Be skeptical of sweeping stories about China, regardless of how good or bad they portray things. The technological advancements mentioned in the news may be even more profound in reality, but not as widespread as shown. The GDP growth has lifted hundreds of millions out of poverty, but real wealth is mostly concentrated in coastal cities. Some previously mentioned ghost cities are now starting to fill up. Both coal and solar power are being invested in.
There’s rarely a simple answer to anything.
People care about safety when buying an SUV, but don’t let their kids wear seatbelts in the back. That doesn’t mean safety isn’t important, but probably the kid needs to take a nap between getting off school and being sent to piano class while the mother is driving there. When you go to a park, you’ll see many healthy and active Chinese seniors — but there are also plenty of Chinese seniors who smoke and drink a lot, and spend their days swiping Douyin.
It’s not that the truth is always found in the middle: it is rather really nuanced and complicated, mixed. Facial recognition provides visitors of public toilets with free toilet paper, but that same paper may clog the water drainage because the pipes are too small. Culture is conservative and yet there are condoms next to each counter at the FamilyMart, and private cinemas everywhere across the city, rooms for two people that aren’t just used for watching movies. Technology often borders on sci-fi, yet key documents still need to be stamped with a rubber company stamp. And while everything is presumably digital, plenty of companies still advertise by putting stickers on your bike, and paper coupons are still used. Rich Chinese families have a super expensive car but still park 500 meters from a tourist attraction to save 10 RMB of parking fees.
I really liked this scene from the ride back home, as it captures two completely different worlds that co-exist; a street vendor selling fruit from a bashed up electric flatbed tricycle with cheap plastic bags, in front of the high-tech Zhangjiang AI Innovation Park (张江人工智能创新小镇) sign and offices.
