I’ve been in Shanghai, China for quite sometime now and I couldn’t be happier! I’m still so surprised every moment when I wake up and realize I’m not back in America. To say the least, Shanghai is AMAZING!
Before coming, I always thought of China is a place full of rice fields, weird foods, and small cities. Let me just tell you, I was completely wrong.
So in light of my amazement in this country, I figured my first post would be about the false stereotypes.
1. All Chinese People Look the Same
THERE IS NO WAY YOU CAN UNDERSTAND HOW WRONG THIS IS WITHOUT COMING TO CHINA! For everyone being the same race, I think Chinese people vary in appearance more than blacks, whites, and Hispanics. From head shapes and facial features, no Chinese people have the same look (unless they’re from the same part of china you can find some similarities). So far, the only commonality I have found in the majority of the population is their height and weight.
2. China is Very Dirty
Before arriving, I actually sat at home and mentally prepared myself for a city with poor sanitation. Surprisingly, Shanghai is the cleanest metropolitan city I’ve ever been to! When walking down the streets, you will see that there are workers constantly cleaning the city! And because of that, the subways, streets, and stores are literally sparkling clean!
3. There Are No Pregnant Chinese Women
So many people joke about how they’ve never seen a pregnant Chinese woman and that was pretty true in the US. Shockingly, I’ve seen so many pregnant women here and it’s unbelievable! The thing is that many Asian women do not show as much as women back in the states. However, I have seen some very large bellies!
Side note: after thinking very hard about why it is that we never saw pregnant Asian women, I think I’ve found the answer… Each woman only gets pregnant once! Pretty simple but I just never thought about it!
4. They Only Eat Cats and Dogs
When I tell you that the food is here is 100x better than the “Chinese” food we have back home, you just have to believe me! Not only is it good, but it’s not as questionable as I thought it would be! Everywhere you walk around here you will be sure to find numerous amounts of stray cats and dogs which only proves that they don’t eat them in Shanghai. However, I’ve found out that Chinese people do in fact eat cats and dogs but only in the western part of China.
5. All Products Are Falsifications
Chinese people love their name brands! And not the fake ones that we assume are everywhere here, but the real stuff! There are gigantic malls on just about every block here and every single one is filled of only the high end, name brand stores! I’ve seen way more Gucci, Chanel, Michael Kors, etc. stores here than I have in the US. I’ve also yet to see any sorts of places carrying the fake versions.