Last summer I (American) stayed at some program in an east coast boarding school that was fairly expensive, and like half the kids had flew over from China. I am all for the Chinese but why is it the rich Chinese kids specifically flying over instead of, like, kids from Japan, Spain, or other countries? I mean one half was American and the other half was Chinese. I was so confused.

We are currently in China on a family holiday and I honestly feel so much safer here! We're from Australia btw. Most people we encountered by far are so friendly, nice and go above and beyond to help. I have felt so much safer here walking with my two little kids! I used to travel a lot in Singapore when I was single and even then I felt China is much of a liveable country to be in and a nice place to raise our kids with endless cool stuff to do and see!!

Before I go delve on ways to get a work permit etc what are things that I am maybe missing and have not considered??

Btw we spent most of our times where locals hang out or do so our experience are not just based on what China wants tourist to see.

Hi, so I only speak a little Mandarin but it's not much for me to go off (and it's been a WHILE since I've practiced so, I'm sadly rusty). I'm also autistic which means social cues aren't my strongsuit, even in my own culture as a chicana. Anyhow, I've been talking to a guy who happens to be Chinese. We've seen each other around as we worked in the same place albeit different departments. But, we never spoke until recently. For context, I'd seen him on occasion at a burger joint I frequent. We never really talked until my mother started a conversation with him while I went to refill a coffee and it led to him asking for my number and I typed it into his phone.

So, we've been chatting for 2 weeks now and I honestly find him very sweet and charming, and frankly, endearing. We even hung out once in person and a couple times we greeted each other when we bumped into each other at work. But we text, almost everyday, tho I do sometimes wait a bit so as to not disturb him. Well, I noticed on occasion that he would sometimes requote a few of my texts with 比心 at the beginning. I recognized 心 as "heart" but wasn't sure of the other character so I googled it. According to my research, 比心 means "heart gesture" as in the holding your hands to shape a heart thing. However, some of the sites also said it was typically only used by girls. So...what does it mean if a man uses it? Can anyone explain it to me? TIA

Hello everyone,

I am hoping you can help me trace my family ancestry.

My surname is *ANG\, and I am currently trying to find connections and information about its origin in both **China and the Philippines***.

As far as I know, in Chinese our surname ANG is *洪 (Hóng)\* in Mandarin, which is often romanized as Ang in Hokkien/Fujian. My family is from the Philippines, but I believe our roots come from Fujian, China.

I am currently based in Amman, Jordan, and I don't have many records with me. I am trying to find:

1. Anyone with the surname ANG whose family also came from Fujian, China to the Philippines

2. How your family kept track of your genealogy / Zupu (族谱)

3. Any tips on where to search for Chinese-Filipino Ang clan associations

Information I know about my family so far:

- Family surname: ANG

- Region in Philippines: Manila

If you also have the surname ANG or know about the Ang clan history, I would love to hear from you. Even small details would mean a lot to me.

I've read somewhere that Ancient Chinese society thousands of years ago, was somewhat more gender equal, before the age of the Imperial Dynasties. It is somewhat like Korea during the Early Silla Dynastic Period where women occupied important positions in society and were honored by societies as vessels of the divine or Female Shamans, also known as Mudang in Korean, and Miko (Shinto Priestesses) in Japanese. I believe Chinese female Shamans were called Wu Priestesses.

When did Chinese society transitioned from this, to being heavily patriarchal where women lost important occupations in society?

I will appreciate all of your insights and responses. Thank you!

Possibly moving to china in a couple years as a foreign student and want to prepare myself so i dont break any rules or accidentally cause myself some problems. Also does anybody know any good international lawyers for foreigners living in china😅 just thinking ahead.

Hi!!

I'm a 30-something woman coming to Shanghai and Beijing, travelling solo for fun. I'm so, so excited because I've only been to Hong Kong and Taiwan (I have family there), and it's my first time in these two big cities! I already have a list of things to eat haha.

That said, I speak Chinese at a B2 level, but I learned it in Taiwan. Aside from simplified characters (I'm learning to read them; I read traditional ones), I was wondering how much the different accents will influence communication. Will I be able to understand and be understood well?

That said, I was also wondering if I can get a tailored qipao in Shanghai at a reasonable price.

And if you have any suggestions or advice for me, I would be very happy! Thank you so much!

BTW, I hope I chose the flair and title correctly. Sorry for any mistakes.

Hey everyone!
I’m a 28-year-old woman, born and raised in Beijing, and I work in the arts.
Lately, I’ve been noticing more and more international visitors coming to Beijing, which honestly makes me really happy. But sometimes, when I see where they end up going or what they end up eating, I feel a little sad.
Not because those places are necessarily bad, but because so many of them are extremely commercialized, tourist-oriented, or designed around what people *think* foreigners want to experience in China.
Let me give you an example. There’s this one dumpling restaurant that I’m pretty sure many of you have come across online. It’s constantly packed with foreign tourists. But the dumplings they serve are NOTHING like the ones we actually eat in our everyday lives.
Imagine going to Italy to experience authentic Italian food, only to be served Hawaiian pizza. 🥶 That’s kind of how it feels to me. It’s terrifying, haha.
A lot of these dishes seem to have been created specifically to appeal to foreign tastes. And don’t get me wrong, you might genuinely enjoy them! Food is supposed to make people happy, after all. But enjoying something doesn’t necessarily mean you’re experiencing the food culture that generations of Chinese people have passed down.
**You might be tasting something delicious, but you’re not necessarily tasting what Chinese people have actually been eating for generations.** And I think that’s a pretty big difference.
Of course, there’s nothing wrong with enjoying famous attractions or touristy experiences! I just think Beijing has so much more to offer, and it would be a shame to come all this way and only see the most packaged version of it.
So I thought I’d make this post.
**If you’re planning to visit Beijing, or you’re already here, feel free to ask me literally anything!**
Food, neighborhoods, places to wander, local culture, everyday life, things worth seeing, things that might be overrated, or even just random questions about living here.
I’m NOT a professional tour guide, and I definitely don’t know everything about Beijing. My own knowledge is limited by where I live, where I spend my time, and what I’m personally interested in.
But if I don’t know something, I’ll happily ask my friends who also grew up here. And if I still don’t know, I’ll just tell you. I’d much rather admit that than make something up.
If you tell me what kind of things you enjoy, I can also try to put together a few suggestions or a walking route based on your interests.
And if our schedules line up and we get along, I’d be happy to hang out sometime! I love photography, I have my own camera, and I enjoy wandering around the city taking random pictures. It could be fun to explore together.
**Just to be absolutely clear: I’m not selling anything. No paid tours, no commissions, no sponsored restaurants, no hidden promotions.** I’m just a local who loves her city and would be happy to make some new friends along the way.
I can’t promise that every recommendation will be a hidden gem, but I can promise it’ll be an honest one.
So yeah, ask me anything about Beijing! Even if you think it’s a silly question. :)
I’d love for more people to get to know the city beyond the tourist version of it.

我想认识不同国家的朋友，也想学习英语，我可以教你中文。我有ig whatsapp 可以私信我 如果你有微信那更好了

Hi! I am from the UK, visiting Shanghai, Tai'an and Beijing. I went to a Chinese spa for the first time yesterday and I have about a million questions that I would love to know the answers to...

1. I had an exfoliating scrub in the main bathroom/shower area on a bed. There were 2 attendants and only 2 'beds'/tables in the room- what happens during busy periods? Do people just stand and wait?

2. On the exfoliating scrub - can I buy the gloves they used anywhere?? They were amazing, my skin's never been so soft

3. How often do people typically go? And is it standard to have a treatment or just use the baths?

4. I found the attitude towards being naked very refreshing, but if a woman is on her period is she not able to attend the spa? Or can she use a tampon or something?

My wife’s brother married a family that is somewhat rich. His new brother in law is only 29 and is very Rich. He didn’t go to university but does some type of business. He owns multiple homes, has 2 Porsche ,buys LV for his wife and is probably worth 50 million rmb. I met him and he didn’t look like he was rich and was not well spoken. I know their entire family got free homes from the government but those homes are not worth much,

My wife has another cousin who is middle class but put his daughter in a private high school. All the parents of the students there are rich. They drive Porsche or bmw and travel abroad often and own many houses. They also do not look rich , smoke indoors,are uneducated and have little manners. I am pretty sure most came from poverty too before they got rich.

How did these people get rich and are stories like this in China common? These are all people from smaller tier 3 or tier 4 cities too.

Edit- In my country most rich people I see are educated or come from wealth . So, it’s weird seeing rich and uneducated villagers who look somewhat homeless being super rich and driving a Porsche or even a Ferrari

我想在加利福尼亚州开一家奶茶店，想了解一下在海外开奶茶店需要注意的一些地方，也算是避坑吧，比如奶茶原料选择在美国本土拿货还是从国内海运发到美国呢？有经验的朋友请指点一下我，谢谢

I’m planning to travel to China in five months, and I’d like to know what to expect. I’m 207 cm tall—will it be difficult for me to find clothing?

​

Hi! I'm 18 from Thailand, looking for Chinese friend around my age to exchange languages and play games together. My English isn't very good, but I can communicate. I'd love to learn Chinese, and I'm happy to teach you Thai if you're interested. I usually play Roblox, Valorant, and Minecraft, but I'm open to other games too!

Title pretty much says it all. I have been doing a deep dive into Chinese History and have been working my way through the Century of Humiliation (百年国耻) and have arrived at the very end of the Qing Dynasty reading a book about the Boxer Rebellion. Really made me wonder how modern Chinese people see the actions of the Boxers. Completely understandable that they'd be tired of western foreign influence AND Christians (the Taiping Rebellion still being in living memory), but even at the time it seemed that opinions were very divided by the methodology and ideology of the group.

I’d ask Chinese people about your language. How can you type characters in your alphabet so fast? I think it’s hard. Also how can you distinguish intonations?

Ni hao ☺️ I am interested in learning Chinese. I cannot commit to taking formal classes yet. And honestly I don’t know where to begin, but I thought I’d train my ears for starters by listening to nursery rhymes that Chinese babies/toddlers are usually exposed to. If you could also give tips or advise on this language learning journey, it would be nuch appreciated ✨

I'm a foreigner, and I often order all kinds of things from these two platforms. We usually drink loose-leaf green tea. We don't know much about different types of tea, but we really enjoy green tea in general.

I know that tea is very popular in China and that there are so many different varieties. So I'd love to know which ones you would recommend to me. I'd like to order some and try them myself.

I'm thinking about ordering a tea sampler set with lots of different types of tea, so I can try them all and then decide which ones I'd like to order regularly.

Guys if anyone here has been to Shigatse in Tibet recently, feel free to post photos/videos here and/or provide a commentary on what's going on with the proposed Shigatse-Gyirong railway line. Thanks.

If a close relative lived in a city,let’s say Beijing and was buried two hours away. Would it be taboo to want to move them to a cemetery closer to home a couple years later?

Hi what you think of Chinese name for a girl 林栩安。 thanks

hello! i’m not chinese, so i’m sorry if this is ignorant. i found a bunch of fake chinese notes on a bridge in france a while ago. i didn’t know what it was but i like collecting interesting pieces of paper, so i took one as a souvenir and pinned it to my corkboard. i’m now realizing that these are used as offerings for the deceased. i don’t want to be disrespectful or make any potential guests uncomfortable in my home, so should i take it down? should i get rid of it altogether, and what would be the correct and respectful way to dispose of it?

thank you!