Best City to Live In China
modernnomad
March 28, 2010, 01:40 PM posted in General DiscussionWhich city is the best place to live in China?
hkboy
March 29, 2010, 08:06 AMCan I vote for Hong Kong? Not a lot of Mandarin here. Well there is but...
tvan
March 28, 2010, 04:28 PMMy preferences run towards a more laid back style and fewer expats, so if I had to choose a large city in China to live in, I would go with either Chengdu or Kunming. Light's already talked about Chengdu's charms. (Hope you like spicy food.) However, Kunming has the best weather in China and is close to a lot of attractions, including China's richest, largest, and most-varied minority cultures.
If I did go with a big city with lots of expats, using the one-country-two-governments definition of China, I would choose Taipei. It has all the amenities of any Western city, yet is wholly Chinese; and, as the only Chinese society that is wholly open, free, and democratic, you don't have to worry about cyber-nazis and Great (ly Stupid) Firewalls. Plus,I've never met a friendlier, more hospitable folk than the Taiwanese.
light487
March 28, 2010, 04:42 PMYes.. Taiwan is a place I keep adding to my trip planner and then sadly having to remove it because I can't afford (in terms of time and money) to go to both China and Taiwan. I really want to go there and see if I like Taipei (and other surrounding areas) more than I like China because if I am going to live in a Chinese speaking country, I want to be able to seek out (easily) the comforts of my western world that while I may frown upon while I am here in Sydney, are still comforts that I have surrounded myself with for the last 33 years (almost 34!!) :)
tvan
@light487, this is off topic, but if for no other reason, you should go to Taipei to see the National Palace Museum. IMO, it is the most underrated museum in the world and the best repository or Chinese art that I have ever seen. (Mainland) China has nothing like it!
laselle
that's because the kuomingtang army took all the most precious cultural relics from forbidden city when they retreated from mainland. that's why you cant see things like that in china(mainland)!! Totally stolen! BTW i hated the cyber-nazi and stpudi wall too.
tvan
Hi laselle, 我同意你，当时的国民党腐败头顶，它的动机一定不标准。我也觉得很可惜普遍的中国人不会看。但，如果国民党不带那些制造物去台湾怎么办？六十年代的工厂党要拆迁传统的中国文化，是吗？至少国民党保存中国的遗产，世界的遗产给未来的年代。
哈哈，你也讨厌那个金盾工程！谁喜欢?
changye
幸亏国民党没有把石鼓拿走，现在我们能在北京故宫看到先秦石鼓文！
user76423
This is not correct. Kuomintang and Chiang Kai-shek just saved the precious cultural objects from being destroyed by the Maoists.
If they had not, then the objects would have been destroyed in the "Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution". See this slogan: "Smash the old world / Establish a new world." (see this poster: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Destroy_old_world.jpg ).
user76423
March 28, 2010, 04:55 PM對啊！
Taipei is the best place to live in China! Friendly people and nearly democratic!
tvan
March 28, 2010, 11:58 PM@light487, this is off topic, but if for no other reason, you should go to Taipei to see the National Palace Museum. IMO, it is the most underrated museum in the world and the best repository or Chinese art that I have ever seen. (Mainland) China has nothing like it!
buzaijia
March 28, 2010, 03:58 PMBefore moving to Hangzhou from Beijing I have been told to be lucky because is one the most livable places in China and certainly is a good place to live. Easier to find and maintain a friend circle than bigger cities, not too crouded or polluted, beautiful scenery, a good business environment, not a cheap place to live though but man, one thing I hate is the humidity and HZ has got it all.
Locals seem to be cool with it or at least they don't bother to wear double layers and coats and jackets inside or at work, for them is totally a normal thing.
So what I really miss about BJ? The cultural aspects and the international community of course and then ... one thing I really miss is HEATERS in winter.
changye
March 29, 2010, 05:24 AM幸亏国民党没有把石鼓拿走，现在我们能在北京故宫看到先秦石鼓文！
harro5
March 29, 2010, 06:51 AMNanjing is a great city to live in I found - large student community, great parks like Xuanwu Lake and the Purple Mountains area for weekends, friendly city for bike riding with wide bike lanes, and well-connected to Suzhou/Shanghai by fast train. There is good nightlife and food choices around the Nanjing University area.
chanelle77
I totally agree! For anyone who is interested: the smallest restaurant in Nanjing (with the world's smallest kitchen) is located near Nanjing University on 上海路120号, the name is Cosima and they serve a fabulous Temperanillo for only 15 RMB! :-) Cheers!
JasonSch
Is that the Spanish restaurant? I used to live on 汉口路 near 上海路 and a few friends told me about a small, but great, restaurant opening right after I left. Posts like these make me miss Nanjing!
chanelle77
Yes, that is the one :-) ! I go to Nanda now, so I'm getting to know that area a little better...The guys who run the restaurant are very nice, and have great food for very reasonable prices. Your friends informed you well!
So, I'd say, come over I buy you a drink!
JasonSch
Sounds like a plan! I still have friends there, so I occasionally make my way back. If I do and I have the time, I'll look you up!
light487
I'll be in Nanjing for 3 nights in May of this year.. Would love to meet some poddies if it's not too inconvenient. I'll re-confirm my dates and get back to you if either or all of you Nanjingers are interested :)
chanelle77
Deal! :-)
chanelle77
Hey light, let me know when you are in town, we could practice our putonghua, go for a drink or something or some sight seeing. If you need any help, info etc feel free to contact me!
chanelle77
March 29, 2010, 07:00 AMI totally agree! For anyone who is interested: the smallest restaurant in Nanjing (with the world's smallest kitchen) is located near Nanjing University on 上海路120号, the name is Cosima and they serve a fabulous Temperanillo for only 15 RMB! :-) Cheers!
light487
March 29, 2010, 07:43 AMYes.. this is my point exactly.. it all depends on what you want to get out of the place you are living in. Heck, even Wuhan can be a great place if you are wanting to learn at the Universities there.. a bit dull for most everything else though I found.. but also a great place to quickly brush up on your Chinese speaking skills because hardly anyone there speaks English :)
chanelle77
March 29, 2010, 07:50 AMYes, that is the one :-) ! I go to Nanda now, so I'm getting to know that area a little better...The guys who run the restaurant are very nice, and have great food for very reasonable prices. Your friends informed you well!
So, I'd say, come over I buy you a drink!
tvan
March 29, 2010, 04:51 AMHi laselle, 我同意你，当时的国民党腐败头顶，它的动机一定不标准。我也觉得很可惜普遍的中国人不会看。但，如果国民党不带那些制造物去台湾怎么办？六十年代的工厂党要拆迁传统的中国文化，是吗？至少国民党保存中国的遗产，世界的遗产给未来的年代。
哈哈，你也讨厌那个金盾工程！谁喜欢?
light487
March 28, 2010, 02:00 PMI've only spent a short time in China myself but I did go to 5 cities. It seems without a doubt that for a Westerner who wants all the modern living and comforts that approximate their own country, that Shanghai is the place to be. It's certainly nothing like Sydney, Australia and I assume nothing like some of the other capital cities in western countries but it's the most modern of the 5 cities I visited. I've also been to Singapore (and a few other countries) and the reason I mention this is because Singapore is a large asian city yet is on par with the living standards in Sydney.
Anyway, there are other reasons to live in the other cities. Beijing is like the Paris of China in my opinion.. it's just got a charm and "romance" (not of the love kind) to it that I didn't find in the other cities. The "hutongs" and other alleys, its many lake areas within the city and of course the forbidden city and other large attractions that are world famous all work together to provide a strong cultural synergy that the artist or person with an interest in culture would appreciate.
Chengdu is very laid-back with wide open streets, relatively slow moving traffic (both pedestrian and vehicular) and a general air of "lazy saturday afternoon". Sure, there is the peak hour movement to and from work that is experienced in every town or city but for the most part, the city is very laid-back. However I do get the impression that there is not a lot to do in this city for young people.. though I could be wrong.
Xi'an would probably be my last choice of cities to stay in, it has been turned into almost a Las Vegas of China with it's gawdy lights at night and seedy underbelly at any time of the day. This is a tourist city through and through, so unless you have a reason for being here I don't think you are going to enjoy it....unless you go out of the city walls. Once you are out of the city walls things start to take on the same atmosphere as in Chengdu.
Anyway.. I don't think there is one single "best place" to live in China because everyone is different and wants different things from their life.