9 Things you are allowed to do in China but you can’t do in the western world.

I have been living in and out of China for the past 10 years of my life. Over these years I have seen China developed and changed a lot. Many people say that Asia is getting westernized these days and soon it will be just like the west with Starbucks and MacDonald’s at every corner. Let me disagree with them and give you some examples of how China is different than the west.

1 Walk around in the bad neighborhoods

My work takes me to almost every place in China, starting from the big cities to even small once. During these trips I have lots of spare time during and after giving trainings and lectures. First I was escorted by a translator of just told straight up not to walk around by myself. Later on I found out that they were not worried about my safety but they were worried more that I won’t wake up for the meeting in the morning. In the west we know the bad neighborhoods and that you don’t go there unless you want to be robbed. China is a heavily controlled country and these standards don’t apply. After some time in China I decided to explore cities a bit more. Started with small walks and then longer once. These days I just take something from four square applications that I use to walk around and I just go there. I even had beers with some off duty police or some black market gangsters. One of my favorite places was a KTV (well-ran prostitution business).

2 Ride a bike without a registration

The company I work with has a bike and let me use it. This bike is not registered nor do I have a license. I have been checked numerous times. Two things that usually happen. One policeman just looks at you and waves you off. Two they have a small talk with you of how not to do it again and then they let you

3 Be a teacher even without qualifications.

As we know China has a one child policy that leads to child competition even from a young age. English skill ability is one of the main factors the parents focus on. The demand for English teachers is huge here and of course the supply is not enough. Therefore there are many foreigners native and not native of English language that teach all over around China. Of course public schools require some certificates but these rules are easily by passed by some other regulations. Moreover there are lots of privately owned schools where anyone can work. Visa requirements also can by bypassed.

4 Walk on the red.

Apparently the red light for pedestrians in China belongs to the indicating signs. What that means is being a car driver you need to stop even if someone crosses on the red. What that mean in practice is that almost everyone even in big cities crosses on red and don’t really care about the cars.

5 Argue/threaten the policeman.

This is my favorite. I been a witness to numerous accidents and what for someone brought up in the west is a criminal act here is just treated as mob violence. I have witnessed many times when one policeman was overpowered by the mob. Calling for back up sometimes takes time and during that time can be mayhem with many by standards watching on the side. Every policeman can be intimidated usually by someone with money or good government connections. Therefore many low rank policemen just prefer to walk away then get into trouble later.

6 Have a good life doing almost nothing.

Living in China just for being a foreigner and showing to work on some special occasions can land you a well-paid job. Moreover in the restaurants you get treated better and many people want to talk to you. Add to this cheap cost of living and overall respect for foreigners you can achieve many things that in the west you would have to work for very hard and have a really good paying job. As they say it’s all about the quality of living.

7 Get a lift from the police.

Especially in the second tear cities if you are doing some paper work for visa or some other things, many police officers or just office workers will actually take their car and take you to the right office. I once even got a car from the office I was supposed to be to come and pick me up and bring me to the right office. We all know what the police are like in the west.

8 Smoke in the hospital.

One thing China is famous for is smoking. I just don’t think this will ever change. Even though government is trying to fight it now but they are not having much progress. Still even in Beijing people smoke in the restaurants and don’t care. Part of it is that what people do is not your business. It may sound a bit ridiculous but even if you see people get beaten on the street you just don’t get involved. The logic behind it is that there must be a good reason why they are fighting.

9 Have a slim and good looking girlfriend even if you are a bad looking.

Also one of my favorites is that many people here still take care of their bodies and they eat generally good food. By good food I mean Chinese food which is comparing to western hamburger society has actually many vegetables. Average Chinese loves their food and this is one thing they can talk about for ages. Western food is a supplement at best. Good eating is one thing. Next thing is that most of the women don’t really work here. Average Chinese woman sleeps till noon. Extended beauty sleep helps a lot. I will be talking about Chinese women in my next article a bit more. Therefore the ratio of good looking women here is much better than in the west.

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