We Were Almost Entirely Wrong About China

我们过去对中国的认知，几乎完全是错的

We thought we had a reasonable picture of China. We were wrong — not a little wrong. Almost entirely wrong.

What we found: streets cleaner than most European capitals. A Maglev train from the airport. Drone food delivery in 12 minutes. A supermarket that is also a fulfillment center. Retired people dancing in the park at 7:30 in the morning. And a question that followed us for the entire trip — how did a country that experienced one of the worst in human history in the 1950s become the world's second-largest economy within two generations?

我们曾以为自己对中国有着还算客观的印象。可我们错了——不是小错，而是几乎全盘错误。

我们亲眼所见：街道比大多数欧洲国家的首都还要干净；有磁悬浮列车；无人机12分钟就能送餐上门；超市同时兼做物流履约仓；早上七点半，公园里满是跳舞的退休老人。整趟旅程，有一个问题始终萦绕在我们心头：这样一个国家，如何只用两代人的时间，就成长为全球第二大经济体的？

以下是各国网友的评论：

Driver2Carrier
China is impressive!! The citizens seem to be doing well to unlike americans who are all struggling except for the CEOs

中国真的很厉害！老百姓生活过得挺好。反观美国，除了公司高管，普通人日子都很难熬。

 

kopieDragon
In china you can get ki!! For open corruption. While in america you will be call a hero

在中国，腐败的官员会受到惩处。但在美国，这样的官员反倒会被吹捧成英雄。

 

NayemAhmed-c6t
China grow without killing people and looting others.

中国不是靠杀戮起家的，也没有掠夺别国的财富

 

waltertomashefsky2682
With all the electric cars in China and all the enormous apartment complexes everywhere, where do they charge their vehicles? Does an apartment come with a charging bay in the underground garage? I’ve never heard this explained.

中国到处都是电动车，还有大片居民小区，车子要去哪里充电？小区地下车库会配充电车位吗？谁能说下

KaiyuanTang-s7g
Yes. My hometown is in a small county in China. The proportion of electric vehicles here is lower than in big cities, but almost every residential community has charging stations for electric vehicles. They have become widespread very quickly over the past four or five years. At the same time, some entrepreneurs have seen opportunities in the electric vehicle charging market and have invested in building large‑scale charging stations, using the online services of major internet companies to provide charging services.
China’s charging technology is also quite advanced at the moment. With fast‑charging technology, charging for around five to ten minutes can give an electric vehicle a driving range of more than 150 kilometers, and sometimes even more.

有的。我的家乡是中国一个小县城。这里电动车占比比不上大城市，但几乎每个小区都装有充电桩。过去四五年，充电桩普及得特别快。与此同时，不少创业者看中充电市场，投资建设大型充电站，依托各大互联网平台提供充电服务。

目前中国的充电技术水平也很高。快充模式下，充5‑10分钟，电动车就能跑150公里以上，有时续航还能更高。

 

milenamojnova7985
Впечатлена и същтевремено разтърсена емоционално от филма , който сте направили. Браво !

看完后，我内心既震撼又感慨。中国太棒了！

 

chaoli7989
we dont care LMAO

我们根本不在乎，哈哈。

 

Warriorofthelight-l9j
I have been in mainland China and Hongkong,, Shanghai and Shenzhen, but mostly i was in the Wudang Shan area to train gong fu.. The bigger cities can be pretty modern, almost futuristic. And also pretty safe for the most part. But when you go to the smaller villages it still is pretty poor and not very developed.
I admire the fact though that they build enough housings and nice landsca around it a lot. But nobody lives there (yet). this is one thing i don't understand. we do not have enough houses in my country in China they have too many empty houses. I never understood how that works. But the people in China are nice, the food is great, they have enough housing available. Yes of course you can meet the occasional asshole taxdriver, but that can happen anywhere. but overal China is a pretty good country to live in.

我去过中国大陆、中国香港，也到过上海、深圳，不过大部分时间是在武当山习武。大城市十分现代化，充满未来感，整体治安也很不错。不过去到小乡村，就能看到当地依旧比较落后贫困。

有一点我挺感慨：中国建了大量住宅，小区环境绿化做得很漂亮，可有些房子目前还没人入住。这点我一直想不通。我的国家住房紧缺，中国却有大量空置房，我实在搞不懂两国差距为何那么大。不过中国人很友善，美食丰富，住房供给充足。当然偶尔也会碰到态度恶劣的出租车司机，但这种情况在哪都有。总的来说，中国很适合生活。

 

elenamalykh2502
I lived in the Soviet Union. I was born in 1966. We had the best childhood. I don’t recall any heads down. Empty shelves in 80‑s were the result of western countries investment in destroying our country and the whole socialist block of countries and our own so called elites that have chosen the west and betrayed us, simple ppl. USSR went through dramatic periods, so did China. However, I admire Chinese . They pulled country out of starvation and poverty into high tech and prosperity. I have to China over 100 times, starting in 1993. I saw country rising.

我以前生活在苏联，1966年出生，我的童年很美好。人们很精神，不会垂头丧气的样子。八十年代商店货架空空，一方面是西方国家出手瓦解苏联以及整个社会主义阵营，另一方面苏联部分所谓精英倒向西方，背叛苏联民众。苏联经历过大起大落。

但我很敬佩中国人，他们以前一贫如洗，如今建设成为了科技发达国家，中国人民的生活富足的。从1993年算起，我来过中国一百多次，亲眼见证这个国家一步步崛起。

 

PPP333
5,000 years of unbroken civilisation, not invaded nor colonised a single country. The West has been demonising China for far too long.

拥有五千年未曾中断的文明，从来没有入侵、殖民过别的国家。西方以前一直抹黑中国，然并卵

 

メイジュン6
私も中国のテクノロジーやレイトバックなカントリーサイドを見てみたいな

我也很想看一看中国的科技，还有美丽的乡村风光。

 

Pigeon-n9x
Seeing is believing. I visited Yibin City in Sichuan Province, a fourth‑ or fifth‑tier city, twice, in 2002 and 2019. The changes were astounding. The littering I used to see in markets, restaurants, and on the streets was gone. Civilized behavior, with cars yielding to pedestrians was everywhere. What shocked me even more was that a friend bought some food at a local chain convenience store, including two packs of instant noodles that were two days past their expiration date. He wanted to return them (at the time, I thought it was okay since instant noodles were dry). The original price was $5, but the male store manager, around 40 years old, smilingly compensated him ten times the price, 50 RMB, according to store rules. This surprised me greatly. In the US, you can return goods, but you can't get a tenfold refund. Before leaving, I gave the manager a thumbs up. Walking on the street with friends at two or three in the morning, drinking beer, felt very safe—something impossible in the US, where you might even get arrested. These are all my personal experiences;

眼见为实。我分别在2002年和2019年两次去过四川宜宾，这是中国一座四五线城市。当地的变化令人震惊。从前市场、餐馆、街上随处乱扔垃圾，现在这种现象不存在了。机动车主动礼让行人，当地民众越来越文明了。

还有一点让我印象很深：朋友在连锁便利店买东西，其中两包方便面过期两天，他打算退货。那时候我觉得干方便面过期问题不大。商品总价折合5美元，四十岁左右的男店长按照店里规定，笑着赔了十倍的钱，一共50元人民币。这点让我非常意外。在美国可以退货，但拿不到十倍赔偿。临走的时候我给店长点了赞。凌晨两三点，我和朋友在街上喝啤酒，安全感十足。这种事在美国根本不敢想，深夜在外甚至有可能被警察逮捕。以上都是我的亲身经历。

 

HarryD-q4h
I really enjoyed your vlog. I spent 18 months working in Nantong 10 years ago, and was lucky to enjoy many weekends in Shanghai, with a few trips to Naning and other places around Jiangsu Province.
You guys have really wetted my appetite to make return trip.
I can only imagine how much the place has changed since I was there.
Thank you.

十年前我在南通工作过18个月，周末经常去上海，也去过南京以及江苏其他城市。现在我特别想再回去一趟。难以想象，如今那里又发生了多大的变化。谢谢你。

 

pamlake4724
I wanted a hauwei phone but my apple email address couldn’t be moved unless I got a new one I was trapped in apple products. See what can be achieved if you don’t waste your money on wars

我想买华为手机，但苹果邮箱没法迁移，只能换新邮箱，我现在离不开苹果生态。看看，中国不把钱浪费在打仗上面，经济取得了惊人的进步

 

suemartine5913
One thing that enriched China a lot was trade.

贸易极大带动了中国发展。

 

charlesmuchiri5063
When you come from China to US you feel like you're in underdeveloped country

从中国来到美国，你会感觉仿佛来到一个欠发达国家。

 

RosalinaLumas
China has ancient history and civilisation. It can learn a lot from the past, not to repeat the mistakes which destroyed the country; not let foreign powers dominate in its territories; but choose a path which benefits all the people directly.
Western countries see freedom and de ocracy as the most important elements for their people, but ignoring the serious consequences: huge waste of resources in fighting to be the leader of the country, encouraging selfishness among its citizens by raising their own agenda and suppressing needs of
other groups, individual freedom allows individuals to do whatever she/he wants to do without considering the consequences of his/her actions to
the country as a whole.
Now we can see the different results between development in the West and China. Which country do I want to be in? China of course

中国拥有悠久历史与古老文明，能够吸取历史教训，不再重蹈覆辙，不让外国势力操控，选择一条真正惠及全体民众的道路。

西方国家把自由民 主看得无比重要，却无视背后的严重代价：各方争夺主导权，造成巨大资源浪费；鼓吹部分群体诉求、压制其他群体利益，助长民众自私；个人自由被无限放大，部分人做事完全不顾及对整个国家带来的负面影响。

现在就能看到，西方和中国走出两条完全不一样的发展道路。我愿意生活在哪？当然是中国。

 

OladejoDamilare-v7w
Every government has its problems, even dark chapters in its history. That is true of governments everywhere in the world. Moreover, the chinese is tasked with governing a 5,000‑year‑old civilization with one of the world’s largest populations, extraordinarily complex ethnic relations among 56 ethnic groups, and immense geographical diversity.
What has always made China strong is its people—the extraordinary vitality and resilience of the Chinese people: among the most hardworking, intelligent, resourceful, and enduring people in the world, generation after generation.

任何国家的政府都会遇到难题，历史上都有不堪回首的阶段，全世界皆是如此。更何况中国治理的是一个拥有五千年文明、人口规模庞大的国家，56个民族民族关系错综复杂，国土地理环境差异巨大。

真正让中国强大的永远是人民。中国人生命力顽强、韧性十足，世世代代勤劳聪慧、足智多谋、吃苦耐劳。

 

DavesArtRoom
I honestly think that China is worlds biggest most thriving economy. Am I wrong? American media claims otherwise, but I am not so sure.

说实话，我认为中国是全球规模最大、发展势头最好的经济体。不知道我的看法对不对。美国媒体说法截然相反，不过我 不信美国媒体报道的那一套。

 

Sly_Jit
They have already overtaken to US in economy a decade ago. In paper they are 2nd largest in terms of GDP but the same dollar will get you 2‑3 times the goods and services compared to in US.

早在十年前，中国的经济实力就已经超过美国。名义GDP统计，中国经济规模目标排世界第二，但同样一笔钱，在中国能买到的商品和服务，是美国的两到三倍。

 

Taktakyra
Thank you for sharing. You are doing a great job learning and narrating so well about China.

感谢分享。你愿意去了解中国，还能把见闻讲得这么清楚，做得非常棒。

 

Samjs1
When you give tax breaks to the billionaires and don’t spend any money on your people and infrastructure

我们给亿万富豪减税，却不肯把钱花在普通民众和基础设施建设上。

 

itty‑rp7bg
China is beautiful...been there

中国很美，我去过。

 

4‑SeasonNature
The China today is 95% different from the China between 1949 and 1978.

如今的中国，和1949‑1978年间相比，面貌已经焕然一新，变化太大了

 

HandsomeField
Still know a little bit of China, still see China in west point of view, still wrong.

你们对中国的了解依旧很浅薄，还在用西方视角看待它，得到的认知依然是错的。

 

juliahema2182
Thank you for sharing your experience with the world.
Born in China and now an American citizen, while in Europe early this year, I was delightfully surprised to hear people talk about their experiences and their desire to visit China. Just came back from China, absolutely loved it! Clean, safe, many happy people, and endless healthy food options. I also learned that the government built "the green channel" nationwide that subsidizes truckers for their gas expense, the system prevents the grocery price from going up.

感谢你把亲身见闻分享给全世界。我出生在中国，现在是美国公民。今年早些时候在欧洲，听到很多人聊起对中国的见闻，还说很想去中国看一看，我特别惊喜。我刚从中国回来，非常喜欢那里。城市干净、治安非常好，民众幸福感高，美食丰富。我还了解到中国在全国搭建“绿色通道”，给货车司机油费补贴，以此稳住民生食品物价。

 

SerendipityData
Love the tempo if this . Even as a Chinese who spent 10 years in the US and now living in China, the vibes from futuristic cities like Shanghai and Shenzhen surprises me.

我是中国人，在美国生活十年，如今回到中国。上海、深圳这类充满未来感的都市，连我都会感到震撼。

 

seahbyefongseah7453
I love China parks. Their delivery services are really amazing. I can get my orders within 2‑4days pending on the locations.

我很喜欢中国的公园。快递服务体验特别好。根据收货地不同，下单之后两到四天就能收到货。