Alien among centers

When you come to Asia for a period longer than the validity of a tourist visa, you have only two options. Either you accept Asia with all your heart and discover that from now on you cannot live without it, or you get a nervous tic and run towards the airport, cursing the locals for their habits, appearance, language, climate, food and everything else.

I saw both categories of laowai - that’s what the locals call us, assuring us that it just means “foreigner”. And keeping silent about the fact that this is, rather, something like an ironic “foreigner,” that is, a creature standing at a completely different stage of development than the Chinese - a resident of the Center of the World, a citizen of the great Middle State (this is how the self-name of China is translated - Zhongguo). And one should not be deceived into thinking that this level in the Chinese consciousness is higher than their own, the Chinese. In China, it is generally easy for a foreigner to fall into misconceptions, which is why they treat laowai with a grin, sometimes open, sometimes carefully hidden.

This important point. You will always be a laova here, even if you master the language perfectly, learn a couple of dialects, reach heights in calligraphy, become a master of wushu - you will bathe in compliments and sincere admiration of the locals for your abilities, but you will remain a “foreigner”. You will never become “one of us.” If you approach this with calm understanding or even humor, life in China can become very comfortable, interesting and not particularly troublesome. At least that's what we can hope for. And those who come here with missionary intentions and a desire to fight a culture that is at least five thousand years old inevitably suffer fiasco of varying degrees of drama.

KHH 1971 / gettyimages.com

To accept China in my heart did not mean to become more Chinese than the Chinese themselves. I don’t arrange my furniture according to Feng Shui, I don’t wear scarlet silk robes with golden dragons embroidered on them. I don’t listen to folk opera (or rather, I listen, together with my Chinese neighbors from above, big fans of it, but I no longer suffer from it like a toothache). But China has changed me a lot. I began to look at many things differently. Only one thing has remained unchanged, for which I love the Celestial Empire most of all - almost daily surprise and admiration for the life that boils in its cities and villages. Every day brings such amazing observations and discoveries that you can’t help but feel like a child looking in amazement at the vast world.

Chinese hard work

Everyone knows: the Germans are punctual, the French are the most skillful lovers, Americans are all cowboys, and Russians drink vodka from a samovar and ride bears. And the Chinese are hardworking. They have no greater joy in life than to work hard. And we even have a song about them, about how the sun rises over the Yellow River, and the Chinese walk into the field, clutching a handful of rice in their fist, and carrying portraits of Mao...

In fact, of course, the Chinese are no different from other people in this regard. Nothing human is alien to them. They also avoid work at the first opportunity. They also like to eat well and take a nap after eating, right at their workplace. Although no, this is what they love most of all in the world, but this is a topic for a separate article.

Their diligence - in study, work - is often based on fear. In front of parents. Before society. Before the future. The demand is very strict, from childhood, that’s the way of the East. This makes you sad and you remember being in the army. For the first six months of my service, I worked a lot: I dug holes, filled them up and dug new ones. Digged trenches. I was carrying curb stones in my hands—there was no cart allowed—from the checkpoint to the guardhouse, which is about a kilometer and a half across the entire part. I painted something, pulled something, loaded it... Was I hardworking then? Not really. But my work and the work of other “spirits” was monitored by Sergeant Ivakhnenko, the size of a breeding bull and with approximately the same character. His blows were all-crushing. There were no options, we had to work.

The work of many Chinese is exactly like this - forced and not particularly meaningful. Where it should be done quickly and well, the Chinese will spend a long time poking around, gluing, tying, patching up constantly, so that in the end everything will fall apart and they will have to start again. They can do it quickly, but this speed is reminiscent of the “demobilization chord” - somehow in record time to restore “beauty” so that it all, as usual, falls apart after delivery.

The Chinese are not hardworking. But they are very hard-working. That is, where I or someone like me is overwhelmed by unbearable working conditions, the Chinese will work with a serene expression on his face. And for this they deserve both respect and praise. It is these hard-working ant-people, short, dark-faced, dressed in baggy blue uniforms, who create grandiose new buildings, multi-level interchanges that will take your breath away, roads are laid, streets are swept, goods are transported...
The work ethic of the Chinese is incredible. It amazes foreigners living in China no less than the realization of the complete failure of the myth of Chinese industriousness.

Such is the paradox.

Amazing is nearby

China constantly surprises.

On a thick and warm Shanghai evening, my wife and I walked along a bridge over some regional river. It was stuffy, humid, as if in a huge greenhouse. Over our heads they were thrown back and forth the bats. Clouds, yellowish from the smog and lighting, were crawling, rain was brewing, which would not make it any cooler or lighter. We hurried home. Suddenly, in the darkness, something small, oblong, similar to a turtle appeared right in front of us. It was a real turtle. She floated silently in the air, swaying slightly at our eye level, almost touching our faces. We froze. Lightning flashed, and then an old man on a bicycle emerged from the pre-storm air. In fact, he taxied from behind us, and he wrapped a rope around the turtle and held the end of this very rope in his outstretched hand. He wanted to sell it to us for evening soup. But, hearing foreign speech, out of delicacy, he silently sneaked behind us across the bridge on a bicycle and decided to seduce us by simply showing his excellent product: what can I say, after all, the laowai are still unreasonable and do not understand Chinese speech.

We bought a turtle from him. The happy old man rushed away into the darkness, and we went down to the river in search of a suitable place where we could release our purchase. I don’t know what her fate would be like next. But I remember my wife’s phrase when we finally got caught in the rain and returned home: “It seems that I have lost the habit of my country. I started to be surprised by everyone here...”

When crossing the street, look both ways
(traffic rules)

A short excursion into relatively recent history. During the period of the Cultural Revolution, the frantic Red Guards jealously searched for everything that might turn out to be counter-revolutionary. And, as you know, whoever seeks will always find. They found it - a traffic light. Alert comrades noticed that cars stopped at a red light. But red is the party color! There is a threat to the progress of the revolution and an obstacle to development. Stopping at a red signal should be prohibited. But reason in the person of Chinese Prime Minister Zhou Enlai defeated the energetic revolutionaries: he assured the activists that stopping at red is good, this symbolizes that the party guarantees the safety of all revolutionary activities. This was all the way back in 1966.

But in China, even in our time, the attitude towards traffic lights is very ambiguous. True, without any political background.

Every time we fly from Moscow to Shanghai, in the first days I watch both myself and my wife on the street. Spoiled by the relative respect for pedestrian rights in Moscow, we do not immediately remember that in China, for many drivers, a traffic light is just a three-color lantern decoration at an intersection. It can somehow attract the attention of bus drivers and sometimes truck and taxi drivers. All the numerous two-wheeled small fry rush “on their own wave” to any signal, turn wherever they want, and ride along the sidewalk, beeping at pedestrians.

d3sign/gettyimages.com

And if he parks his jalopy, then he certainly parks it across the sidewalk - for beauty or for some other reason. But clearly not out of malice and without challenging society. In the same way, not out of malice, you will not be allowed to pass at a pedestrian zebra crossing - in China these are just stripes on the roadway, devoid of any meaning. But you have to cross the road, right? So this must be done without fuss, without running or rushing about. Just walk and carefully look at the traffic scurrying around you. And don’t try to be indignant, don’t start calling on the natives to obey traffic rules. They won’t understand, because the main rule on the road in China is one thing: I go where I want and where I need to. And this is what every driver religiously observes.

The government is fighting this - surveillance cameras, fines... It’s hard to talk about success yet. However, in Lately We’ve already been allowed through at the zebra crossing several times, which means the work isn’t in vain.

“Khhh!”

This sound is heard constantly and everywhere in China. It just so happens - the Chinese sincerely (and not without reason) believe that noisily clearing the nasopharynx and spitting deliciously anywhere is good for the body and there is nothing wrong with that.

In a local newspaper, I once read an article imbued with the spirit of romance about the sounds of the city - they surveyed passers-by and asked them to name a typical sound. There were the bells of a pagoda, the rustling of bamboo in the park, the songs of cicadas, the melody of the wind in high-rise neighborhoods, the tinkling of bicycle bells, the hum of an elevated train was indicated as typical and recognizable. But none of the respondents remembered the most frequent and famous sound “khhhh!”, which hits the ears of everyone who arrives in the Celestial Empire. And all because it is familiar to the locals and does not even receive attention. Small children and school age young men, respectable old men and touching old women, graceful girls and mature aunties, commoners in rags and sleek Asian gentlemen in expensive suits - everyone coughs. Hairdressers, taxi drivers, waiters, salesmen, artists on the embankment, couples in love in the park. Loudly, with pleasure, without hesitation.

The government is trying to fight this too. Posters appeared in the metro and parks with a crossed out spitting silhouette and the inscription that in public places this cannot be done - in Chinese and English. What if one of the guests of the Celestial Empire wants to join in the violation of order, but sees the inscription and is ashamed. But it is clear that the Chinese spit not out of malice or lack of culture, but for the benefit of their health. Here, no prohibitions can overcome the people’s craving for health procedures.

Roger Vermeulen / flickr.com

By the way, this craving is surprisingly combined with a devil-may-care (since we’re talking about it) attitude towards him. Take, for example, the Chinese passion for smoking in transport, banks, hospitals, restaurants, shopping centers, sports centers, elevators and other various places. They are also trying to fight it, in Hong Kong and Macau they have even achieved success - high fines have helped. Mainland China has not yet decided to severely punish its citizens for such trifles.

Be healthy!

It’s better not to get sick at all, everyone knows that. But few people manage to live their lives serenely and not have to see a doctor.

One Chinese morning I woke up, touched my forehead, listened to the cough and realized: it was my turn. Of course, I visited doctors many times. But these are our own, domestic doctors. But there was no need to go to their Chinese colleagues. The first thing I did was go to the small university clinic on campus, believing that since I worked at the university, this was the place for me to go. But the sleepy doctors shied away from me as if I had the plague. I thought it was all my appearance, and I was partly right. But it was not the pallor of my brow and the sparkling eyes that alerted the local doctors, but my Laowai appearance. “You don’t belong with us!” - they stated categorically. “And to whom and where?” — I was puzzled. “You need to go to the international hospital, only they accept foreigners.” I didn't want to go there. For the money that an international hospital pays for a “visit from a doctor who speaks English,” I have to work for several months, sleeping under a bridge and eating on the outskirts of a food market. After thinking, he proposed a compromise: “I’m a simple guy, from the people. Direct me to an ordinary people's hospital, of which there are plenty around. I will leave and will not interfere with your work.” In addition to me, the negotiations with the doctor and two nurses included an old security guard in a cap, his cleaning lady friend with a mop in her hands, and several completely strangers who looked like students and teachers.

Asia-Pacific Images Studio

They participated as equals, looking at me and discussing my future fate. In the general hubbub, I didn’t catch who made the final verdict. I hope it was a doctor and not a watchman or a cleaning lady. I received a piece of paper with an address and a referral for examination. I must say that the compassionate participants in the discussion offered to take me - some by bicycle, some by bus, and one professor-type guy insisted on a taxi and even began to call him by phone. Out of fear that the whole company would take me to the traditional doctors, I refused help and went to the hospital on my own. I was followed by wishes to get better faster and recommendations to drink more hot water. The latter is a universal Chinese medicine. If you drink a lot of hot water, you will always be healthy, or you will get better quickly. If you don’t drink a lot of hot water, your business is bad, and your days are numbered...

In the people's hospital, the first floor of which looked more like a bizarre mixture of a bank and a train station, I toiled in different queues at all sorts of windows - paying for an appointment, taking tests, paying for tests, waiting for an appointment... The doctor - cheerful, bald, full-faced, wearing round glasses - looked at me carefully, at the printout of the blood test, and back at me.

“It seems to me that you are sick,” he finally said in a tone that did not allow for objections. I didn't argue and nodded. Then he shyly asked what kind of illness happened to me. The doctor’s answer struck me with honesty: “I don’t know.” I nodded again in understanding: if I were Chinese, the doctor would quickly determine everything. But since I am a carrier of a Laowai organism unknown to him, my affairs are dark and my prospects are vague. Just as I was about to find out what to do now, the doctor’s face lit up. The doctor rummaged in the desk drawer and pulled out two large, finger-sized ampoules. "This is very good remedy! Chinese,” he said proudly, holding the ampoules in front of me in his open palms. “Which one do you choose?”

I took a closer look. There were no names. One ampoule contains a colorless liquid, the other contains a suspicious yellowish liquid. “Very good product, it helps a lot!” - the doctor encouraged me. "What is this?" - I asked. The doctor sighed and repeated: a very good remedy, Chinese. To be convincing, he even duplicated it in English: “Chinese medicine. Lead the guda." Indulging in fatalism, I waved my hand: “Let’s both!” The doctor shook his head in fear - it’s impossible, it’s a very strong medicine. You only need to choose one.

Many people, in addition to the doctor and nurse, watched our communication with interest. I didn’t know who they were, but I guessed: ordinary patients, bored in line, who decided to come with me to the doctor’s office and look at the “talking dog.” The doctor reacted calmly to their desire and did not drive them away - he gave his compatriots the opportunity to admire the laoi to their heart's content.

I hesitated, like Neo from The Matrix, when offered the blue or red pill.

Samurai Yamamoto Tsunetomo advised in such cases: “In an “either-or” situation, choose death without hesitation.” Armed with this fierce wisdom from China's eternal enemies, I refused both ampoules, thanked everyone for their concern and hurried to leave the crowded office.

“Drink more hot water!” - came after me.

And you know, I listened to them and recovered. A week later.

Food, you are the world!

In order not to get sick, you need to not only drink a lot of hot water, but also eat well (often means plentifully). Food is the foundation Chinese life. Until recently, people in the Middle Kingdom even greeted each other instead of the now familiar “nihao!” with the question “chi le ma?” That is, “have you eaten?”
No other topic is capable of arousing the same keen interest of the Chinese. Food is not only a favorite topic of conversation. If you see a Chinese person in a state of deep thought, you can be sure that in nine cases out of ten he is thinking about food. Even money and the housing issue are inferior to the topic of food, let alone the weather, politics, sports, art and everything else. If you want to “revive” your Chinese interlocutor and make him feel good, start talking about food and listen carefully. The interlocutor will be flattered by the role of an expert and will proudly tell you many incredible recipes for the most outlandish dishes, even if in fact it is just a way to prepare a simple onion soup.

Minh Hoang Ly / EyeEm

The Chinese are generally proud of everything they have, and especially their national cuisine. And, I must admit, there are reasons for this. This is a whole philosophy of life, with a pronounced Chinese character. This is the basis of Chinese culture. The main beauty is that it is quite accessible and enjoyable to study even for those who are not able to master hieroglyphs, which are also part of the culture.

Roughly speaking, there are several main directions in this most important of all Chinese arts. Northern culinary school - an abundance of noodles, dumplings, and rice is not held in particular esteem. Southern Shanghainese is famous for its sweet and sour dishes. Sichuan - terribly spicy, fiery. Well, you can treat yourself to all sorts of delights like newborn mice in Guangdong province. But is it necessary?

Pragmatic and life-loving Chinese explore the world through food. Each province has its own cuisine, special and unique. Why, every city cooks it differently. And in the city itself - in each quarter there is possible its own preparation, unique for this particular place. Nuances are very important and valuable. Traveling hundreds of kilometers from home on the weekend to eat “famous delicious donuts” in some remote place is very Chinese. A Chinese person’s impressions of a trip abroad are also formed primarily from descriptions of food. Many, many times I heard from Chinese acquaintances who had traveled around Europe a list of countries where it was “tasty” and where, on the contrary, it was “tasteless”. Everyone, of course, has their own list of preferences. It’s easier with young people; they may even like Western food. But for the elderly, almost everywhere it’s “bu hao chi,” that is, completely tasteless. That is why, during tourist trips, the Chinese are brought in organized busloads to specially created huge Chinese canteens and restaurants. There are several such places in Moscow, and one of them is inside the Olimpiysky sports complex. The daily crowd of noisy Chinese tourists at the entrance to the restaurant against the backdrop of the huge golden dome of the Moscow Cathedral Mosque gives this place a very unusual flavor.

Richard Gould/EyeEm

So, despite the Chinese craving for so-called “food tourism,” this applies more to the borders of the Center of the World, that is, China. But the entire periphery of the world is something else. Only a few inquisitive brave souls leave the hotel in the evenings and make their way to some of our “Yolki-Palki”, order Russian national dishes there and look with shudder at the okroshka and jellied meat brought to them. The bravest ones may even try it, but only to recoil from the dish and remember their homeland - great country with the most beautiful food in the world.

How to live and communicate

Even though China may seem like another planet to many, the local rules of life are universal. Calm and polite - best ways brighten up your life in a foreign land and establish contact with the locals. The Chinese are very sensitive and highly value respectful attitude (which sometimes does not prevent them from being completely unceremonious from our point of view, but, again, this is not out of malice, but, for example, out of curiosity or due to natural spontaneity). It's best to avoid talking about politics, especially when it comes to sensitive topics like Taiwan or Tibet. Moreover, why touch on politics when there is an opportunity to discuss lunch - past or upcoming. It's more interesting and useful.

The Chinese are generally very friendly towards people from Russia. They will definitely praise your appearance (no matter how depressing it may seem to you) and your Chinese (even if it consists of only two, but the most important words - “sese” and “nihao”). They will pay a compliment to the president - they will diligently pronounce his last name (fortunately, it lacks the sound “r”, which is irresistible for many Chinese) and show the thumb. They will try to help if necessary, even if they don’t know how exactly to help. And they will teach you practicality: one day you will discover that you have not used an iron for a long time, and walking in beautiful pajamas along the evening street, doing your evening exercise, is just the thing.

Instead of an introduction:
Our names are Gregory and Natalie. We are 25 or a little older. And we are passionate, mobile and adventurous. It so happens that we currently live in China. We live in a small, non-international and almost no one famous city on the Southeast coast. Few tourists see China the way we see it - not tourist, everyday China, China from the inside. The text below is our notes about life in China, these are the amazing and incomprehensible things that we constantly encounter, this is our real reality. And please read slowly.

Live in China. Like this?
Actually this is interesting. We haven't been here that long, so everything around us still continues to surprise us every day. There is so much mixed up here that, as we understand, the Chinese themselves often cannot figure it out. This is some kind of incomprehensible territory. There is no need to compare China with any European country. It's incomparable. Nothing will work out. Therefore, we don’t compare anything - we tell everything as it is. Of course, our view of the world is subjective, but we are not the state. com. statistics...
So, China through the eyes of the average person:

There is constant movement in China. Here everything moves, moves and moves. Wherever you go and wherever you look, you will see Chinese people doing something. Either they are working, which is more likely, or they are eating, which is also almost everywhere, or they are arguing about something. The combination of these three actions is the aggregate state of the Chinese. There are a lot of people everywhere. You can go into any open cafe or restaurant at night - no matter what time, at four or five in the morning - and in this restaurant more than half of the seats will be occupied for sure. You can go out onto the balcony of your apartment at night and see that the traffic on the street has not decreased at all. Yesterday we were returning home late and, passing by the tennis court, in our yard we saw two Chinese playing tennis. In uniform, in white sneakers, with good rackets - at four o'clock in the morning!!
The Chinese are everywhere and always. But they are very different. People are highly differentiated by social level. There are a lot of poor people. A lot of rich people. They all peacefully coexist with each other in close proximity. There are no elite areas and no Harlems. A multi-story skyscraper can stand right in the middle of a slum, and an elite 5-star hotel can be surrounded by poor areas with two-story shacks and sewers. Just like a brand new Ferrari can stand at the crossroads between pedicabs and three-wheeled dusty scooters. All this is cooked in one cauldron. If you leave the boundaries of any city and drive along any road - on the sides of it you will not see forests and fields - you will see fences of factories and factories - one replacing another... In any direction. There are thousands of them here. These can be small factories with up to 500 people, or ultra-modern world-famous factories with a generally unknown number of people. They all work at incredible speed. They all make money every minute. Any of the owners of these factories is a wealthy person. Any of them can afford a shiny executive-class Mercedes and a 500-meter house or apartment. There are definitely more millionaires here than in Austrian resorts. But, with all this, each plant employs hundreds of workers who receive 100 bucks a month. And there are also incredibly many of them. In general, it is still difficult for us to understand how it all works and harmoniously coexists.
Food is a universal hobby of all Chinese. In the morning, evening and at night, all restaurants and cafes are more than half occupied. There are Chinese everywhere and they eat everywhere. Everyone eats. They eat snakes, toads, worms, scorpions, insects, all animals, including dogs and mice, and all entrails, including deep-fried intestines and lungs. You say ugh!? Come on, you can get used to it. In the evening, these glass stalls on wheels open onto the street. They drive out to the middle of the sidewalk, and the stallholders lay out various animal parts and seasonings in a glass display case. All this is fried and steamed in front of you over high heat and in a large amount of oil. You can try the ears, snout, udder, lungs and much more... In front of these “glasses” there are usually 5-7 low stools where you can sit and eat everything you just bought. At the same time, bones and skin should be chewed well and then spat out on the floor right in front of you. You can slurp without hesitation - everyone slurps - this is the norm. 15 meters from this “glass” is the entrance to a respectable restaurant. There is a soft lounge playing, dim lighting, a 46-page menu, and on the tables there are buttons for remote calling of waiters. On the menu: steaks, fried potatoes, spaghetti balanese, the best European wines, Carlsberg beer, and excellent fruit cocktails. When you dine in such a place you relax and after a few minutes you forget what you just saw on the street. The distance between these two worlds is 15 steps.
Versatility and contrast are everywhere. You can walk into the courtyard of a new multi-story building, such as the one we live in, and see a car exhibition in the parking lot below. There are “Mizirrati”, “Ferrari”, “Caen” - this is generally the people’s car of the Laoban (lao ban - boss in Chinese) 500 and 600 Mercedes, several Jaguars, two Hamers and other cars -fives.” You can leave the courtyard, walk across the street to the left and get into a two-story area with the same exhibition, but this time of tricycles. The tricycle is generally one of the symbols of China. They transport everything from garbage to refrigerators.
There are many extremes here, but they are extremes nonetheless. We want to talk about China and the average Chinese.

Chinese people at home and at work. The Chinese work from 8 to 12, then have a two-hour lunch break. From 12 to 14 they have lunch and have time to sleep. In offices at this time, you can easily find a Chinese person sleeping right on his desk next to his computer. The Chinese work hard. They do everything quickly - that's a fact. Quality is a separate matter. When working with a Chinese partner, it is important to constantly ensure that he understands you thoroughly. Not just understood, but understood thoroughly. Otherwise, he will do some of the work “at his own discretion.” The Chinese discretion will most likely be very different from yours. After work, China has dinner. From 18 to 20 all cafes and restaurants are almost one hundred percent occupied. It is not customary to have dinner at home. Many apartments do not have kitchens. If you walk into a cafe in the evening, the first thing you notice is a powerful din. Everyone communicates with each other very loudly - almost shouting. Such a style. After dinner, the Chinese go home or to friends. At home he watches TV - and constantly switches channels. This is not surprising - the quality of the programs shown on central television is very low. 80 percent are locally produced TV series - it’s great to learn the language from them, but you can’t delve into the meaning - otherwise your brain will soften, and repeated advertisements where characters talk to cartoon-washing-powders. When visiting friends, a Chinese man argues, shouts loudly and gambles. Gambling is a completely separate topic. They play everywhere. In shops, on the streets, in parks - everywhere, everywhere... We haven’t yet understood what they are playing - something between chess, backgammon and dominoes. They always play for money, shouting loudly as they throw dice onto the board.

Chinese on the roads: It is impossible for a visitor to understand the logic of traffic in China. The driving culture is simply different than in any other country. A very large number of traffic participants. A lot of cars. There are three to four times more motorcyclists and cyclists. While the light is red, a number of cars accumulate at the intersection, surrounded on all sides by motorcyclists. The green light turns on - everything starts moving smoothly. The distances between cars and mopeds are usually 20-30 cm, regardless of speed. Turn signs are ignored. Double solid almost everywhere, but no one knows why it is needed. The priorities of roads are very arbitrary - often the main, busy road along which the flow moves from average speed 70, a dusty three-wheeled truck with chickens in the back can fall out without worrying that someone might crash into it. The Chinese drive very slowly, smoothly and constantly changing lanes. Changing lanes all the time is normal. It is not customary to simply drive along and enjoy the road.
Surprisingly, the Chinese never swear while driving; they react to all cuts and constant sharp moments by calmly and confidently pressing the brake, without showing a drop of aggression or even dissatisfaction. There are no accidents at all. We haven't seen any. Just like there are no “Zhorikov” on “Tens” with mufflers that you can stick your head into, and there are no old right-handed “Subars” with “Sparko” inscriptions across the entire body.
The motorcycle is the people's means of transportation. These are mainly “Suzuki” and “Honda” - 125 cc four-stroke small engines on a simple frame. In appearance they resemble the Soviet IZH, only more carefully. Motorcycles with an engine capacity of more than 250cc are banned in China.
Roads. In cities traffic organized very logically. Maximum number of interchanges, minimum number of traffic lights. “Second-level roads” are being built everywhere - this is when the first floor of the road goes in one direction, the second – in the other. All roads are perfectly smooth. Automatic communication between cities is carried out in two ways: 1 - you can choose a toll road - by paying approximately 50 yuan (200 rubles) per hundred kilometers you will get an excellent road surface on which you can drive 200 and 250, (but everywhere the limit is 110), perfectly trimmed flower beds on both sides and the absence of any surprises. 2 - having paid a symbolic fee of 6 yuan (24 rubles) per hundred kilometers, you go onto a “budget” road - and then ... God help you! From personal experience: when you drive along such a road, you feel like a fighter pilot deep behind enemy lines.

If you go into the food section of a supermarket, it can confuse an unprepared person. Approximately 70% of products are not identifiable to foreigners. How it is, what it is, whether it is the first, whether it is the second, or the third is not clear. But in any case, no matter what you buy, most likely it will be delicious – the main thing is not to know what it’s made from. But, everything takes turns. Meat – meat is sold everywhere. A lot of pork, a lot of beef, a lot of chicken. In China there is a special type of chicken - black chicken. The meat tastes exactly the same as regular meat, just black in color. This is a Negro chicken. Along with pork and beef, there may be dog meat on the shelf in the store - in order not to cook it for lunch, it is important to learn the hieroglyph for “dog” well. In China, it is believed that animal entrails - hearts, livers, stomachs - are much healthier than meat - that's why they cost more. Fish - we live on the very shore of the ocean - there is a lot of fish in these places and in a great abundance of varieties. If you go to the fish department of any supermarket, you can count at least thirty varieties of fish. All of it is fresh - either live or chilled. In any store they will clean it for you for free and cut it as you ask. Turtles, snakes, frogs, worms, rapana, snails, mollusks, octopuses and lobsters are sold alive. They swim in large aquariums with filtered water until you buy them. We cannot say anything authoritatively about the taste or the methods of preparation of these undoubtedly magnificent, exotic dishes. Natalie is not a fan of gastronomic experiments. And I put up with this, subconsciously understanding that this is fortunate.
In the egg department you will find at least 15 types of eggs. It's hard to say whose they are, but they are all different colors and sizes. Eggs are also sold already boiled, boiled in soy sauce and rotten, and then boiled. Vegetables. There are a huge number of vegetables, although many of them are unknown to us. Potatoes are very big size(slightly smaller than a volleyball) and clumsy. Carrots are sold only peeled. Surprisingly, there are no beets. Absolutely not. Nowhere. In the fruit department you will be pleasantly surprised by the variety of choices. Bananas, kiwis, oranges, tangerines, pears, apples, strawberries, pomelo, lychees, and many more fruits whose names we only know in Chinese. They all taste different, but are equally ripe and sweet. Among others you can find the famous “durian”. This is a large fruit - the size of a large watermelon, yellow color and with many spikes on the body. You should eat it with plastic gloves on, otherwise your fingers will smell like shit for a week. It's not called durian for nothing. The white pulp inside contains large yellow segments larger than orange ones and they are eaten. The taste is unlike anything else, very unusual, moderately sweet and pleasant, but it is better to eat this fruit after a cold, while the runny nose has not yet passed. This is what a child's shit smells like - it doesn't seem disgusting, but it still smells... We tried durian while visiting our Chinese friends. Natalie would never let me buy it and bring it into the house.
Dried food: sold in bags, it can be shrimp, mushrooms, carrots, seaweed, and anything else. Almost everything is sold dried. We don’t know what it is and how to properly cook and eat it, so we don’t buy it.
There are almost no dairy products. The milk is mostly soy milk. We have forgotten what cottage cheese, cheese and cream are.
Now a few lines about restaurants and cafes. In China, you can eat one meal for 150 yuan, but you can eat for the same money for a week without depriving yourself of meat. But in any case, you can afford to never pay attention to the right column in the menu, and it's damn nice! All Chinese catering establishments can be divided into three types. The first and most colorful are small eateries with 8-10 seats. They are in every home. I didn't make a mistake in every house. We call them chi-fanki (from the Chinese “chi fan” - eat, dine). These are private establishments that are not certified, do not undergo any controls, and the food they cook there is unclear and not clear from what, but, to their credit, it’s delicious. When you eat in such a place, you feel like you went into some Chinese person’s kitchen to have lunch. Plastic tables, plastic chairs, disposable tablecloths, flies and the constant TV with TV series. I ate in such chifanki a couple of times in secret from Natalie. It’s interesting... The average bill is 6 yuan. (25 rubles). The second type is restaurants and cafes of medium level and above. There are countless of them in China. There will be such a restaurant on any street, in any house. They are purely Chinese, which is more common, and they also come in various styles of cuisine, for example, Filipino or Japanese, or Korean, and so on. It is a pleasure to dine in such restaurants - the food is delicious. It is cooked over high heat and with a lot of oil. It’s especially interesting when the kitchen is open and you can see how your order is being prepared. You can watch for hours - incredibly interesting - the Chinese are unsurpassed virtuosos in this regard. Within a radius of three hundred meters from our house there are a dozen of these restaurants, where we go alternately. There is usually calm music, pleasant interiors and owners of establishments with whom we know personally. They are all a little proud of our presence as their guests and are always glad to see our visits. And the third type is elite restaurants. They are more often found in the lobbies of five-star hotels. Large spacious rooms, tables served with knives and forks, well-trained waiters and an impeccably delicious menu. You need to go to such places - first of all, in order to feel “on the level”.
The food in all Chinese establishments has one thing in common - it is very fatty and oily. If a foreigner eats outside the home all the time, his stomach will sooner or later fail.
The Chinese have a cult of food. The Chinese always order more than they can eat. This is especially exaggerated if you are their guest. You dine with four people, and order, for example, ten dishes. The Chinese eat deliciously! They slurp. They burp. They spit the bones on the table. (We are talking about average Chinese; what has been said, as a rule, does not apply to directors and top managers of factories and international companies). The Chinese table is always noisy. They talk a lot and loudly while eating. They argue, joke, discuss politics and family issues. There is always a din in establishments, which is not easy to shout through. Ten minutes later you catch yourself thinking that you yourself are screaming.
The Chinese practically do not drink strong alcohol. You won't find vodka, whiskey or cognac on the menu in restaurants. Although there is almost always beer. Here they drink beer from small 100-gram glasses. This container is ideal for Chinese beer, as it does not foam at all. Chinese beer is not beer in its understanding - it is some kind of separate drink. Although the green bottle may say Hainiken. The most famous local beer is, of course, Qingdao. Served in liter bottles. You can see these on the tables of restaurant visitors, but not often, not everywhere. And of course, you will never see a Chinese drinking or walking down the street with beer.
At the same time, the Chinese smoke. They smoke everywhere. There are no restrictions on smoking. You can smoke in transport, in an elevator, in a bank and anywhere else... Recently we went to a sports store to buy sneakers - and so, in front of the window next to us, a Chinese man stood and smoked, choosing a pair for himself. (!in a sports store!) One one of the sellers was kind enough to bring him an ashtray. Only men smoke.

Chinese faces: Who said that the Chinese are all alike? This is wrong. You just don’t understand it right away. You need to get used to it and after a while you start to see a little more. And you can already say: “this Chinese woman is beautiful” or “oh, this one is only after four Chingdaos.” But, to be objective, there aren’t very many pretty Chinese, we’re not talking about beautiful ones. There are more of them in large cities and fewer in small towns. Partly because modeling agencies and the entire fashion elite are concentrated in Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou. But let's talk about stereotypes... There is a certain standard of beauty in the world. No one will argue this: long legs, moderately large breasts, Long neck, big eyes, long eyelashes, straight white teeth and it’s really cool if she’s still blonde. Now let's look at the Chinese women. Features of the Asian genotype are: short stature, short legs, very short neck, narrow eyes and lack of eyelashes, dark skin color, yellow teeth and black hair. It turns out that Asian appearance itself contradicts the generally accepted standard. And this contradiction, as we see, puts great pressure on the Chinese. Otherwise, where do these ubiquitous skin whitening services in beauty salons and such popular simple plastic surgery by increasing the shape of the eyes.
Chinese advertisements mostly feature European faces. Santa Claus in China is also European. The mannequins in stores are European. But that doesn't mean there aren't beautiful faces in China. Eat.
Despite the fact that the Chinese eat constantly, you won’t find fat people here. All the girls are slim, all the men are skinny. Although there are exceptions, such as our fitness trainer - a handsome man.

Chinese Hospitality: Chinese hospitality is a brand. Everyone knows that Asians are hospitable, but you can fully experience this only after living here for some time. We live in a small city, by Chinese standards, albeit with a population of several million. You rarely see Europeans here, so we really stand out from the crowd. Of course, we are somewhat exotic for the locals. And it often happens that you get tired of such attention. But you can get used to it and not notice it. Moreover, all this is more than offset by Chinese hospitality. We are welcome everywhere. And this is not fake, sincere joy. We have discounts and discount cards for almost all establishments within a kilometer radius of our home. And we have never seen such a level of service in the service sector as in China.

Chinese taxi: Red and yellow, worn-out Volkswagen Jettas are a car that was discontinued in Germany about thirty years ago. The WV plant in China made so many of these cars that the Jetta became one of the symbols of China. In a taxi, the driver is separated from the passengers by a metal grill. Safety! All taxis are metered. If you get into a car, the driver must turn on the meter before moving off. This rule is. If the counter is not turned on, you are being scammed! You should only sit in the back seat. There are no seat belts in the front. The cost of the trip depends on the mileage - but it is always affordable. After 21-00 the cost increases by one and a half yuan - the night rate. An alternative to a regular taxi is a motorcycle taxi. This type of private cab service can be found in small towns. In Shanghai, Beijing, Guangzhou, Xiamen and other megacities it was banned due to the high accident rate. For 10 yuan, a motorcycle taxi driver will offer you a sweaty helmet and quickly and dangerously take you anywhere in the city. It's great to ride a motorcycle taxi around the city at night - when you've had a little drink. Funny! Pedicabs are a viable, albeit dying, means of transportation in China. Bicycle with sidecar, two passenger seats, price negotiable. We went a couple of times – it was original, but a lot of things are controversial.

Modern China is a big construction site. Houses in China are built in entire blocks. From my office window you can count 17 tower cranes, each building two 30-story buildings. There is no infill development. If something is being built, then an entire area is being built. Modern residential buildings are complexes of 6-8 30-story buildings united by a single infrastructure. Below there is almost always a swimming pool, often a tennis court, a small park, a children's playground, exercise equipment and underground parking. The internal territory is under video surveillance and 24-hour security. The entire first floor is dedicated to shops and boutiques. You can buy everything you need right in your slippers. In the evening you meet Chinese in pajamas and with a newspaper in their hands, who went down to the store for soy sauce. Such modern houses are of a good standard. They have large apartments of 150-200 meters. And neighbors corresponding to this level. But, even here, not without a Chinese flavor, for example, our neighbor in the stairwell - the director of a plant for the production of plastic products - every Saturday morning cuts off the head of a live chicken right on the landing near the elevator. She has all the equipment for this - a cage, a special clamp so that the chicken does not run, and a basin for blood. Shocked? We, too!
There are two apartments per floor. There are also two elevators - one internal, the second external - it rises in a glass box mounted on the outside of the wall. The apartment where we live has five rooms - two toilets, a kitchen, a large hall and three balconies. Each balcony has a marble bathtub and a tap for household needs. The washing machine is also on the balcony. Each room has air conditioning - this is not a luxury, but a necessity. In summer it gets up to +50.
Linen always hangs on the balcony. It's not just dried, it's stored here. In China, you won’t see a single balcony on which laundry isn’t hanging on clothespins.
The Chinese have no secrets from each other - that’s why the walls and ceilings in their houses are very thin. This is not only here, it is everywhere in China. Therefore, we know everything about how our neighbors live and in the morning, while still lying in bed, we blush a little, realizing that they also seem to know a lot about us...

Chinese and green tea: Green tea means a lot to the Chinese. Tea and tea drinking are one of the important components of life and everyday life. When you enter any apartment or establishment, you can see a special tray, a teapot and a set of cups and tools for the tea ceremony. If you come to visit a Chinese person just to chat for 15 minutes, most likely he will invite you to drink green tea with him. If you stop by a factory or factory to discuss some operational issues, most likely, you will be offered green tea; if you spend a long time buying something in a store and cannot make a choice, they will bring you a tray with a set for tea drinking. Teahouses are small shops where you can not only buy, but also try real green tea, prepared the way it should be prepared. In such shops it is worth big table for 6-8 people, and a nice Chinese woman will invite you to sit down and try any tea you want. All this will be very beautiful, easy and unobtrusive. Tea prices can vary from 15 yuan per jin (Jin is a Chinese unit of measurement equal to 500 grams) to 15,000 yuan per jin. (for clarity – for the cost of 1 kilogram good tea you can buy an average car). An uninitiated person will not understand such a difference in price. But the Chinese are very good at this from birth. How else can one explain such a number of teahouses? There are three of them in our house alone. Tea shops are more common than grocery stores. And the province in which we live is considered the best tea province in China.

Beauty in Chinese: The Chinese have a very unique idea of ​​beauty and style. This shows up in everything. In architecture, in the design of apartments, clothing, etc. Let's start with the most interesting thing - women's fashion: what Chinese girls look like can be said in one word - asexual. No mini, no tight, no emphasizing... Modest, drab, nothing at all. You won’t find a “girl in a little Peugeot” here. There are no girls here who want to turn around, just because they just want to turn around... And the point is not at all in external beauty, but in the ability to present oneself. This is neither good nor bad. That's how it is done here.
School uniforms in China are uniform. It's a baggy green and white tracksuit. It is usually a size or two too large and deprives its owners of any gender differences at all. This costume has nothing to do with the concepts of beauty or style. I think ten years of being in this form leaves an imprint on your future life.
Chinese houses have their own, Chinese comfort. The walls are always white. No wallpaper, just white whitewashed walls. There are always red Chinese lanterns in any apartment, usually they hang on the balcony. And there is always a mahogany altar with a Buddha figurine and burning incense. It stands in the hallway of any home.
The most beautiful color is red. The rule “the more shiny the better” works without exception (this is especially true in the designs of the Chinese automobile industry).

Chinese letter: The Chinese language is a thing in itself. If you meet a person who says that he knows Chinese perfectly, you can laugh in his face. The Chinese language is obviously not intended to be known perfectly. Chinese has more than 50,000 characters. No one, of course, counted them accurately, and it is not possible to count them; it is simply accepted that there are about 50,000 of them. At the same time, 2,000 are enough for the Chinese to fully communicate. There are four tones (keys) in the Chinese language. The first one is neutral. Second, the main stress of the word has an ascending direction. Third - the main stress of the word first goes sharply down, then sharply up. The fourth key (or reverse key) is the descending stress of the word. Identical sound combinations in different keys have different, and often opposite, meanings.
So, for example, mai - in the third key means to buy, and mai - in the fourth key - means to sell. At the same time, the hieroglyphs meaning these actions are different. Such examples infinite set: Ma - in the first - means mother, Ma - in the third - horse. Bei zi in the first - glasses, bei zi in the fourth - a blanket. And so on. This is where confusion often arises. This is why the Chinese ask and repeat the words of their interlocutor in a conversation to make sure of their meaning. Chinese in the north of the country and Chinese in the south are, one might say, different languages. Despite the fact that the writing is the same, the pronunciation of the same hieroglyphs is strikingly different. Each province speaks its own dialect. This causes serious difficulties for translators. But at the same time, there is a generally accepted Chinese pronunciation of characters - Putonghua. This pronunciation, close to the Beijing dialect, is taken as a standard. Announcers on central TV and radio speak Mandarin. Mandarin is also spoken by all educated people, regardless of which province they live in. But factory workers and old people will not understand you, nor will you understand them, even if you have an honors degree from Xiamen University.
Hieroglyphs are written in strict sequence. One line after another from top to bottom, from right to left. Any, even the most complex hieroglyph, must be strictly geometric and have a height equal to the width. Chinese is a living, constantly changing language. Hieroglyphs are simplified and modified over time. But in countries such as Hong Kong or Taiwan, changing hieroglyphs is not accepted at the government level and therefore the old “non-simplified” characters are still used there to this day. Thus, the language in these countries is increasingly moving away from the generally accepted Chinese language.

There is a lot more to tell. One could spend many days trying to understand this country. But we don’t strive or even try. We simply dissolve in it and live in the present, without analyzing, but accepting everything as it is.
Come for a visit!
Gregory and Natalie.

Feel free to ask any questions by e-mail.

The development of Chinese territory by the Russian-speaking population has not lost its relevance for several centuries, in fact, just as the interest of the Chinese themselves in the nearby post-Soviet regions has not faded. The reasons that force CIS citizens to move to the Middle Kingdom are very different. This includes an element of exoticism, close economic contacts, and a cheaper market for goods and services. How Russians live in China and whether the move is worth the effort will be especially interesting to know for those who intend to change their area of ​​residence in the near future.

Features of life in China

The migration process to this country is quite difficult. The reason must be so compelling that local authorities are left with no doubts about the advisability of such an event. If it is an investment, then it should be at least 500 thousand US dollars, if it is a rare profession, then it should be no less than a nuclear chemist, and if it is a marriage, then it should last at least 5 years.

The first thing that attracts the Russian-speaking population is the low cost of industrial goods, housing, and food. But this is provided that you live in a modest apartment and buy clothes and food at the market. In any case, this is what Russian bloggers living in China recommend doing.

When moving to this part of the continent for permanent residence, you need to be prepared for a sharp change in your basic habits and lifestyle.

The first is food. The food here is tasty and original, but after a couple of weeks the emigrant begins to miss the traditional dishes of his native cuisine. The second is the densely populated area, and the third is a completely different attitude towards issues of hygiene and order.

As for the economic development of the Celestial Empire as a whole, many countries have long come to terms with the fact that China has overtaken them in matters, for example, of automotive production. Its own “Silicon Valley” operates quite productively here, and the export of goods today suggests that Chinese production provides all other regions of our planet.

Russian diaspora

The most numerous stage of Russian emigration to Chinese territory can be called late XIX century, which included the construction of the Chinese-Eastern railway. The peak of emigration coincided with the 20s of the 20th century. It was during this period that it reached its highest development, which gives historians the right to talk about the diasporas of Harbin and Beijing.

The subsequent events in Russia and the “Cultural Revolution” in China canceled out the efforts of several thousand migrants, and this phenomenon simply ceased to exist in Chinese society. It would be fair to say that today there is no Russian diaspora here as such. Life for Russians in China, scattered throughout the country, in terms of unity and cohesion is represented by only a few Russian-speaking communities.

As researchers note, compact settlements of immigrants from former USSR today you can find:

• in the Xinjiang Uyghur region;
• In Shanghai;
• in Heilongjiang Province;
• in Argun Yuqi County (Inner Mongolia).

The areas where Russians live in Shanghai are characterized by weak attempts to create something like a Russian community. The “Russian Shanghai Club” and several Russian-language Internet resources operate here. In general, according to the same sociologists, on this moment About 15 thousand people from the CIS region officially live on Chinese territory.

The size of the Russian-speaking population is also influenced by a living example of how Russian pensioners live in China. The minimum benefit here, translated into, say, Russian currency, is 9,500 rubles (1,141 yuan or 168 US dollars). At the same time, a pension is due only if the citizen has worked his entire life in the civil service or at an industrial enterprise.

However, even this does not greatly influence the desire of Russian pensioners to move to Chinese territory, which is due to low prices for housing and utilities. In any case, it is quite difficult to say exactly how many Russians live in China in 2019, since statistics only provide official data.

The sphere of education for Russian migrants

The education system in China is in many ways similar to what migrants from the former Soviet republics are accustomed to in their country. It all starts with kindergartens, of which, by the way, there is a huge shortage here. This is followed by primary and secondary schools, and then the highest level of the educational process - university.

Schooling is compulsory, and all institutions are divided into two types - public and private.

You can get knowledge at a public school for free. This also applies to children of migrants.

At the middle stage, training is conducted in Chinese, but vocational schools and colleges in many cases switch to English. It is rare, but you can find institutions where there are teachers who speak Russian and can explain the subject.

A school in China for Russians will be a good reminder of the Soviet past, when mass exercises were held in the schoolyard, and students had quiet time during the day.

Higher educational institutions willingly accept Russian students. To do this, it is enough to provide the results of independent testing and pass the competition, which can reach 100 people for 1 place. The chances increase for those who already started learning Chinese in school.

Work for Russians

China for Russians who want to realize themselves professionally starts with a work visa. It is issued in your home state, and after crossing the border, you will receive a residence permit with the right to work within one month. And don’t even try to get a job here bypassing the migration requirements. Chinese laws are very harsh on violators. There can be two directions of labor realization:

• open your own business;
• get a job as an employee.

Competition in both cases will be quite high. The Russians most often target Beijing and Shanghai.

Features of working in Chinese companies

Don't forget that Chinese employers and the style of work itself are also different from what you are used to in your home country. First, remember that the Chinese celebrate their New Year not together with the entire planet, but in the first quarter of a new 12-month period that has already begun for us. It is for this reason that the most hectic month here is January, and not December, like ours.

People also like to relax here for 10 days on holidays. Both because the holiday is revered so much, and because when it comes, workers accumulate days off that they have not taken off during the year.

As for any agreements, the Chinese are not inclined to follow them. Deliveries are always delayed, and if the best employee turns up, no one will even remember about you. In addition, it is necessary to take into account the peculiarities of the culture of behavior in the East, which differs significantly from Western canons.

Wage

It’s very easy to earn the basic minimum to rent inexpensive housing and buy the necessary products and things. There are always enough vacancies for sellers, waiters and animators. A salary of 400-800 US dollars can be found for a couple of weeks.

But if you are interested in earning 1.5 thousand dollars, then you cannot do without a profession that is in demand. Russians can easily find work as a fashion designer, IT developer, shoe technologist and clothing production, teacher, doctor. The main thing for successful employment in this country it means having a higher education.

For comparison, we present the salary level in the table:

Doing business in Chinese

It is no secret that the Chinese goods market has long conquered the world, in particular the former Soviet republics, where not only original products, but also counterfeits are actively supplied famous brands, sometimes quite high quality. This is what makes many businessmen think about it.

Let us immediately stipulate that the development of a business project is a profitable event, although quite bureaucratic. There can be two options for doing business: registering a representative office of a foreign company or creating an enterprise with 100% foreign investment.

The first method is the fastest. Representative offices of foreign companies receive accreditation for 3 years, after which the owner is faced with a dilemma - to extend it for another 3 years, or to reorganize the business into the second option. It is important to remember here that representative offices in China are not allowed to operate for profit. They can conduct business in the field of networking, market research and the like. To make a profit from your work, you will have to organize a company in which 100% of the capital will be foreign.

It’s difficult to say what is more important in the process of moving to this part of the planet – the opportunity to find inexpensive housing or Good work. In any case, something will have to be sacrificed. Prices for rented housing will increase in direct proportion to the size of the locality. But in a large city you can find well-paid work.

Many are betting on the areas where Russians live in China. Perhaps it would be more advisable to start looking for a suitable option with them.

As in other countries of the world, the more prestigious the area and the better the construction, the more expensive the accommodation will be.

For comparison, here are the prices for renting apartments in different cities:

City	Price in yuan (per month per 1 sq.m.)	Price in US dollars (per month per 1 sq.m.)
Shanghai	50,9-101,91	7,5-15,00
Beijing	5,10-85,26	0,75-12,55
Hangzhou	34,65-49,93	5,10-7,35
Suzhou	3,06-17,32	0,45-2,55
Chengdu	21,4-65,90	3,15-9,70

Purchase of real estate

Of course, the most profitable option to settle in China is to buy your own home. Prices for it will also vary depending on the region of the country and the area of ​​the city where you choose. And here it is important to remember that when buying an apartment, you become the owner exclusively square meters. The land on which the house stands will still belong to the state, since it cannot be sold.

During the process of drawing up a purchase and sale agreement land plot leased to the owner for 50 years. It’s difficult to say what will happen after they expire. But these are the laws. As for the cost, the average figures for cities can be presented as follows:

City	Price in yuan per 1 sq.m.	Price in US dollars per 1 sq.m.
Shanghai	21400-58561	3150-8620
Beijing	22895-70654	3370-10400
Hangzhou	15829-27990	2330-4120
Suzhou	8356-24117	1230-3550
Chengdu	6521-16304	960-2400

And do not neglect the advice and reviews of those who have already visited this amazing country, or, moreover, settled in it for a long time. They, like no one else, will be able to tell you how Russians live in China. Make a discount only for the fact that everyone’s tastes, requests and needs are different.

How to move to China? Work in China and salaries: Video

The People's Republic of China is located on more than nine million square kilometers of the Eurasian continent. More than a billion people live in this country. therefore difficult for many foreigners. According to recent studies, this state is the strongest in the world in many respects. you can do it yourself.

Temple in the mountains of China

Independent monitoring commissions note an increase in the average standard of living in China in 2018-2019, which is greatly facilitated by the constant growth in the production of goods and the development of the services market.

All this suggests that life in China is improving every year, and this cannot but attract a huge number of both Russian tourists and Russian investments. The modernization of the economic sector, which began in 1978 and continues to this day, has gradually brought China to the global level. Currently, China is considered the country with the most powerful economy in the world.

Extension social sphere With the development of the country's market economy and improving the living standards of the indigenous population, treatment in China are vectors that the government has priorities. Moreover, the state strictly regulates the activities of subjects of both the external and internal markets of the republic.

Tiananmen Square in Beijing

The General State Administration of Taxation is responsible for control over the functioning of the tax system of the huge Chinese state. Given the vast expanses of the country and the clear administrative division into provinces, the State Tax Administration of the People's Republic of China delegates its powers to territorial tax departments, which are coordinated not only by it, but also by provincial governments.

In 2016, the government levied 17 tax levies. Among them there are both generally accepted throughout the world and exclusive ones, analogues of which are difficult to find in other countries. For those who plan to live or be active economic activity in the People's Republic of China, attention should be paid to the following:

• Corporate income tax. This tax is paid by organizations and enterprises located both within the country and abroad.

  Automobile factory in China

  Non-residents of the PRC pay withholding on income received from Chinese sources if they have a permanent establishment, as well as when receiving passive income from rent, dividends, and interest. Residents pay tax on the entire amount of income received. The rate of this tax is uneven: for high-tech enterprises it is 15%, for small and unprofitable enterprises - 20%, for all others the rate is 25%;

• Income tax for individuals. Charged on income earned in and outside of China. The minimum amount of income is calculated from a rate of 3% minus one and a half thousand yuan. Income up to this amount is not subject to fees. The maximum rate reaches forty-five percent. This rate will be active if monthly income individual exceeds eighty thousand yuan;

  Chinese employees of BAUER

• VAT. The current conditions for payment of value added tax for 2019 are the conditions adopted during the 2012 reform, the main provision of which is the transition to the payment of this tax by organizations involved in the service sector. Before this reform, such enterprises paid only income tax. The normal rate of this tax is seventeen percent. For preferential enterprises, this rate can be reduced to thirteen. How much the rate of this tax will be for the digital technology sector will be shown in 2019. A person who is engaged in small business activities in China, in particular, trading in products, the rate of this tax is three percent;
• Excise tax or consumption tax. This tax is paid exclusively by organizations that are engaged in the import of goods into the territory of the PRC.
  These goods include: tobacco products, alcohol, cosmetic products, petroleum products, and products of the foreign automobile industry. There are three types of import duties: combined, specific and ad valorem;
• Transport tax. Considering the expanses of the state and the great love of the indigenous population for transport, this tax is a tangible addition to the budget. Indeed, as of 2016, the population of China ranks first in the world in terms of growth in demand for the purchase of vehicles. The level of tax directly depends on the type of transport ownership: passenger, freight, agricultural or waterborne;
• There is also a mandatory tax on the purchase of vehicles in the country, but only if they are new. Therefore, when buying a new car, you must pay 10% of its cost to the treasury. When reselling vehicles on the secondary market, no tax is charged;

  Detailed map of Chinese provinces

• Property tax. Property taxes are paid by the owners of structures, premises, buildings that are located within the city limits and are used for business activities. And only as an experiment, reform is being carried out in the regions of Shanghai and Chongqing, one of the solutions of which includes partial taxation of housing stock. The level of this tax ranges from ten to thirty percent. The tax on rented property reaches twelve percent of the rental amount. State real estate is not subject to taxes;
• One of China's unique taxes is the tobacco leaf tax. This tax is paid by both individuals and legal entities engaged in the sale of tobacco products. The rate of this tax is fixed by administrative acts and currently amounts to twenty percent of the cost of purchased tobacco leaves;
• Additional fees for educational programs.

  Hong Kong University building in China

  Considering the huge population of the country, the government takes care of the education of every citizen. Therefore, people, especially owners big business in the PRC, they willingly pay these fees, rightly considering them an investment in future specialists. These fees amount to two percent for local budgets, and at the national level three percent of the income received.

In the People's Republic of China there are also a huge number of small local fees, which are collected by territorial bodies. It’s easy to find out how much they will take up in terms of expenses, but calculating them takes a lot of time. That's why business owners often hire a local tax specialist.

In general, taxes in China are not onerous, allowing both local and foreign investors to make huge profits. Medicine in China is developing both at the public and private levels. Therefore, local budgets can introduce fees for medical care.

Educational system of the People's Republic of China

The educational system of the PRC has a number of similarities with the Soviet system. Academic year, as in Russian schools, begins on the first of September and ends in early June. Just like in the CIS countries, there are long winter “New Year” holidays. Only, unlike the Soviet system, they last almost until the beginning of February. The education vertical consists of three segments: basic education, technical and vocational education and higher education.

Primary, preschool education in China begins with kindergarten. There are more than one hundred and fifty thousand of them throughout the country. They educate children from 3 to 6 years old. Further, education takes place in general education schools, where for 6 years children are taught moral education, given basic knowledge of the Chinese language, they master the primary humanities and acquire the first labor skills.
Children who have completed such a school enter secondary schools in the area where their parents live without entrance exams.

Secondary education in China is divided into two parts. To complete the compulsory state nine-year education, children enter first-level secondary schools, where they receive compulsory basic education for three years. Graduates of such schools have the level of knowledge and skills to begin with labor activity or they can take preparatory courses for their chosen profession.

For those who want to get a higher education in the future or want to engage in vocational training in more depth, there are second-level schools. At the end of their studies, students take a comprehensive exam, the results of which show the level of knowledge and the applicant’s chances of entering the country’s universities.

University of Business and Economics in Beijing

At this stage of training, Chinese legislation allows the admission of foreign citizens. But only to institutions that have leading status.

Higher education in China is very demanding of its future students. Thus, according to the law, the number of points received on the final exam in high school, defines the level limit educational institutions, in which applicants can study.

The higher education system in China, as in many Western countries, has three levels of training: bachelor's, master's and doctoral studies.

Moreover, prices in China for higher education are quite affordable.

Achieving a bachelor's degree most often requires four years of study, sometimes five years. After passing state exams and defense of a bachelor's degree, graduates have the right to work. Applicants with a bachelor's degree can, if desired, study for another two to three years and obtain a master's degree.
Accordingly, to obtain the title of Doctor of Science, additional education in China is required for three to four years.

People who, due to financial or other circumstances, cannot educate their children at universities, have an alternative. This is a secondary level technical and vocational education. How long such training will take depends on the chosen profile of the future profession.

This education system includes higher and secondary technical schools, technical schools, and vocational training centers. The main goal of training in such institutions is to prepare a theoretical basis and hone technical skills in a strict specialization. Graduates of these institutions have the level of technical specialist and are ready to start working.
The salary in China for such specialists is quite satisfactory.

The level of well-being of Chinese residents

Chinese government statistics state that the average salary in China reaches six hundred and twenty US dollars. But if we consider the level wages workers of numerous factories, factories, farms and the cost of an hour of labor for a manager of even an average financial company, then there will be a huge difference between their earnings.

Taking into account the huge labor resources of the republic and the relatively low level of education of the population, it is not difficult to conclude: workers in in-demand professions in such fields as finance, science, and IT technologies receive salaries comparable to those in developed Western countries.

And workers, especially those living in underdeveloped provinces, receive wages that are incomparably lower than their colleagues in Europe.

poor Chinese children in the provinces

Therefore, average salaries in China do not show the real picture of the well-being of the people as a whole. In large cities, the average salary can reach about nine hundred dollars, and in rural areas peasants can receive one hundred and fifty. But considering the prices in China for food, consumer goods, communication services, and real estate, we can safely say that the average Chinese does not live below the poverty line. It is better to look only in large cities.

The large number of Chinese residents naturally causes difficulties in finding employment. Many people with higher education are forced to take low-paid jobs due to the lack of demand for their qualifications. In addition, as you get older, you have to endure tougher competition, and with underdeveloped pension standards, the question of future work is acute for many Chinese.
Affordable and high-quality Chinese medicine helps the indigenous population confidently reach retirement age.

Pension in China has its own characteristics. At the current stage of the country’s development, it is received by citizens who have retired from at least 55 years of age and have been in retirement for some time. public service. Average salaries in China allow you to save for retirement both in private foreign funds and the old-fashioned way.

How much money the average Chinese person spends on his own needs, and how much he can invest in his prosperous life in old age, depends solely on himself. Prices in China vary greatly depending on geographic location, general wealth and concentration of provincial production capacity.

Russians began immigration to the Celestial Empire at the end of the 17th century, but its significant intensification occurred during the construction of the Chinese Eastern Railway at the end of the 19th century. In the new millennium moving to China for Russians is an opportunity for training and temporary employment, few people consider permanent residence in China. The situation of Russians in China does not give confidence in the future.

It is impossible to obtain citizenship here if the parents are not citizens of the country.

The only possible option to obtain a residence permit is to marry a Chinese man. Also, not everyone manages to find a job.

Where do Russians work in China? Employment problems

To get a job, you must first obtain, then a work residence permit (you are given a month for this), and then look for a vacancy. It is not so easy for a Russian person to find a job in China. The law prohibits working as a guide.

If a foreigner works on a tourist visa, he will be given a huge fine, deported and barred from entering the country forever.

Only certain categories of specialists can find work. That is why the basis of Russian society in China is made up of qualified Russians who have studied the language, regional studies and are engaged in purchasing, quality control and transportation of goods from China. Most of them work in the field of IT technologies and consulting. Women are often employed as Russian language teachers. Dancers and other artists are also allowed to stay in the country, organized as a tour.

If there is no registration at the place of residence, this can also cause problems. This innovation was introduced several years ago; before that, one could live for a long time. Due to these difficulties, most Russians view life in China as a temporary place of work or.

Other difficulties in the life of Russians

Recently, the life of Russians in China has become much more difficult.

1. Rents and rents are rising, prices for goods and services are rising.
2. The province has low prices, but no decent work.
3. Housing prices in major cities increased by 40%.
4. Russian businessmen are reducing the number of Russian intermediary employees in China.
5. Medical insurance up to $2,500 per year - for families with several children this is unaffordable money.
6. Tuition costs are rising.
7. The environment of the People's Republic of China is deteriorating every year, which affects health and is a common reason for returning to Russia.

Despite this, not all Russians return to their homeland. This is due to the difficulty of finding employment at home, as well as the reluctance to change the usual comfort with all the benefits of civilization to the gray and boring life provincial Russian town.

Where do Russians live in China?

Basically, our compatriots choose Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou to live. This is due to the fact that a huge part of the cargo flow goes from here to the countries of the former Union - so there is always work.

Even in Harbin, which is considered largely Russian, there are significantly fewer immigrants from Russia. Production here is less export-oriented, and finding employment is more difficult.

Those who know nothing about the life of our compatriots in China believe that there are many Russians on the Russian-Chinese border, but this is not so. In border towns, foreigners are just tourists who come to visit restaurants and massage parlors. For the Chinese they are the only source of income.

Russian pensioners in China

Until recently, Russian pensioners went to China for permanent residence. They rented out their apartments in Russia and lived on these funds in China. Some even purchased housing there. These were mostly border cities like Hunchun. Russians are understood better there; signs are everywhere in their native language.

But after the fall of the ruble, Russian pensions became insufficient for living expenses, and social and medical services here are more expensive than at home. Pensioners began to leave, but it turned out to be more difficult to sell the purchased property. The market is full of new buildings.

Study in China

China is a developed country in terms of economy and progress, and studying here is considered prestigious. The educational program, as in many countries of the world, consists of three stages: preschool, secondary school and higher education. Foreigners can apply for the last two.

Secondary school

School education lasts 12 years: 6 years in elementary school and 3 years in middle and high school. After finishing the secondary level, you have the opportunity to choose to study in high school:

• study for 2 years to a vocational school and obtain a specialty in the agricultural, economic or legal field;
• study for 4 years and get the opportunity to enter a university.

School provides not only excellent knowledge. Discipline and responsibility are taught here.

Russian children can study from 1st grade. Before admission, language training for a year is required. Not all schools in China have the right to accept foreigners, but only those where Chinese graduates graduate from school with high grades.

Some schools have their own dormitories, football fields, sports complexes and conservatories. Tuition here is paid. The only downside is that the children live away from their relatives. When compared with schools in Europe, the cost of such training is much cheaper.

Most prestigious schools cooperate with universities. The best students have a better chance of entering universities.

Higher education

In China, you can enter a higher education institution by passing state entrance exams, which for the Chinese themselves are very difficult and worse than our Unified State Exam. Or having passed the final exams at school well - they will also be entrance exams to the university. For foreigners, when applying for admission, knowledge of the Chinese language is the most important criterion. The language proficiency level must be at least 4 points according to NSK.

China has many higher education institutions in both provincial and big cities.

Foreign applicants who come to university with poor or zero knowledge of the Chinese language first study Chinese for one year, then enroll in a bachelor's degree.

The choice of specialties is quite wide: there are faculties of various directions. Many Chinese universities occupy places in the top positions of the world rankings among universities, which they cannot boast of Russian universities. Education for foreigners is paid, but several times cheaper than in Europe.

Russian students can pass free education, winning a grant or coming on a student exchange program.

Rental of property

People in China look for housing through agencies, of which there are many at every turn. Usually the agent takes a 35% commission, and the apartment itself is paid for 3 months in advance + 1 month for a deposit.

Table. Cost of renting housing in China.

City	Price, $ per 1 square meter
Shanghai	7-15
Beijing	0,7-13
Suzhou	0,5-2,6
Hangzhou	5-7,5
Chengdu	3-10

You can save money if you look for an apartment yourself, for example, online. The price depends on many factors. How larger city, the more expensive the housing, but the higher the salary.

Pros and cons of living in China for Russian immigrants

Living in China for foreigners has its advantages and disadvantages.

pros

1. Cheap shopping, inexpensive household appliances.
2. Friendly attitude towards foreigners.
3. Entertainment nightlife.
4. Decent higher education.
5. Low cost of travel on public transport.

Minuses

For life in China to bring joy and satisfaction, you need to accept Chinese culture, way of life and people. You need to get used to the pace of life here, and also be a qualified specialist with knowledge of Chinese, who will be able to find a place in the labor market with a decent salary. Otherwise, the Russian immigrant will face disappointment followed by a return to his homeland. It should also be remembered that Dual citizenship is prohibited in China, and obtaining Chinese citizenship is almost impossible.

Video - 10 advantages of living in China