Hello Steem Blockchain!
I am a Canadian citizen that has been living in China for over 3 years now! Usually, expats would choose the bigger cities like Shanghai, Beijing and Guangzhou to dwell in, but here I am, living in what China calls a Tier 3 city. The name of my city is Qinhuangdao (pronounced "Chin-Hwong-Dao"). If you can't pronounce it correctly, don't worry, most people can't haha. My father and brother came to visit me for a few weeks and left without being able to correctly pronounce it after all that time lol.
A Tier 3 city is usually a smaller city in China that does not have as much foreign investment and business opportunities. A Tier 1 city is a place like Beijing and Shanghai. But here I am in Qinhuangdao, a tier 3 city, and it isn't easy to find other foreigners in this place. Don't get me wrong, they do exist, but seeing them is not an everyday occurrence unless you specifically go out looking for them.
So what's it like living here?
Well...
I LOVE IT!
I live a pretty minimalist lifestyle. For many foreigners, they may not be able to handle living without all their Western amenities. For example, there isn't any place I have found that makes a nice juicy T-bone steak. A lot of the "Western" food here is imitated and suited more for the Chinese palette. It is akin to living in North America and thinking Panda Express is Chinese food. Anyone with some knowledge of Chinese food knows that it isn't authentic and is geared towards the American palette. Chinese restaurants don't serve fortune cookies either. Now imagine what Western food is like in China and you can just imagine the difference.
But you know what?
I don't mind.
I am pretty happy eating Chinese food most of the time. As a matter of fact, the first 2 years I lived here, I mainly cooked at home. My dishes were usually rice and stir fried vegetables. That was enough for me.
I also love trying out snacks and street food here. There are famous bean cakes and mooncakes sold in stalls; especially around the Mid-Autumn Festival. They are a dense, filling and sweet dessert packed with an assortment of fillings.
It is these little things that make it fun to live in China. If you want to experience China, then I suggest living in or travelling to a tier 3 city. Cities like Beijing and Shanghai are so developed that one can live a Western lifestyle over there and forget you are even in Asia. To me, that isn't something I'm too keen on, which is why I really enjoy living in a smaller city without such easy access to Western amenities.
Western food isn't totally nonexistent here, there are many popular chains like KFC and McDonalds everywhere. Just recently, they have opened a few Starbucks here and some brand name clothing stores like H&M.
Not to mention, old and new shopping centers are available for you to pass the time. Don't expect too many name brands you recognize. If there are any name brands, they are probably fake hahaha. Otherwise, most clothing stores carry Chinese name brands which you may or may not like.
That is one thing that I do struggle with: finding clothing I like. In China, it is seen as "cool" when you wear clothing with English writing on it. Unfortunately, most of these designers don't care to check to make sure the English is actually written correctly. As a result, you end up with Chinglish or random words that don't really make any sense. Chinese urban fashion likes big clothing with giant English letters on it and the clothing usually has a bunch of patches and dangling items on it. It's not my style...
However, you might be able to find something you like. The downtown area has many stores you can check out. The downtown isn't that big, but it is enough for me, at least.
There is athletic apparel, formal clothing, urban apparel and casual clothing, but for me, I need to look closely to find something unique that I like.
One of my favourite things to do in Qinhuangdao is simply go for a walk in the downtown core. For some reason, China still retains its novelty no matter how long I am here. I still feel excited to go to the supermarket or look at all the street food in the area. People watching is really entertaining for me.
There is one section of the downtown that is quickly being demolished and renovated. Previously, there were narrow alleyways with multiple street food vendors and hole in the wall restaurants. These are the places where you could eat an entire meal for $2 or less quite easily. They are becoming more rare to find as the government has ambitious plans to develop the city.
If you look closely, you'll see parts of this area that have been demolished in order to widen the space. I expect this are to undergo major construction in the near future to make it look even more modern.
Chinese people do love many American movies. If you love watching movies, you should know something when you come to China: the Chinese government only allows a limited number of Hollywood/American movies to be featured in theaters per year. This is because the government does not want the public to be over saturated with foreign films, thereby underexposing local Chinese movies. There are many popular movies like Fast and the Furious, Transformers, Avengers, Iron Man that get featured here, but don't expect that just because a movie is being shown in theaters across America, that you will be able to see it here as well.
I have seen some Chinese movies and to be honest, they can be hit and miss. None of the movies I saw really left a profound effect on me, but I have also seen some pretty bad movies as well. If the government didn't cap the number of Western movies allowed here, then I expect that a lot of Chinese people wouldn't watch too many local movies.
Here is one thing that I really do like about a small city like Qinhuangdao: transportation! Bus fares are so cheap compared to back home in Canada. It is one of the things that makes me NOT miss my home country. Bus fares range from 1 - 2 RMB ($0.16 - $0.32 USD) and taxis start at 7 RMB ($1.10) and increase by 3 RMB ($0.47) per km. I definitely don't miss the transportation costs back in Canada!
Many people travel on e-bikes. This is a convenient way to travel in warmer months because it is better for the environment and easy to store your bikes anywhere!
A typical parking lot for bikes
Did I mention my city has a beach?!
I have talked about beaches in China in my post here. Feel free to check it out for more info!
The city is developing quickly; just like many other tier 3 cities in China. The buildings are looking nicer and there is a lot of European influence on the new developments they are making around the city.
So what do you think?
Could you live in this place?
If you are someone that loves an adventure, does not always need amenities from you country and are open to new customs, a tier 3 city in China might be right for you! To be honest, I have only been feeling homesick recently because I haven't visited Canada for over 2 years. I'd like to go back to Canada to see my family in the summer. Needless to say, China has treated me well thus far and I do feel happy living here for now!
What an experience this has been. I feel blessed to live the lifestyle I have here and to be in a small city that has so much to offer.
Thanks for reading!
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