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I went to Beijing last year and had the same experience. What really surprised me was going from Beijing to Tokyo, Tokyo was absolutely filthy in comparison to

by fiblye 8y ago

I went to Beijing last year and had the same experience. What really surprised me was going from Beijing to Tokyo, Tokyo was absolutely filthy in comparison to Beijing. Air quality is still absolutely horrible in China, but the streets are clean, the trains are spotless and incredibly convenient, and even walking around dark alleys after midnight felt safe. My biggest problem is that scammers targeting foreigners are common, but I suppose it beats the more in-your-face or straight up pickpocketing/mugging you'll find in non-East Asian major cities. The progress of China in terms of infrastructure and economic development really something incredible. I know people who worked there under a decade ago and said it was an absolute wasteland and still have that idea today, but everyone I know who goes there now (myself included) feels like they're getting a glimpse of the future of the rest of the world, for better and worse. If it weren't for the restrictions on personal liberties, I'd gladly pack my bags and move there longterm.

runj__ 8y ago
Woah, what Beijing did you go to? Did you walk in the backstreets at all? A block outside of the forbidden palace and it the streets are filled with trash and unpainted cinder block one story buildings. Even around Wangfujing I'd consider it dirty and the further outside the center you go the worse it gets. I may a Tokyo apologist but it is by far a cleaner city than Beijing, it's just busier.
- fiblye 8y ago
  I was all around the city and a little out into the countryside for about 5 days. That time did overlap with the major mid-spring holiday in China, so maybe they went all-out with cleaning it up before tourists from other cities poured in. I did see shoddily constructed and shabby little shacks that line some streets, yeah, but in terms of litter, I saw nothing. Although I did see one guy throw a bottle on the ground and immediately have two police grab him. Coming home to my city in Japan and I was made incredibly aware of cigarette butts, empty coffee cans, full bottles of piss, and discarded conbini food packaging everywhere. It's definitely not California levels of wasteland here, but it's also not as clean as my time in China.
  - rangibaby 8y ago
    Tokyo has about 6x the population density of Beijing, it definitely doesn’t have 6x the trash

by fiblye 8y ago

runj__ 8y ago

Woah, what Beijing did you go to? Did you walk in the backstreets at all? A block outside of the forbidden palace and it the streets are filled with trash and unpainted cinder block one story buildings. Even around Wangfujing I'd consider it dirty and the further outside the center you go the worse it gets. I may a Tokyo apologist but it is by far a cleaner city than Beijing, it's just busier.

fiblye 8y ago
I was all around the city and a little out into the countryside for about 5 days. That time did overlap with the major mid-spring holiday in China, so maybe they went all-out with cleaning it up before tourists from other cities poured in. I did see shoddily constructed and shabby little shacks that line some streets, yeah, but in terms of litter, I saw nothing. Although I did see one guy throw a bottle on the ground and immediately have two police grab him. Coming home to my city in Japan and I was made incredibly aware of cigarette butts, empty coffee cans, full bottles of piss, and discarded conbini food packaging everywhere. It's definitely not California levels of wasteland here, but it's also not as clean as my time in China.
- rangibaby 8y ago
  Tokyo has about 6x the population density of Beijing, it definitely doesn’t have 6x the trash