubs/bars for saturday/sunday nights? how about the rest of the week nights?
I did meet a few Cameroonians on the train from HK to GZ and they were coming here to buy stuff to send to Africa. Last night while returning home, met a guy from Amsterdam in the elevator who was exporting jewelery overseas from China. The kind of random people you meet here is simply amazing. Loving GZ so far!
Any suggestions for places to go out/clubs/bars for saturday/sunday nights? how about the rest of the week nights?
I did meet a few Cameroonians on the train from HK to GZ and they were coming here to buy stuff to send to Africa. Last night while returning home, met a guy from Amsterdam in the elevator who was exporting jewelery overseas from China. The kind of random people you meet here is simply amazing. Loving GZ so far!
Quote: (09-08-2012 01:14 AM)AFspecOps Wrote:
I spent a few weeks in GZ this summer and my favorite restaurants were Bosphorus (Turkish) and Pandan (Indonesian). Found myself at one of those two every few days. And if you have some free time, spend an afternoon or evening walking around the small alleys in Xiobei. Thousands of Africans and other immigrants working mostly import/export.
GZ is not my favorite city in China, but hey at least you're in Tianhe. Geographically its in good region with decent transportation and close to Shenzhen, HK, Hainan, etc. Also good place if your looking to buy goods to ship back home. You going to the Canton Fair in October?
Quote: (09-07-2012 11:04 AM)BadWolf Wrote:
Guangzhou sucks balls... cockroaches, people everywhere and theres no sugo/walmart on every corner (this sucks in China).
GZ is not representative of China and would highly recommend visiting some of the northern cities before you make a decision with a girl. Hit up Urumqi for an awesome experience. Food up there is excellent, food in guangzhou is mostly sh1t.
If you are in tianhe go to PIZZA 2 PIZZA... the best pizza in the world, hands down. Just get the regular with olives, costs about 83 rmb but its big and really damn good.
If you're not down with using the squatty potty then you can buy a stool that is basically a western fold out toliet seat, used one for a few months in my last city.
Of all the things to miss...no Walmart and Pizza? I mean sure, I miss Canadian beer, good burgers (though Eudora's in Hangzhou, mentioned in my previous post, does decent), good steaks, proper pizza, a large variety of women (as it's 99% Chinese with a small smattering of Korean, Japanese, Pinay and the almost-universally unattractive expats) and my friends and family...but come on; you can get most of the shit you need at Wu Mart, Tesco or any of the other large chain stores.
I do not know if Urumqi is back to stability, and while it is on my visit list, I wouldn't want to live there, that far out, right in the desert.
I found a way around the squatter, in the public washrooms (usually about one every city block, in HZ anyways), use the handicapped bathroom; always clean and a Western toilet.
Quote: (09-07-2012 11:39 AM)FretDancer Wrote:
For some reason, almost all of my contacts (chinese) from China live in Guangzhou. For some reason its a very popular city or might be just some odd occurrence.
Guangzhou was actually going to be my selected city to start my China trip. Right now it is between Guangzhou, Beijing, and Shenzhen. But I hear Beijing is very expensive.
Shenzhen will be expensive, close to Beijing levels, and some people basically count Shenzhen-Guangzhou as the same area (the PRD). When this is done, the population becomes huge, something like 50 million in the PRD.
Quote: (09-07-2012 06:39 PM)MaleDefined Wrote:
Well informed data sheet on Hangzhou NP. I thought of throwing one up after my time there, but my general knowledge of the place(or lack there of) was so threadbare that it would have been incomplete at best. I can vouch for basically everything that NP says about HZ and I'll throw my hat in the ring with some additional info.
My impression is that if you're looking for a "real" China experience and don't want to travel to Western China to do it, then HZ is your city. When I was there, I was literally one of a half dozen Western people in the entire city. It's to the point that hardly anyone has even a basic grasp of English and you will be the albino tiger on the street.
Getting in is pretty easy. It's only a 50 minute train ride from Shanghai - Honquiao and the taxi system from the train station is rather simple, however disgusting as you wait in an enclosed underground loading station with a couple of hundred taxis running diesel engines. To say you can't breathe is being generous.
Getting a taxi is next to impossible and you will have to take the bus with little idea of where you're going occasionally. I made an art out of wandering around as clueless as possible to make it a point that I needed help. It was a rather effective strategy as people seemed genuinely interested in going out of their way to assist me.
The old city is beautiful and well worth a stroll, especially at night when much of the food comes out. HZ is so off the beaten path that I struggled to find places to out at night. I literally could not explain to anyone that I wanted to go to the best club there to dance, hence I really didn't get out much at night. I was pretty OK with that because I enjoyed everything else about the place so much.
In terms of eating, 143 on Gaoyin St. is the pick of the bunch. GZ cuisine is more fish-centric and my contact pointed me to this restaurant and it was confirmed with locals in the city, IIRC there is a McDonalds at the corner of Ding'an Rd. and Humin Rd. Head up one flight from the Mc Donalds and you will see a manic restaurant immediately on your left on the second floor. It's regarded as one of the best in HZ. Basically I went here everyday and ate my ass off.
I can't imagine ANYONE else having been to HZ, it really is off the beaten path, but I encourage you to go. With NP's info about where to party, you could really have a great experience here.
Hangzhou has definitely changed; there are hundreds, if not thousands of foreigners in the city now, so people are more 'used' to them; that's why I think you should choose to come to a larger city as opposed to a smaller town...sure it's nice to be at the center of attention, but that shit gets old, and I enjoy my anonymity.
The city is growing pretty rapidly; I suppose it (like many other large Chinese cities like Wuhan, Chengdu, Qingdao etc,.) see what Shanghai, Beijing and Hong Kong have and say 'I want that'. I also think that the city is perfectly situated; day trips to Shanghai, Ningbo and Suzhou are possible, and Nanjing and Wuxi are nearby enough to make a weekend out of. I really like it here; it's big enough to offer all the big city amenities, but not crazy stupid big that the people are up their own ass and the women think they're god's gift to men.
Quote: (09-07-2012 10:56 PM)redneckpunk Wrote:
Quote: (09-07-2012 12:58 AM)Nonpareil Wrote:
Hangzhou Data Sheet: Xihu District
Someone pointed out something; there is a definite negative correlation between level of English spoken and attractiveness in the women, but I think I have this one cracked; you see, China is smarter than the US with University; instead of creating debt slaves by giving 17 and 18 year olds with zero future-time orientation or impulse control massive student loans, in China, you don't go to University until you're 20, and you graduate when you're 24, and I really think this is how it should be done; you graduate high school at 18, work for a few years to get some experience and capital and THEN you go to school
Not sure where you pulled this info but I don't think it is accurate.
Most chinese that attend University go right after finishing high school, at 18-19 years old and finish at 22 or 23. If they wait a year they are studying more or their parents are still saving, the kids just study more, from what I saw.
Also Chinese count age differently than westerners. The day you are born you are 1 year old according to Chinese thinking.
Yeah, the 'Real age' vs. 'Normal age' (or whatever it is) trips me the fuck out...one of my students was born in 2005, yet insists that she's 8 years old, I think it's retarded, but that's just how they roll here. I wasn't so much saying that they work between HS and Uni (as I don't know), just that a similar system in the US would be far more intelligent; in America kids can go to University at 17, and that's just wrong.
Many Chinese people I know went at 20 to University (they claim), so perhaps what they really meant was that they went at 19 (but were 20 in Chinese years), I have no idea.
Either way, that was less part of the observation about the negative correlation; it's that University is where most of the people learn (or add to) their English (people learn English starting in middle school here, but I've seen a few classes and English is taught the same way as Chinese is taught, when they're totally different languages), so it's likely that the person who speaks English 'well' is 23-27, and the person who only knows 'Hello!', 'Thank you!', 'Goodbye!' and 'I love you!' is 18-20.
Hangzhou has a lot of foreigners, but not many Americans and most of them are international students. There's a sizable majority of Europeans, Arabs and Africans. Also the level of English the girls speak seems to correlate more with where you find them. Most girls at coco will speak some level of English. At clubs like G plus. English is harder to find.
One Chinese local told me in a Chinese survey Chongqing had the hottest girl in China, then followed by Hengyang. Went on google, found this http://tieba.baidu.com/f?kz=211454456
(note this in simplified Chinese)
1 重庆(chongqing) 24.25% (81.77-75.35-70.01) 重庆 川中区--长江沿线区
2 成都(chengdu) 22.89% (81.29-75.66-70.19) 四川 川中区
3 长沙(changsha) 20.57% (81.70-74.52-72.89) 湖南 湘西区延伸部
4 武汉(wuhan) 19.63% (79.45-72.68-66.51) 湖北 长江沿线区
5 米脂(mizhi) 19.05% (80.21-69.67-70.13) 陕西 关中区
What is your top list?
(note this in simplified Chinese)
1 重庆(chongqing) 24.25% (81.77-75.35-70.01) 重庆 川中区--长江沿线区
2 成都(chengdu) 22.89% (81.29-75.66-70.19) 四川 川中区
3 长沙(changsha) 20.57% (81.70-74.52-72.89) 湖南 湘西区延伸部
4 武汉(wuhan) 19.63% (79.45-72.68-66.51) 湖北 长江沿线区
5 米脂(mizhi) 19.05% (80.21-69.67-70.13) 陕西 关中区
What is your top list?
Also Chinese count age differently than westerners. The day you are born you are 1 year old according to Chinese thinking.[/quote]
Yeah, the 'Real age' vs. 'Normal age' (or whatever it is) trips me the fuck out...one of my students was born in 2005, yet insists that she's 8 years old, I think it's retarded, but that's just how they roll here. I wasn't so much saying that they work between HS and Uni (as I don't know), just that a similar system in the US would be far more intelligent; in America kids can go to University at 17, and that's just wrong.
Many Chinese people I know went at 20 to University (they claim), so perhaps what they really meant was that they went at 19 (but were 20 in Chinese years), I have no idea.
Either way, that was less part of the observation about the negative correlation; it's that University is where most of the people learn (or add to) their English (people learn English starting in middle school here, but I've seen a few classes and English is taught the same way as Chinese is taught, when they're totally different languages), so it's likely that the person who speaks English 'well' is 23-27, and the person who only knows 'Hello!', 'Thank you!', 'Goodbye!' and 'I love you!' is 18-20.
[/quote]
Most people count the age same as westerners do, when someone says he is 20, he is born in 1992.
Yeah, the 'Real age' vs. 'Normal age' (or whatever it is) trips me the fuck out...one of my students was born in 2005, yet insists that she's 8 years old, I think it's retarded, but that's just how they roll here. I wasn't so much saying that they work between HS and Uni (as I don't know), just that a similar system in the US would be far more intelligent; in America kids can go to University at 17, and that's just wrong.
Many Chinese people I know went at 20 to University (they claim), so perhaps what they really meant was that they went at 19 (but were 20 in Chinese years), I have no idea.
Either way, that was less part of the observation about the negative correlation; it's that University is where most of the people learn (or add to) their English (people learn English starting in middle school here, but I've seen a few classes and English is taught the same way as Chinese is taught, when they're totally different languages), so it's likely that the person who speaks English 'well' is 23-27, and the person who only knows 'Hello!', 'Thank you!', 'Goodbye!' and 'I love you!' is 18-20.
[/quote]
Most people count the age same as westerners do, when someone says he is 20, he is born in 1992.
Most people count the age same as westerners do, when someone says he is 20, he is born in 1992.
[/quote]
Maybe they are counting by the chinese calendar which is lunar and solar mixed, but lunisolar calendar usually has 12-13months, so it should be shorter in years, I don't know anyone who counts the way you said before.
[/quote]
Maybe they are counting by the chinese calendar which is lunar and solar mixed, but lunisolar calendar usually has 12-13months, so it should be shorter in years, I don't know anyone who counts the way you said before.
Hangzhou is definitely not off the beaten path. It is a tier 2 city in the richest province per capita with numerous western companies with expat staff located there not to mention teachers.
As far as learning English, many kindergardens teach English, and most primary schools teach English.
They just teach the language the wrong way, all memorization no converation. Lots of Chinese can read English ok just can't speak or hear it well.
You can easily find a 12 year old with better English than an 24 year old. Just depends how much they work at it. I've had a Chinese mom have her teenage daughter call me to arrange a date.
@VP
Personally I quickly found out not to waste my time with traditional girls for numerous reasons, not just ease of sex.
There is a good chance she doesn't drink at all, which is very common, or that she has never been to a bar in her life. For a traditional girl thinking is bars are for hookers.
@avantgarde
If you don't know anyone who counts age that way then you clearly know nothing about China, bc those of us that have or currently do live there know exctly we we are talking about. The day you are born you are 1 year old in China. Has nothing to do with the calendar.
If a local says they are 25, 99% of the time they were born 24 years ago.
Just like Chinese girls will introduce you to her friend and refer to the girl as her sister. It isn't actually her sister, it is a term used to show they are very good friends. Confusing as hell...yes, welcome to China you will be confused daily.
As far as learning English, many kindergardens teach English, and most primary schools teach English.
They just teach the language the wrong way, all memorization no converation. Lots of Chinese can read English ok just can't speak or hear it well.
You can easily find a 12 year old with better English than an 24 year old. Just depends how much they work at it. I've had a Chinese mom have her teenage daughter call me to arrange a date.
@VP
Personally I quickly found out not to waste my time with traditional girls for numerous reasons, not just ease of sex.
There is a good chance she doesn't drink at all, which is very common, or that she has never been to a bar in her life. For a traditional girl thinking is bars are for hookers.
@avantgarde
If you don't know anyone who counts age that way then you clearly know nothing about China, bc those of us that have or currently do live there know exctly we we are talking about. The day you are born you are 1 year old in China. Has nothing to do with the calendar.
If a local says they are 25, 99% of the time they were born 24 years ago.
Just like Chinese girls will introduce you to her friend and refer to the girl as her sister. It isn't actually her sister, it is a term used to show they are very good friends. Confusing as hell...yes, welcome to China you will be confused daily.
Quote: (09-08-2012 07:53 AM)redneckpunk Wrote:Are you sure, then I never pay attention to what year they are born in, I just assume when they are 19 they are 19. But I asked someone, usually it is the older/more traditional people who say 19 is 20, because you are on your 20th year. Yes, people will refer people with endearing kinship terms if they are close or being polite, U refer an old man as 爺爺/yeye/grandpa, older woman 大姐/dajie/big sister or 阿姨/auntie.
Hangzhou is definitely not off the beaten path. It is a tier 2 city in the richest province per capita with numerous western companies with expat staff located there not to mention teachers.
As far as learning English, many kindergardens teach English, and most primary schools teach English.
They just teach the language the wrong way, all memorization no converation. Lots of Chinese can read English ok just can't speak or hear it well.
You can easily find a 12 year old with better English than an 24 year old. Just depends how much they work at it. I've had a Chinese mom have her teenage daughter call me to arrange a date.
@VP
Personally I quickly found out not to waste my time with traditional girls for numerous reasons, not just ease of sex.
There is a good chance she doesn't drink at all, which is very common, or that she has never been to a bar in her life. For a traditional girl thinking is bars are for hookers.
@avantgarde
If you don't know anyone who counts age that way then you clearly know nothing about China, bc those of us that have or currently do live there know exctly we we are talking about. The day you are born you are 1 year old in China. Has nothing to do with the calendar.
If a local says they are 25, 99% of the time they were born 24 years ago.
Just like Chinese girls will introduce you to her friend and refer to the girl as her sister. It isn't actually her sister, it is a term used to show they are very good friends. Confusing as hell...yes, welcome to China you will be confused daily.
Dude, I know plenty about China.
"I don't know anyone who counts the way you said before"
your words not mine.
I find it hard to believe, actually impossible to believe, that if you LIVED in China you have never encountered this before. NonP has been there a few months and knows exactly what I am talking about.
His example is an 8 year old, not exactly an old traditional person.
Show a Chinese in China your ID and they will say you are a year older than what you would say, I've done this dozens and dozens of times with all age groups over the course of years.
Possibly the entire nation has changed this way of thinking since I left in 09, but I doubt it.
your words not mine.
I find it hard to believe, actually impossible to believe, that if you LIVED in China you have never encountered this before. NonP has been there a few months and knows exactly what I am talking about.
His example is an 8 year old, not exactly an old traditional person.
Show a Chinese in China your ID and they will say you are a year older than what you would say, I've done this dozens and dozens of times with all age groups over the course of years.
Possibly the entire nation has changed this way of thinking since I left in 09, but I doubt it.
@VP realized I read what you wrote wrong, if she did drink some then yes go ahead and try the i'll show you pictures routine and try to get her drunk.
If your short on time do that if not, slow playing it might be best I don't think you're there long enough for that, good luck. How was the business meeting?
If your short on time do that if not, slow playing it might be best I don't think you're there long enough for that, good luck. How was the business meeting?
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