Why do people visit China expect to get by with just English?

[toisanwu]

I will still go and your right...think of it as a learning experience I'm very open minded having traveled quite a bit...thru Taiwan/hk and Japan 2-3 times. It's just china doesn't paint a good picture from the western world/media. Im sure it will be fun. It's all what I make of it. I'll try to disconnect from the negative.

Thanks

You would be surprised how different China is when compared to what you have learnt from the Western media.

Enjoy your trip!

[nalababe]

The difference is that other countries don't spend a lot of money they don't have and do a lot of cosmetic projects to create a good impression for foreigners.. This is why people shouldn't visit China and then come back and say it's developed, it's utter nonsense.

Sure the do...relatively money is pumped into Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal for the express purpose of getting visitors and making an impression.

Have you travelled to poorer areas like Newfoundland or other parts of Atlantic Canada. While I love these areas, they far from projecting the same image and quality of life. We drove through towns where there were countless buildings are almost falling down... If i consider work, There are many hospitals that are so remote or don't have the utilities, or don't have people who could use the equipment we sell. Also take a look at some of our reservations....

The only difference is scale.

Again, visit any city and you don't see the whole country.

As for cities like Beijing....you can definitely get a real understanding that life is different and hard. Just watch the people, walk through the hutongs. You can tell within seconds that it is different.

[Aznsilvrboy]

Sure the do...relatively money is pumped into Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal for the express purpose of getting visitors and making an impression.

Have you travelled to poorer areas like Newfoundland or other parts of Atlantic Canada. While I love these areas, they far from projecting the same image and quality of life. We drove through towns where there were countless buildings are almost falling down... If i consider work, There are many hospitals that are so remote or don't have the utilities, or don't have people who could use the equipment we sell. Also take a look at some of our reservations....

The only difference is scale.

Again, visit any city and you don't see the whole country.

As for cities like Beijing....you can definitely get a real understanding that life is different and hard. Just watch the people, walk through the hutongs. You can tell within seconds that it is different.

Oh yes, but not on the scale of the government going bankrupt and almost defaulting on its loans like the Railway Ministry in China. I've been to the following provinces: Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick , PEI, Nova Scotia. Their quality of life seemed pretty nice, it's a simpler life for sure, but not by any means worse.

[packardbell]

Oh yes, but not on the scale of the government going bankrupt and almost defaulting on its loans like the Railway Ministry in China. I've been to the following provinces: Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick , PEI, Nova Scotia. Their quality of life seemed pretty nice, it's a simpler life for sure, but not by any means worse.

simple is better. never could take the hong kong lifestyle even after 7 years lol!!!

[gobbledygoo]

Better get rid of all those things in your house that are Made in China then.

LOL yep kiss your iPhone, iPad, MP3 player, big screen TV, home theatre system, lamps, hair dryer, microwave, hot water kettle, coffee maker, and some of your brandname clothes/accessories goodbye :p

To keep my post on-topic: in big cities you can get by without knowing the local language like everywhere else in the world, and rural areas you have no chance with English of course lol. But what I find is that rural areas people are nicer and you get a truer sense of what that country is about. I would rather go into a restaurant that has little/no English and no pictures on the menu than to go to one that offers familiar NA fares like hamburgers and fries (why would you travel thousands of kilometres/miles to eat NA food in a foreign land?)

[packardbell]

i don't they have a problem in china. lol!!

[Jimboski]

^ I don't get It..

[ryanmission]

^ I don't get It..

He's creepin people.

The moral of the story here, is dont help any foreigners in Canada who cant speak english...equality is important.

[packardbell]

He's creepin people.

The moral of the story here, is dont help any foreigners in Canada who cant speak english...equality is important.

It is not creeping but showing you how does it feel to be a minority.

[toisanwu]

i don't they have a problem in china. lol!!

Curious, were those photos taken around a Guangzhou bus station around which there are tons of wholesale outlets for clothing and shoes?

[packardbell]

Curious, were those photos taken around a Guangzhou bus station around which there are tons of wholesale outlets for clothing and shoes?

beijing road, tianhe district, zhongshan 5 road, wholesale home decor area in liwan district which is close to wholesale baby garment and guangzhou train station.

[toisanwu]

beijing road, tianhe district, zhongshan 5 road, wholesale home decor area in liwan district which is close to wholesale baby garment and guangzhou train station.

Interesting I was around that region last August, close to Zhongshan University on Zhongshan 3 Road.

[packardbell]

Interesting I was around that region last August, close to Zhongshan University on Zhongshan 3 Road.

I walked here from Zhongshan 8, get to see alot along the way lol! things changed alot last time when I was here during the Asian game.

[nalababe]

It is not creeping but showing you how does it feel to be a minority.

Most of us don't care if we are the minority. Hell, I get the same experience walking up around first Markham place or Pacific Mall.

As for other countries, we have already experienced being the focal point of glares and attention. In Tienanmen square and inside the Forbidden City, we had crowds around us and countless Chinese people wanting pictures with the blue eyed little boy and/or the nearly 6' tall long haired woman. We also had this happen in a number of other countries. We became the tourist attraction.

[divx]

lol Reading more of this guy's posts and I think troll is the right description. 'complete ****hole?' You could find some bad areas but after walking through some of the worst neighborhoods in Beijing and Tianjin I've seen worse in Vancouver's Downtown East Side. There is much to criticize Chine for but imho your post is ridiculous.

everything is wrong with that country, if it was any good I won't have left.

so would it be better to learn mandarin or cantonese? i'm going to teach english in either zhuhai or dongguan in a few weeks.

majority speaks mandarin.

divx is right. China spends a lot of money on cosmetic projects to make China look good to foreigners. This means any city that you can name. The fact that most people only know Beijing, Shanghai, Tianjin, Shenzhen, Guangzhou and only ever go to those places to visit means you're not seeing the whole picture.

finally someone who gets it.

You sure it's a fact?

How many non-Western and non-English speaking people living outside of Canada would really know any other Canadian places other than Vancouver, Toronto, Montreal and Ottawa?

When people travel to another country, they will always fly into big metropolitans, such as London or Paris or Beijing. Tourists tend to use those big cities as stepping stones to visit surrounding places. Take a look at the map of China, see if Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou are close together or not? Aren't they the perfect entry points for foreigners to visit China?

those cities are completely different from other areas of the country. if you gonna say that's like comparing toronto to some small town in saskatchewan, but the difference being the small towns in canada do not look poor, there is a smaller population but the houses, roads, and vehicles look just like the big city, where as in China small towns typically look like a dump.

A competent engineer thrives on challenges, that is, uncertainties. Engineers are problem solvers, not following prescribed routes.



You obviously cannot speak Chinese and therefore never has visited China, and you knew it's a complete **** hole? Oh, you learnt that from the media then, eh?



It's people like you that Quebecois want to have their own country.

good, they should separate, besides draining the transfer funds what else are they good for?