I think the most important aspect, if we were to live in China, leaving aside the things you mentioned, for most of us who are outside of China, no matter what country we live in, especially in today's times, would definitely be the lack of concern about the political factor/authorities running the country. Here at us, "outside China", we open the local news on the internet / TV news, and we keep hearing how everything is divided, the political parties, whatever they are, are incompetent, we see how things around us don't change, it seems like everything stays the same, we don't see progress, we see how everything is getting more expensive, from fuel, to gas and energy, to food. How wages stay the same, how everything seems to go from bad to worse. Infrastructure work of any kind is either not done at all, or it is done badly and slowly. Years go by, then we have to vote for new leaders, and we always choose the "lesser evil", since we know nothing will change. This daily lack of concern for the future and the security of tomorrow is surely the most important thing..
I completely agree with you, the hospitality and kindness are amazing. Very friendly people and helpful, even you just speak a few words in Chinese they will appreciate your trying and will say wow, your Chinese is so good. Because here in Russia where I am living in the people are soooo different, most of my expats friends and I share the same feeling, we have a saying winter weather is cold but the people here even colder. Often I got scolded by the Russian people in pharmacy or gym if they realized that I just speak a little bit Russian. Waiters will serve local Russians first if you don't speak Russian even you come first in the restaruants. If you ever smiled to the local people, they will give you a cold stare at you back. Really miss China.
@@JamesandKeli Should've mentioned the People, and the reason that I say that is because in every video that I've watched of other RUclipsrs living in China, 'The People' are Number One Reason they have stayed living in China!!! it does make a difference when Someone like "Me" lives surrounded with toxic people in the USA, and am visiting Dominican Republic right now where the People are Very Rude and Selfish and they already Ruined my travels.
@@greentraveler4114 First and foremost, "Cold War" was the invention of the West, perfected by who?...the America. I 'm not a supporter of war, but Russia has her own little right to live! NATO and Uncle Sam had been scheming to break out Russia for the second time; which the West did successfully break it up for the first time in 1990, when Russia was previously the "Union Soviet Socialists Republic" USSR. The recent target of the West and America military misadventure was in the South CHINA Sea, and the country they targeted this time was People's Republic of China. Former President Obama rolled out his "pivotal to Asia" strategy to focus on his effort of confrontation with, and containment of the growth and influences of the PRC and her citizens. To put a long story short, the two neighbouring military powers of Russia and China had been on friendly terms, and kept their peace, despite their on and off rivalry. Consequently, the World had witnessed their getting closer and trusting one another with the cooperation in many areas... On that note, NATO and Uncle Sam had a lot to learn from People's Republic of China to live and work with Russia on friendly terms instead of confrontation and animosity!🙏
Love the spirit ❤️. After traveling to most of the major countries of the world, I realized. China is the most diverse country in the world in terms of scenery, food and culture. As an Human being, it would be a pity if he&she had not traveled to China
I think what I like about China is the little things that many people here won't even consider. I'm Eastern European so in certain places it's impossible to traverse a city if you're a pedestrian. China however, despite being so large, has a large and established pedestrian culture which provides a lot of options. From large sidewalks, to pedestrian alleys, to bikes/scooters for rent, to a robust public transit system, it's just very easy to go wherever you like. Plus, the systems are all electronic and accessed by phone.
No point having too many freedom but at the expense of safety. Be a normal citizen or visitors, respect the culture and people and property, be courteous to each other, these are simple rules to follow and China experience will be a great one. And yes, CCTV are everywhere for a reason, to deter people from doing crimes and to identify and catch criminals fast so that's one surveillance I can live with if it means safety for myself and my love ones even on the street alone even at 3am in the morning.
Hi, because of the west keep saying CHINA CHINA CHINA, it made me look more into china, make me actually from Neutral CHINA, and like CHINA and looking forward to CHINA. Once the pandemic over, i will definitely visit to different parts of CHINA.
New subscriber here. Hi James and Keli, I've been to China around 4 times from 1990s till my last trip 2018 for both leisure and business. This is one country which a person MUST BE THERE to experience it instead of listening to hearsay or news media reports which are totally bias. That said I was disappointed in my 90s and 2002 trips which were not quite pleasant because China was still "backwards" back then but 2006 and 2018 were like going to a different China, I was in awe. I can see why almost all western countries did not like to portray the current China because China practically SHAMED the western governments with its unbelievable developments while retaining those thousands of years cultural heritage. Few months before my China trip in 2018 I was in Austin TX and China just gives out "lives", friendly, safe, extremely convenient to live in, convenient to move around, food, sceneries...... what more should we ask for in our daily lives? Saddens me when I see veterans holding cardboards at stoplights and the number of tents in America while in China you needed to be persistent enough trying hard to even find one similar scenario. You guys are lucky, I would be happy and feeling contend if I could spend my 2nd half of my life in China. Feeling more broken where I lived seeing more and more sufferings everyday and no one cared to do anything about them.
Why were you disappointed in 90s 2002 trips? What made you carry on going back after twice going and consistently being disappointed??? What was backwards in China? I know what you mean I think… example what swayed you from your trip that you were disappointed in in 2002 and the trip that was positive in 2006? A difference of 4 years?….. I’ve never been to China but Hong Kong and I was aware of a flip of opinion and general negativity around the same time…. I remember being in HK around…. Before the 911 happened might be 2000 or 99 I can’t remember but I was told not to go to China for a quick trip because shenzhen was just a short ride across the border…. Remember my family and relatives having heated discussions about a group of us going over to shenzhen for a few days or hours? I wasn’t fussed I had no preconceptions about China apart from scary stories and that’s what I treated them as… scaremongering…. The stories and anecdotal stories my mum would hear from other people who heard from other people were really over the top lol for example…. Then around 2008 onwards 2010 I suppose after the olympics China was suddenly all positive from people who were once negative about it…. This is the anecdotal evidence from me of when I noticed a massive pole shift in China and China goods….. Chinese made used to be bad but Chinese made is now new and innovative…. Again I’ve never set foot in China I’ve just noticed China from afar… I am British born Chinese so I’m not even considered Chinese I’m the gweilo in my family along with my brother… but I am really impressed with the rise of China, it’s always been apart of my roots and the calling is just getting louder…. I
@@andytang8679 , below are my individual trips summary. - my 90s trip (my 1st trip) was for leisure, was really cheap back then and I was surprised we were struggling to find a decent toilet in Guangzhou but the cultural sites were great to experience which dated back thousands of years old. That was when China opened up to the world not long, the cultural part was good but cities felt "backwards" and under developed, basically run down but at least an experience that I was there. - 2002 trip, a business trip looking for manufacturers, China was well known for manufacturing at low costs so I have to be there to visit their factories because you wouldn't want to order unless you know their manufacturing processes and integrity of their factories. So have to go because it's business as I was managing a company. The overall environment was similar as my 1st trip but marginally improved, nothing to shout about. - 2006 trip, again business, regional meeting but it seemed much better than my 2 earlier trips. Definitely felt more improvements, lots of new buildings unlike before and domestic businesses were blooming. Forget about ever finishing dishes in dinners which the manufacturer owners will not allow, they kept ordering when food dishes were about to finish, that's their way of treating guests apparently plus drinking chaos and entertainments after office hours. Overall improvements were impressive as compared to my 2 previous trips, yes, within the span of 4 years. - 2018 trip was for leisure, and I happened to be in Japan and visited Austin Texas just months before China so seeing and feeling the differences between countries was an eye opener within the span of months, especially my China's perception was based on the 2006 experience but boy what did I just discovered in China 2018 - Amazing !! The big cities in China are either on par or even better than those in developed countries, that said Austin Texas is one supposedly well developed state many Americans are moving into nowadays, and Japan's Hokkaido is a well known place too. What I really liked about China initially was their heritage sites, thousands of years cultural history, the mountainous sceneries and now their main cities are great too - you get both great combinations. So easy to move about, food was great, high speed trains are fantastic, traveled with 250kmph speed and I understand they're coming out with around 600kmph. Generally cities are clean and I appreciated the fact that you'd be hard pressed to find homeless people in China and veterans carrying cardboards at traffic lights asking for help like in US. Found out from local Chinese people that even they were impressed that their own country with development changes on year to year basis, that made me wanting to go China again after the pandemic is over. There were lots of mis-information from western media about China in recent years but what I can tell you is that don't listen to hearsay, you've got to go see and witness China for yourself and make your own conclusions, for me, I felt freedom like what I used to in America, Japan, Singapore, Thailand, HK as long as we do not have ill intentions of committing crimes, you're free to go anywhere and enjoy yourself, same as China. My bucket list (before I finally kick the bucket 🤣) is to cover Europe, Switzerland, Italy, Germany, France, Norway and to cover the entire China (places I have not been), that is if I'm still healthy enough to do all that as I'm already in my "senior" age category. Always good to dream my friend 😂.
We do recognize the streets are so clean and it is so nice! We definitely should thank the street cleaners for all of the hard work they do for keeping it clean.
I'm Chinese and have spent more than 60 years in hong kong. I am planning to spend the rest of my life in mainland China after retirement. My favorite place is the big bay area. My dream is to drive all around China. It's going to happen after the pandemic.
I have lived in US 26 years. I am planning to go to live in my motherland China! US is a good place to live, but China is more attractive! High speed train so convenient! My hometown is close to Wuhan, by a lake. I can go to beijing, shenzhen or shanghai bh train in 4 hours (for the same distance in US it takes 23 hours by train) Friends everywhere! It is my dream to go back to live in my home village! I have to admit, US is going down and China is going up. I feel sorry for the lower middle class in the US.
China 👍🙏 Terus dan teruslah...menjadi negara dan rumah yang bahagia bagi semua warganya tanpa kecuali, wisatawan, baik lokal maupun manca negara, ramah dan menyenangkan, damai dan harmoni dimana setiap orang yang berkunjung tersenyum bahagia dan menjadi betah tinggal berlama disana. Satu saat jika terkondisi saya juga mau ke china. Salam saya dari Indonesia.
Love the content guys, awesome vlogs and really enjoy it, just subscribed and wish you guys all the best from New Zealand 🇳🇿 keep up with the good work 👍
Are you guys from USA originally! I am Chinese and living in USA for almost 40 year. Yes, you guys list 7 reasons love to living in China. Those are good and the right reasons! Living in China you won’t get boring there. It’s safe place to going out day and night. No need to worry about violence and gun shots. Please Staying safe and healthy and enjoying your living in China.🙏👍
Hi James and Keli! Thanks so much for making this video. You both are so informative and entertaining, as always. Wow, my mind is blown! Lol! I never imagined there could be so many conveniences available there. I am so jealous! I would love to go to China someday to experience it firsthand in person. I'm also surprised to learn how low the crime rate is there, especially with such a large population of people. Here in the States, the violent crime, homelessness and drug and mental health problems have skyrocketed over the last ten years. I feel like I'm always having to be aware of my surroundings or not able to go anywhere without panhandlers on every corner asking for money constantly. Do you see a lot of homelessness there? Thanks again...look forward to your next update! Living vicariously through you.😍😍😄
Awe thank you!! So glad to hear you are enjoying our videos ☺️☺️ China is really great to live in, very comfortable here. We definitely understand what you mean about the crime in the US (that’s were we are from) but here we don’t see much crime at all. In bigger cities you may find a few people that are homeless, but it really isn’t as bad as the US. Excited to have you with us on our journey 😊
@@nomadsoulkarma and the surveillance bro... no point doing a crime that will 100% put you in a jail. not worth the risk at all. if surveillance is used properly, it is an utopia society.
@@fishcanon Sure, but crime was also low before all the cams. When I got there in 07 what surprised me is that I almost never saw police and there weren't many cams. When I left in 20 I still never ran into police. The only tight security is at subways and airports. The western media hypes China as a surveillence state. Doesn't matter if it is, cameras aren't being properly monitored anyway everyone's on wechat. And there are too many people to keep up with. In 13 years I never saw cars being pulled over or heard sirens. In the US it seemed like the police was everywhere. Chinese folks 'seem' to be more concerened with making money than arresting people.
@@nomadsoulkarma In China every criminal or lawbreaker is caught and punished whereas inthe US many crimes are unsolved or the wrong persons arrested and found innocent after 20 or 30 years in jail. It is also worth mentionning that drug related crimes are very rare. Less than 100 ago, China was known as an opium den and the Chineses as an opium addict nation thanks to the UK and the US.
@@birdyashiro1226 No I want to live there for at least 6months. Probably longer. So many cool cities to visit. I work online so I can live anywhere. The low cost of living and brand new infrastructure looks great.
Hope you enjoy life in China and make more fun videos! I miss China but have some reasons to stay in another country. I expect many Chinese living in foreign countries share the same feeling, especially during the pandemic.
@@12567NoYouCannot I know the different between Chinese culture and Western culture. May be useless to change anything from Westerners mind. China's peaceful rise is mostly because of Chinese philosophy! Chinese always pursue harmony both in society and family from Confucius era (/kənˈfjuːʃəs/ kən-FEW-shəs; Chinese: 孔夫子; pinyin: Kǒng Fūzǐ, "Master Kǒng"; or commonly 孔子; Kǒngzǐ; c. 551-479 BCE). In modern days, different ideologies, different societies, different cultures and even different interests if they can peacefully coexist and each can have their full play, Chinese regard that is the beauty of Harmony! For example 风水 is a kind of Harmony. You may see China named our bullet train as Hexie Hao. Inside China, we have 56 ethnic groups, all contributed to our glorious civilization history! Buddhism, Islam, Christianity, Confucianism, Taoism and Judaism peacefully coexist in China for thousand years! Outside China, as a secular country, China can peacefully coexist with Muslim countries, Buddhism countries, Christian countries and secular countries! Chinese make wealth through hard-working instead of war/colonizing! Along the Silk Road beginning in the Han dynasty (207 BCE-220 AD) Chinese brought prosperity to countries along the road instead of war/colonizing!
@@jimwong2269 Wow, Thank You for these interesting facts and information. I fell in Love with CHINA a long time ago when I had to do a College Paper on China. There was a book that I read that inspired me and showed me things about China that I did Not know, and the illustrations on this book were spectacular to say the least, I did Not know about the North, South, East, West parts of China until I read this book, and China's beautiful landscape, and the more I know about China, the more I fall in Love with it. Wish I Can have the pleasure of Visiting One Day and interact with the lovely Chinese people. Thank You.
Hi James, thanks for your video and even makes me homesick. The only point is that at 4:38 the photo shown in the video is the common train, not the highspeed train haha.
I'm sure I'm not alone in wishing it was easier to make the move to China.. I guess the biggest hurdle would be finding a way to support yourself/ family. I think its probably only a dream for the average person.
I've been living in China since 2018 and you hit every thing I could think of. China is such a great country! Unfortunately my wife (Chinese local) has been getting the itch to move back to the US. So unfortunately my time here may or may not be coming to an end :/
Love your content. And love Starbucks! I just read today that by the end of 2022, Starbucks plans to open 400 more stores in China (to get to 6000 stores nationwide).
You mentioned sometimes you stay at home because you don't want to deal with the language barrier, then how do you know where to go and how to get around town. Like renting or buying a house or how do you know if you break any law ? Is there services that provide help ? It look like a very nice place to live, everything is so modern and convenient.Thanks
There are a lot of apps to use to help translate, but it does add extra time in your day. We know enough Chinese to get around, order things, and everything we need to do. We use all Chinese apps so everything is in Chinese, this helps us find restaurants, shops, and places to go. It is extremely easy to get around even if you are not too familiar with the language. Sometimes we just don't have the energy to go out, which is 100% okay sometimes :)
The name of the station / terminal /bus stop /airport /shopping mall ,usually show in bilingual. This is much convenience to those foreigner with mother tongue in English.
@Nothing Nothing it practically works for “the surname of education is socialism instead of capitalism, young parents are stressful in the last 20 years, the government encourages people go to learn English to public schools instead of “training classes “
If you used to yearn for American-style "freedom and human rights", if you still keep this idea and never think freely about the conspiracy behind American-style "freedom and human rights", then China may not be suitable for you; because American-style "freedom and human rights" has been imprisoned your way of thinking 如果你以前向往的是美式“自由人权”，如果你还一直保持这个想法，从来不会自由思考美式“自由人权”背后的阴谋，那么中国可能不适合你；因为美式“自由人权”已经禁锢了你的思维方式
I didn't see one pickup truck. I'm really jealous. We can't ride our bikes anymore because the SUVs and giant pickups are zipping around like mini coopers.
Rent costs,?? How hard would it be for a retired Canadian couple to find a place to live for a few months? What about healthcare and prescription drugs? How would someone in a wheelchair get about? Can you use the high speed rail if you are in a wheelchair?
Shanghai is more expensive than other cities. Rent can be about $1000USD ~ $2000 a month here. If you’re working most companies provide health insurance but health care is also relatively cheap. We unfortunately can’t answer about wheelchair accessibility as we have not had that experience.
@@JamesandKeli The audience just asked about cost of living / healthcare as a retired Canadian couple living in China but you did not provide the answer. They did not ask for someone who is employed and healthcare paid by employers. If you pay attention to details in your every day environment, you would know these basics and common things you see such as handicap and wheelchair accommodation. You lived there for 3 years you should know these basics by now because they are right in front of you
Hey guys nice to see your channel. My name is Alex and I'm living in Chongqing. Our team would be interested to invite you to our city. Our team have had many RUclipsrs visit. If interested we can send you the details. Kind Regards Alex
Oh Alex! I am a big fan of you! What a surprise to meet you on this channel! I love all the videos you've made! Keep it up, to both Alex and James & Keli! 🙏🌹
MTR is meant for the people, government is not making much profit, unlike other countries. This way the government also makes money to maintain it without any hassle.
We were just talking about it. What do we think the average profit loss is for the MTR each year is, because it has to be so expensive to keep up with electricity and maintenance.
@@calvyncraven1141 It's not overrun by capitalism like United States. The trains in China are made to make it more convenient to get to work, travel and free up the highways. The United States is run by capitalism so we can't have nice things because how are we going to pay for it! Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos going to pay for it? We suck as a country and it's showing. Are infrastructure is crumbling and we can't have nice things. Oh, but we invested in the military with some 850 billion of tax payers money. So we do have money just not for the people that need it that's why that part of Build Back Better didn't pass because Congress could careless.
@@calvyncraven1141 the operation and business models is completely different, the Chinese government does not look at the per company or organisation wise profit, but the overall ecosystems that are created and business generated from these massive ecosystems built around the metro lines. They have their 5, 10 & 20 years planning if I recall them correctly, you remember in the past where the news about plenty of ghost cities in China, in fact what they did was to build a city from scratch and moving dilapidated villages folks to these cities. Their financial model is hoping for over the next 5-10 years these organisations are sustainable from their own operations, once the ecosystems of people, shops, businesses, etc are in place. In my previous experience with these govt officials in negotiating such operations, they are very conservative and cautious and are very business savvy!
Why do you love living in China? Or why would you love to live here? 🥰
No massive amount of homeless tents and gun violence 👍
I think the most important aspect, if we were to live in China, leaving aside the things you mentioned, for most of us who are outside of China, no matter what country we live in, especially in today's times, would definitely be the lack of concern about the political factor/authorities running the country.
Here at us, "outside China", we open the local news on the internet / TV news, and we keep hearing how everything is divided, the political parties, whatever they are, are incompetent, we see how things around us don't change, it seems like everything stays the same, we don't see progress, we see how everything is getting more expensive, from fuel, to gas and energy, to food. How wages stay the same, how everything seems to go from bad to worse. Infrastructure work of any kind is either not done at all, or it is done badly and slowly. Years go by, then we have to vote for new leaders, and we always choose the "lesser evil", since we know nothing will change. This daily lack of concern for the future and the security of tomorrow is surely the most important thing..
learn from china then go back to build yours thank you
Safety is main reason.
@@朱绎达 But Americans won't do that, they are convinced they have the best way and won't listen to others.
I find Americans always like to travel to China. It’s very different from what American media told us.
The media was telling u How this country decades years ago.
Because these Americans are smart, they trust what they see, they touch, they try!
@@尹培阳Not quite so. The media is too politically motivated, biased and sinophobic.
If you believe China is a peaceful and progressive country, raise your hand ✋🙋🏻♂️👍
? ? ?
👋👋🙋🏼♂️
India!
🙋🏽♂️
怎么哪儿都是你
I am surprised you didn't mention the people. When i was there the people were very nice, helpful and kind.
We also do love the people here! We’ve met those who will help us with directions and things.
Whenever people are kind and helpful to us we do always mention it in our videos ☺️
I completely agree with you, the hospitality and kindness are amazing. Very friendly people and helpful, even you just speak a few words in Chinese they will appreciate your trying and will say wow, your Chinese is so good. Because here in Russia where I am living in the people are soooo different, most of my expats friends and I share the same feeling, we have a saying winter weather is cold but the people here even colder. Often I got scolded by the Russian people in pharmacy or gym if they realized that I just speak a little bit Russian. Waiters will serve local Russians first if you don't speak Russian even you come first in the restaruants. If you ever smiled to the local people, they will give you a cold stare at you back. Really miss China.
@@JamesandKeli Should've mentioned the People, and the reason that I say that is because in every video that I've watched of other RUclipsrs living in China, 'The People' are Number One Reason they have stayed living in China!!! it does make a difference when Someone like "Me" lives surrounded with toxic people in the USA, and am visiting Dominican Republic right now where the People are Very Rude and Selfish and they already Ruined my travels.
@@greentraveler4114 First and foremost, "Cold War" was the invention of the West, perfected by who?...the America.
I 'm not a supporter of war, but Russia has her own little right to live! NATO and Uncle Sam had been scheming to break out Russia for the second time; which the West did successfully break it up for the first time in 1990, when Russia was previously the "Union Soviet Socialists Republic" USSR.
The recent target of the West and America military misadventure was in the South CHINA Sea, and the country they targeted this time was People's Republic of China. Former President Obama rolled out his "pivotal to Asia" strategy to focus on his effort of confrontation with, and containment of the growth and influences of the PRC and her citizens.
To put a long story short, the two neighbouring military powers of Russia and China had been on friendly terms, and kept their peace, despite their on and off rivalry. Consequently, the World had witnessed their getting closer and trusting one another with the cooperation in many areas... On that note, NATO and Uncle Sam had a lot to learn from People's Republic of China to live and work with Russia on friendly terms instead of confrontation and animosity!🙏
Love the spirit ❤️.
After traveling to most of the major countries of the world, I realized. China is the most diverse country in the world in terms of scenery, food and culture. As an Human being, it would be a pity if he&she had not traveled to China
It is!! Everyone should take the time to visit China
I think what I like about China is the little things that many people here won't even consider. I'm Eastern European so in certain places it's impossible to traverse a city if you're a pedestrian. China however, despite being so large, has a large and established pedestrian culture which provides a lot of options. From large sidewalks, to pedestrian alleys, to bikes/scooters for rent, to a robust public transit system, it's just very easy to go wherever you like. Plus, the systems are all electronic and accessed by phone.
Yes that’s so true! Having specific bicycle lanes and sidewalks everywhere is so nice to have.
I think another reason is most Chinese people are peaceful, kind and friendly.
This is so true, I've been to China many times and never experienced negative people
i’ve been living in Shanghai for more than four years and everything you have said about Shanghai is totally true.
No matter how good a country is. Mainly one thing that makes China appeal, SAFETY.
No point having too many freedom but at the expense of safety. Be a normal citizen or visitors, respect the culture and people and property, be courteous to each other, these are simple rules to follow and China experience will be a great one. And yes, CCTV are everywhere for a reason, to deter people from doing crimes and to identify and catch criminals fast so that's one surveillance I can live with if it means safety for myself and my love ones even on the street alone even at 3am in the morning.
@@kokovin6808 should tell this to Biden ngl
@@chrischen4480 ye
@@Absolut531kmh Biden: Nobody can feel safer than me when visiting China, I was guarded by Xi.
What i will mention is our government! No CCP no china nowadays
Love seeing you guys living the good life. Can't wait to visit China again.
Hopefully the borders will open again soon!
Fantastic list! Safety is huge! Love the malls also.
Yes! The malls honestly make traveling easy too, when you are not sure where to go, just head to a mall
Hi, because of the west keep saying CHINA CHINA CHINA, it made me look more into china, make me actually from Neutral CHINA, and like CHINA and looking forward to CHINA. Once the pandemic over, i will definitely visit to different parts of CHINA.
That is great to hear! China is a place everyone should visit
same. i'm applying jobs at some chinese companies here.. hoping to get a chance to be transferred to china, or at least trips to china offices.
New subscriber here. Hi James and Keli, I've been to China around 4 times from 1990s till my last trip 2018 for both leisure and business. This is one country which a person MUST BE THERE to experience it instead of listening to hearsay or news media reports which are totally bias. That said I was disappointed in my 90s and 2002 trips which were not quite pleasant because China was still "backwards" back then but 2006 and 2018 were like going to a different China, I was in awe. I can see why almost all western countries did not like to portray the current China because China practically SHAMED the western governments with its unbelievable developments while retaining those thousands of years cultural heritage. Few months before my China trip in 2018 I was in Austin TX and China just gives out "lives", friendly, safe, extremely convenient to live in, convenient to move around, food, sceneries...... what more should we ask for in our daily lives? Saddens me when I see veterans holding cardboards at stoplights and the number of tents in America while in China you needed to be persistent enough trying hard to even find one similar scenario.
You guys are lucky, I would be happy and feeling contend if I could spend my 2nd half of my life in China. Feeling more broken where I lived seeing more and more sufferings everyday and no one cared to do anything about them.
Why were you disappointed in 90s 2002 trips? What made you carry on going back after twice going and consistently being disappointed???
What was backwards in China? I know what you mean I think… example what swayed you from your trip that you were disappointed in in 2002 and the trip that was positive in 2006? A difference of 4 years?…..
I’ve never been to China but Hong Kong and I was aware of a flip of opinion and general negativity around the same time…. I remember being in HK around…. Before the 911 happened might be 2000 or 99 I can’t remember but I was told not to go to China for a quick trip because shenzhen was just a short ride across the border….
Remember my family and relatives having heated discussions about a group of us going over to shenzhen for a few days or hours? I wasn’t fussed I had no preconceptions about China apart from scary stories and that’s what I treated them as… scaremongering…. The stories and anecdotal stories my mum would hear from other people who heard from other people were really over the top lol for example….
Then around 2008 onwards 2010 I suppose after the olympics China was suddenly all positive from people who were once negative about it…. This is the anecdotal evidence from me of when I noticed a massive pole shift in China and China goods….. Chinese made used to be bad but Chinese made is now new and innovative….
Again I’ve never set foot in China I’ve just noticed China from afar… I am British born Chinese so I’m not even considered Chinese I’m the gweilo in my family along with my brother… but I am really impressed with the rise of China, it’s always been apart of my roots and the calling is just getting louder…. I
@@andytang8679 , below are my individual trips summary.
- my 90s trip (my 1st trip) was for leisure, was really cheap back then and I was surprised we were struggling to find a decent toilet in Guangzhou but the cultural sites were great to experience which dated back thousands of years old. That was when China opened up to the world not long, the cultural part was good but cities felt "backwards" and under developed, basically run down but at least an experience that I was there.
- 2002 trip, a business trip looking for manufacturers, China was well known for manufacturing at low costs so I have to be there to visit their factories because you wouldn't want to order unless you know their manufacturing processes and integrity of their factories. So have to go because it's business as I was managing a company. The overall environment was similar as my 1st trip but marginally improved, nothing to shout about.
- 2006 trip, again business, regional meeting but it seemed much better than my 2 earlier trips. Definitely felt more improvements, lots of new buildings unlike before and domestic businesses were blooming. Forget about ever finishing dishes in dinners which the manufacturer owners will not allow, they kept ordering when food dishes were about to finish, that's their way of treating guests apparently plus drinking chaos and entertainments after office hours. Overall improvements were impressive as compared to my 2 previous trips, yes, within the span of 4 years.
- 2018 trip was for leisure, and I happened to be in Japan and visited Austin Texas just months before China so seeing and feeling the differences between countries was an eye opener within the span of months, especially my China's perception was based on the 2006 experience but boy what did I just discovered in China 2018 - Amazing !! The big cities in China are either on par or even better than those in developed countries, that said Austin Texas is one supposedly well developed state many Americans are moving into nowadays, and Japan's Hokkaido is a well known place too.
What I really liked about China initially was their heritage sites, thousands of years cultural history, the mountainous sceneries and now their main cities are great too - you get both great combinations. So easy to move about, food was great, high speed trains are fantastic, traveled with 250kmph speed and I understand they're coming out with around 600kmph. Generally cities are clean and I appreciated the fact that you'd be hard pressed to find homeless people in China and veterans carrying cardboards at traffic lights asking for help like in US. Found out from local Chinese people that even they were impressed that their own country with development changes on year to year basis, that made me wanting to go China again after the pandemic is over. There were lots of mis-information from western media about China in recent years but what I can tell you is that don't listen to hearsay, you've got to go see and witness China for yourself and make your own conclusions, for me, I felt freedom like what I used to in America, Japan, Singapore, Thailand, HK as long as we do not have ill intentions of committing crimes, you're free to go anywhere and enjoy yourself, same as China.
My bucket list (before I finally kick the bucket 🤣) is to cover Europe, Switzerland, Italy, Germany, France, Norway and to cover the entire China (places I have not been), that is if I'm still healthy enough to do all that as I'm already in my "senior" age category. Always good to dream my friend 😂.
@@stuartfit Thanks for sharing your real wonderful first hand experience.
@@andytang8679 then go there immediately after Covid. It’s pity you were so close but didn’t pay a visit due to fake western lies.
Welcome to China again, my friend
nice to hear you are enjoying life in China
We are! Hard not to enjoy life here 🇨🇳
You forgot the streets China is clean and no homeless people sleeping in park benches. China has the most beautiful and clean parks.
We do recognize the streets are so clean and it is so nice! We definitely should thank the street cleaners for all of the hard work they do for keeping it clean.
Having stayed in Shanghai for 7 years I enjoyed it and agree with your points in this video
I'm Chinese and have spent more than 60 years in hong kong. I am planning to spend the rest of my life in mainland China after retirement. My favorite place is the big bay area. My dream is to drive all around China. It's going to happen after the pandemic.
Now is the perfect time to drive around! China has just opened 😍
So you been cheated from the China experience
And these are the exact 7 things overseas Chinese miss about China. Thanks for the lovely content!
Communism Sucks
@@carlsilverman754 And you clicked on the video that tells people why they love living in China. Dude, the irony of it.
@@ming4182 don't waste your breathe lol... Most ppl don't even know what Communism is...
Looks like you two have adapted very well to the local culinary culture in China, good for you. 😊
Food delivery and mobile payment is just too convenient
It is! I think it is everyone’s favorite thing about living here
awesome! I wished I could go there and live.
One day maybe you can!
@@JamesandKeli Ihave been there many times. My grandparents were born there. I was born in Malaysia, now living in Australia. Alamak.
Wow, that is very cool!
I have lived in US 26 years. I am planning to go to live in my motherland China!
US is a good place to live, but China is more attractive! High speed train so convenient! My hometown is close to Wuhan, by a lake. I can go to beijing, shenzhen or shanghai bh train in 4 hours (for the same distance in US it takes 23 hours by train) Friends everywhere! It is my dream to go back to live in my home village!
I have to admit, US is going down and China is going up. I feel sorry for the lower middle class in the US.
Are you willing to give up your US citizenship?
China 👍🙏
Terus dan teruslah...menjadi negara dan rumah yang bahagia bagi semua warganya tanpa kecuali, wisatawan, baik lokal maupun manca negara, ramah dan menyenangkan, damai dan harmoni dimana setiap orang yang berkunjung tersenyum bahagia dan menjadi betah tinggal berlama disana. Satu saat jika terkondisi saya juga mau ke china.
Salam saya dari Indonesia.
Love the content guys, awesome vlogs and really enjoy it, just subscribed and wish you guys all the best from New Zealand 🇳🇿 keep up with the good work 👍
Thank you so much! ☺️
Are you guys from USA originally! I am Chinese and living in USA for almost 40 year. Yes, you guys list 7 reasons love to living in China.
Those are good and the right reasons! Living in China you won’t get boring there. It’s safe place to going out day and night. No need to worry about violence and gun shots.
Please Staying safe and healthy and enjoying your living in China.🙏👍
Thank you! And yes we are from the USA!
Thanks for sharing! looking forward to go back to China again!
As a local Shanghainese here, thank you for introducing my hometown on RUclips. Hope u guys are doing fine during the lockdown.
Informative! Thank you American couple for your awesome video about China! I subscribed. Keep on!
Thank you so much for joining our community!
Hi James and Keli! Thanks so much for making this video. You both are so informative and entertaining, as always. Wow, my mind is blown! Lol! I never imagined there could be so many conveniences available there. I am so jealous! I would love to go to China someday to experience it firsthand in person. I'm also surprised to learn how low the crime rate is there, especially with such a large population of people. Here in the States, the violent crime, homelessness and drug and mental health problems have skyrocketed over the last ten years. I feel like I'm always having to be aware of my surroundings or not able to go anywhere without panhandlers on every corner asking for money constantly. Do you see a lot of homelessness there? Thanks again...look forward to your next update! Living vicariously through you.😍😍😄
Awe thank you!! So glad to hear you are enjoying our videos ☺️☺️ China is really great to live in, very comfortable here.
We definitely understand what you mean about the crime in the US (that’s were we are from) but here we don’t see much crime at all. In bigger cities you may find a few people that are homeless, but it really isn’t as bad as the US.
Excited to have you with us on our journey 😊
E C: I think the main reason crime is so low is because no one wants to disgrace the family. It is the main social glue in Chinese culture.
@@nomadsoulkarma and the surveillance bro... no point doing a crime that will 100% put you in a jail. not worth the risk at all. if surveillance is used properly, it is an utopia society.
@@fishcanon Sure, but crime was also low before all the cams. When I got there in 07 what surprised me is that I almost never saw police and there weren't many cams. When I left in 20 I still never ran into police. The only tight security is at subways and airports. The western media hypes China as a surveillence state. Doesn't matter if it is, cameras aren't being properly monitored anyway everyone's on wechat. And there are too many people to keep up with. In 13 years I never saw cars being pulled over or heard sirens. In the US it seemed like the police was everywhere. Chinese folks 'seem' to be more concerened with making money than arresting people.
@@nomadsoulkarma In China every criminal or lawbreaker is caught and punished whereas inthe US many crimes are unsolved or the wrong persons arrested and found innocent after 20 or 30 years in jail. It is also worth mentionning that drug related crimes are very rare. Less than 100 ago, China was known as an opium den and the Chineses as an opium addict nation thanks to the UK and the US.
I couldn't agree more with you guys 👍
🥰🥰
Such a great video!! Legit can't imagine life without Taobao and Meituan!!
Great video, keep sharing your experiences!
Thank you so much!
Brilliant truthful discourse.
Wow, your guys are living in paradise! Good on you and enjoy it! I hope can live in China more in the future as well.
So happy for you enjoy a good life in China!👍👍
Cool another China channel! I'm learning Mandarin so I can move to China someday soon. Hopefully 2023.
For travel？
@@birdyashiro1226 No I want to live there for at least 6months. Probably longer. So many cool cities to visit. I work online so I can live anywhere. The low cost of living and brand new infrastructure looks great.
@@moonlambo5229 So how do you get visa？
@@birdyashiro1226 I'm just going to apply for a student visa so I can stay there for a year. Not planning on working so its much easier.
Hope you enjoy life in China and make more fun videos! I miss China but have some reasons to stay in another country. I expect many Chinese living in foreign countries share the same feeling, especially during the pandemic.
Thank you! 😊 hopefully you can visit China again soon
The safety, alone, is a good reason live in China - the US is crime infested and dangerous as hell and only getting worse due to super inflation
Even though I'm a European, I'm seriously considering moving to China.
Suddenly , your video showed up on youtube and subscribed. will watch your other videos.
Thank you so much!
Thanks for the great video!
Well said and totally agree! 👍👍👍
China is one of the best countries to live in.
love this video!! Thanks!
Thank you so much for watching!
Wow, My best friend, Thank you for your hard work in making the video. I enjoyed the good video. Have a happy day.
Well summarized. Good job, guys!
Thank you! ☺️
Would love to live in China
Yes, after the covid 19, I will go there
I am there for years...
Warm welcome to China lovely American couple! Chinese love you! Keep on.
@@12567NoYouCannot I know the different between Chinese culture and Western culture. May be useless to change anything from Westerners mind.
China's peaceful rise is mostly because of Chinese philosophy! Chinese always pursue harmony both in society and family from Confucius era (/kənˈfjuːʃəs/ kən-FEW-shəs; Chinese: 孔夫子; pinyin: Kǒng Fūzǐ, "Master Kǒng"; or commonly 孔子; Kǒngzǐ; c. 551-479 BCE). In modern days, different ideologies, different societies, different cultures and even different interests if they can peacefully coexist and each can have their full play, Chinese regard that is the beauty of Harmony! For example 风水 is a kind of Harmony. You may see China named our bullet train as Hexie Hao. Inside China, we have 56 ethnic groups, all contributed to our glorious civilization history! Buddhism, Islam, Christianity, Confucianism, Taoism and Judaism peacefully coexist in China for thousand years! Outside China, as a secular country, China can peacefully coexist with Muslim countries, Buddhism countries, Christian countries and secular countries!
Chinese make wealth through hard-working instead of war/colonizing! Along the Silk Road beginning in the Han dynasty (207 BCE-220 AD) Chinese brought prosperity to countries along the road instead of war/colonizing!
@@jimwong2269 Wow, Thank You for these interesting facts and information. I fell in Love with CHINA a long time ago when I had to do a College Paper on China. There was a book that I read that inspired me and showed me things about China that I did Not know, and the illustrations on this book were spectacular to say the least, I did Not know about the North, South, East, West parts of China until I read this book, and China's beautiful landscape, and the more I know about China, the more I fall in Love with it. Wish I Can have the pleasure of Visiting One Day and interact with the lovely Chinese people. Thank You.
@@12567NoYouCannot Thank you for your sincere comment. You are very welcome to visit China once you get chance.
@@jimwong2269 Thank You, I wish with my whole heart to Visit China.
Thank you so much ❤️ We love meeting people and getting to know the culture here!
We are moving to Hangzhou next month, can't wait ! 😁
Welcome👍from Guangdong,China
Good for you both, enjoy yourselves...
I can't believe it's China. It's amazing. It's an incomparable country
Hi James, thanks for your video and even makes me homesick. The only point is that at 4:38 the photo shown in the video is the common train, not the highspeed train haha.
I fully agree with you guys, living in China is great !!!
you guys definite make me envy your life in China......
Great Content...more please!
👍👍👍🙏 thank you for sharing
I really love China for some reason
GOSH, I Dream of being there!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Hopefully you can visit sometime!!
love you guys ~~~
Thank you so much for watching ☺️
I'm sure I'm not alone in wishing it was easier to make the move to China..
I guess the biggest hurdle would be finding a way to support yourself/ family. I think its probably only a dream for the average person.
#1 should be safety. Without safety, nothing else matters.
Yes this is very true!
I've been living in China since 2018 and you hit every thing I could think of. China is such a great country! Unfortunately my wife (Chinese local) has been getting the itch to move back to the US. So unfortunately my time here may or may not be coming to an end :/
Once you live in the US for a while maybe you’ll be able to move back! China really is a place to call home.
@@JamesandKeli Thanks for replying to me! You both are absolutely right in that Chins will always be here and its not a bad option :)
Love your content. And love Starbucks! I just read today that by the end of 2022, Starbucks plans to open 400 more stores in China (to get to 6000 stores nationwide).
Wow! That’s a lot! It wouldn’t surprise us because it is so popular here haha
Nice video!
Food and safety. I'm in NYC. The food's not bad. The safety and cleanliness are horrific.
Happy travelling 👏👏💕💕
Thank you!
You mentioned sometimes you stay at home because you don't want to deal with the language barrier, then how do you know where to go and how to get around town. Like renting or buying a house or how do you know if you break any law ? Is there services that provide help ? It look like a very nice place to live, everything is so modern and convenient.Thanks
There are a lot of apps to use to help translate, but it does add extra time in your day. We know enough Chinese to get around, order things, and everything we need to do. We use all Chinese apps so everything is in Chinese, this helps us find restaurants, shops, and places to go. It is extremely easy to get around even if you are not too familiar with the language. Sometimes we just don't have the energy to go out, which is 100% okay sometimes :)
I guess part of the reason is almost all the information in public is written in both Chinese and English.
The name of the station / terminal /bus stop /airport /shopping mall ,usually show in bilingual. This is much convenience to those foreigner with mother tongue in English.
James you content is so wow love your content you shoot video close to my house
Thank you so much for watching our video!
Public transport in China is always crowded. But you still love it!
It’s not always crowded, but even if it is, it’s still not bad!
Ninbo has 4 MRT lines now, they were never crowded. But the busses were sometimes.
Man, you have to see Tokyo during peak hours. You better not be a female passenger too.
Just saw your channel & subscribed!
Thank you so much!
I like Chinese food and thanks for sharing
It’s delicious 🤤
If I can find a job in China I would move there😉
To be an English teacher
China needs you, come on !
@Nothing Nothing it practically works for “the surname of education is socialism instead of capitalism, young parents are stressful in the last 20 years, the government encourages people go to learn English to public schools instead of “training classes “
Nice couple, nice vlog
Thank you so much for watching!
Wow…..❤️
Thank you for telling the truth about China. China is a safe vibrant country with excellent infrastructure and great security.
“ YES CHINA “ 👍👍👍❤️
i literally only bring my phone and ipods to work and going out~
amazing
Beautifull country .
如果有中文字幕就更加完美了。非常期待！
Wow🥰🥰🥰
Only thing i have to complain is extremely hard to get a permanent residency. I want to become chinese!!!
What nationality are you ? Please visit China first.
If you used to yearn for American-style "freedom and human rights", if you still keep this idea and never think freely about the conspiracy behind American-style "freedom and human rights", then China may not be suitable for you; because American-style "freedom and human rights" has been imprisoned your way of thinking
如果你以前向往的是美式“自由人权”，如果你还一直保持这个想法，从来不会自由思考美式“自由人权”背后的阴谋，那么中国可能不适合你；因为美式“自由人权”已经禁锢了你的思维方式
Top reason is the welcoming and friendly people of China
你们穿上红色旗袍和中式唐装的那一刻，帅爆了❤
I didn't see one pickup truck. I'm really jealous. We can't ride our bikes anymore because the SUVs and giant pickups are zipping around like mini coopers.
There’s a lot of pickup trucks near construction or highways. We see them often but streets are too small for them!
Cool!
wow...Thanks for sharing❤❤❤
2023-7-18
I love China very much !
Oh no. I hope both of you get enough food. It's tough time in Shanghai now. stay strong! wish you still have faith in China.
Thank you so much for the kind words 💕
Enjoy
Pretty good.
Rent costs,?? How hard would it be for a retired Canadian couple to find a place to live for a few months? What about healthcare and prescription drugs? How would someone in a wheelchair get about? Can you use the high speed rail if you are in a wheelchair?
Shanghai is more expensive than other cities. Rent can be about $1000USD ~ $2000 a month here. If you’re working most companies provide health insurance but health care is also relatively cheap. We unfortunately can’t answer about wheelchair accessibility as we have not had that experience.
@@JamesandKeli The audience just asked about cost of living / healthcare as a retired Canadian couple living in China but you did not provide the answer. They did not ask for someone who is employed and healthcare paid by employers.
If you pay attention to details in your every day environment, you would know these basics and common things you see such as handicap and wheelchair accommodation. You lived there for 3 years you should know these basics by now because they are right in front of you
Hey guys nice to see your channel. My name is Alex and I'm living in Chongqing. Our team would be interested to invite you to our city. Our team have had many RUclipsrs visit. If interested we can send you the details. Kind Regards Alex
We’d love to come back and visit Chongqing!
Oh Alex! I am a big fan of you! What a surprise to meet you on this channel! I love all the videos you've made! Keep it up, to both Alex and James & Keli! 🙏🌹
hi ,Alix i got you here😂😂😂
Just subscribed.
Thank you 🥰
一口气看完了，继续。
Very nice video! Are you guys come from the US?
Yes we are!
MTR is meant for the people, government is not making much profit, unlike other countries. This way the government also makes money to maintain it without any hassle.
We were just talking about it. What do we think the average profit loss is for the MTR each year is, because it has to be so expensive to keep up with electricity and maintenance.
@@JamesandKeli i read some where that only 10% of all metro lines throughout China are profitable.
@@calvyncraven1141 It's not overrun by capitalism like United States. The trains in China are made to make it more convenient to get to work, travel and free up the highways. The United States is run by capitalism so we can't have nice things because how are we going to pay for it! Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos going to pay for it? We suck as a country and it's showing. Are infrastructure is crumbling and we can't have nice things. Oh, but we invested in the military with some 850 billion of tax payers money. So we do have money just not for the people that need it that's why that part of Build Back Better didn't pass because Congress could careless.
@@dy-no-mitedragon7759 yup. Your country is run by the 1% for the 1%.
@@calvyncraven1141 the operation and business models is completely different, the Chinese government does not look at the per company or organisation wise profit, but the overall ecosystems that are created and business generated from these massive ecosystems built around the metro lines. They have their 5, 10 & 20 years planning if I recall them correctly, you remember in the past where the news about plenty of ghost cities in China, in fact what they did was to build a city from scratch and moving dilapidated villages folks to these cities. Their financial model is hoping for over the next 5-10 years these organisations are sustainable from their own operations, once the ecosystems of people, shops, businesses, etc are in place. In my previous experience with these govt officials in negotiating such operations, they are very conservative and cautious and are very business savvy!