My study abroad trip to China was the time of my life. After studying China for many years, I was excited to finally go and experience it myself. I immediately fell in love with the people, customs, way of life, and culture of the country. But, as anyone who has been to China will tell you, the people are known for unique idiosyncrasies that foreigners find endearing. Here are a few that I noticed during my time there.
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The Kids May be Spoiled, but They are Under a Tremendous Amount of Pressure
The Chinese youth of our generation are often mockingly referred to 小皇帝 – “Little Emperors.” The One-Child Policy has been in place since the 70s, so, if you take a minute to visualize a family tree, means that the adult generation in China were only children. Those only children then went on to have more only children – our generation – and these children, for the first time, have no direct cousins, siblings, aunts, uncles, etc. They do, however, have what’s called “Six Pockets,” meaning the full blown resources of on their mom, dad, mom’s grandpa and grandma, and dad’s grandpa and grandma. Chinese families spend an average of 60% of their income on their child (compared to the United States’ average of 45% spread across multiple children). This means that today’s Chinese youth have more resources than ever; they have nice shoes, are able to travel, and go to the best schools. However, they also have the entire legacy of two separate families riding on their shoulders. Talk about stress!
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Chinese People Usually Have Only One App on Their Phone – WeChat
The WeChat app has been downloaded over 965 million times, and exists on just about every Chinese citizen’s phone. Why? Because it does EVERYTHING. You can message friends, video chat and call, pay your bills, send money to friends, hail a cab or rent a bike, consume media, post like social media, manage memberships and cards, order food and movie tickets, purchase air tickets, clothes, and food – it seems like the list never stops! Coolest of all, Chinese businesses rarely have card readers, because most people pay for stuff by scanning a QR code, the money being removed right from their WeChat accounts. The reasons for this dominance are too complicated for this article, but just know, if you ever go to China, make sure to download WeChat!
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There is Very Little Dairy in China
80% of Chinese people are lactose intolerant, and as such, dairy products are few and far between. Milk, butter, cheese – good luck finding it! What they call “icecream” over there is usually just frozen yogurt made from soy milk. What is quite delicious, though, is milk tea. I had one every day I was there, for only a few cents, and it is the most delicious drink you will ever taste. There is milk tea here, but it is difficult to find it made authentically.
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It May be Crowded, but Chinese People Know How to Keep Things Moving
With a population 4 times that of the United States, China can feel claustrophobic on the best of days. But, in all honesty, it was hardly noticeable. This is in part because I’m tall, but mainly because Chinese people have centuries of experience moving within and around crowds. They regularly push, shove, scoot past, forcibly move, and slide around others. This might seem annoying, but you quickly get used to it, and indeed what you find is that crowds in China are never gridlocked. Everything moves smoothly, and it rarely feels anxiety inducing. Compare that to the United States, where, in crowded situations, we tend to be overly polite. People try to take turns, will wait patiently for an opening before moving past a long line, and generally try not to touch each other. It’s cute, but it leads to deadlocked crowds and a lot of miserable people. This is a lesson we can take from the Chinese. Next time, give the slow walker a little elbow as you scoot past.
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Is It a Beautiful, Sunny Day? Time to Bring Out the Umbrellas!
In China, the cultural ideal is to have very fair skin. This is an important standard of beauty in the culture, and they key to achieving this look is blocking out the sun at all costs. Chinese girls in particular have great fashion sense, and this extends to the fashionable umbrellas they open the minute a ray of sunshine hits their face. I didn’t think this would bother me that much, but, with the average Chinese girl being about 5’3, and myself being 6’2, I started to hate the practice around the time I took my 5th umbrella to the face. Truly, though, this is one of the coolest differences in culture between us. To see a beautiful sunny day, and everyone around you with an umbrella, like it’s raining. Pretty neat!
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The Chinese Love to Gawk at Foreigners
In a country where the population is 98% Han Chinese, seeing a face that looks even a little bit different is a rarity. Chinese people will clamor to take pictures and talk with foreigners when they see them. There are a few different types of people in this regard: There is the shy, incredibly polite person who, after building up the courage to approach, will ask for a picture or two. You’ll agree, and then quickly be chauffeured into several different poses to make sure the picture is just right; There is the brazen type that will silently approach you, jaw slack, mouth agape, and cellphone in their hand, in which they will take a picture of you on the subway, sidewalk, or sitting on a bench, and then silently walk away; and finally, there is the type that treats you more like a zoo animal than a person. In Yunnan, my friends and I were followed by two teenage girls on electric scooters, refusing to speak with us or take pictures, but proceeded to video tape us and provide commentary, like they were on safari. If you have delusions of grandeur and stardom and are seeking affirmation, China is the place for you.