Know all about China

hi Krithika...

this questions really needs a lot of research hahhaaha...but i will tell you what know as i know few chinese students here-

(3) Education- How are the schools/colleges? Is Mandarin mandatory @ the schools? Do they have English medium schools? Do people come from India to pursue college [COLOR=blue ! important][COLOR=blue ! important]studies [COLOR=blue ! important]in [/color][COLOR=blue ! important]China[/color][/color][/color]? If so..what are famous/reputed colleges here?

Education, you can find really good buildings of schools and colleges with healthy environment. Medium of instruction is totally mandarin. In fact they used to teach only in mandarin but since last few years they have started english too due to growing demand of english. But it is really difficult to get some people who can speak english. An english speaking person earns a far good salary compare to non english speaker, in the current situation girls are opting for the english as their major subject. There are few english medium schools and international schools too.
We can find many indian students studying medicines in china, but it is too difficult for them. Lecturers feel uncomfortable to deliver the lecture in english so it is a mixture. They have few faculties from other countries too but majority is chinese.. some of them can speak good english but not many. Generally people come here for chinese traditional medicine studies, but i dont think it is of any use because chinese medicines are not at all scientifically proved and they don't have correct specifications too.
China is developing too fast in technology Peking university of technology is one of the best university. Here one thing i appreciate, government is supporting students a lot. They dont have to pay much for hostel and students who come from weaker financial background get some money from their department of their major subject whether they are good in academics or not it doesn't matter but as long they are studying they get financial aid.
I cannot mention many names but few i know where there are some indian students studying medical i.e. tianjin medical university and hubei medical university, beijing university of foreign languages- for the foreign languange including mandarin and tianjin normal university also offers mandarin classes but these are too expensive. Nankai technological university is also a famous tech university.

If i remember some more i will post it later.

Hi Vidhya,
you know there is one university of hong kong where many students come from abroad as well as mainland china. i dont remember the name but it is really prestigious university and it is proud to get admission there..

our friend padma is at it already with such informative posts...
so i'll write abt HK here...
Hongkong is a region in china that was formerly a british colony...so unlike mainland, here one can suvive without knowing chinese...though mandarin is the official language in china, in HK and guagdong province, which is our immediate neighbour, cantonese is the mainly spoken language..cantonese is a chinese dialect that is written in mandarin but has different oral form...though the international schools here recognise and teach only mandarin as the second language...
hongkong region is made of a group of islands, kowloon peninsula and new territories that were annexed later on...kowloon being at the edge of the mainland, has direct rail connection with a few cities in china including beijing..
Hongkong has a beautiful hilly terrain with only 25% urbanised...rest of it is immaculate country parks and tropical forests...we have lots of nice beaches also...few islands here have this unique system of not allowing any cars or taxis inside...all commute is through ferries and hybrid shuttle buses (we live in one such island) so literally no pollution...
infrastructure and public transport is very good with MTR trains underground and buses, minibuses and trams on the road...car owning is not encouraged (huge parking fees) becoz of high density of population.
cost of living is very high, it is the 4th most expensive city in the world....and in terms of house rents it is one of the most expensive in the same lines of NYC..
Here university of HK is a prestigious institution and has good international ratings..there are a few other univ.s also...
Culture here is OK not too much of a cultural shock...but nobody seems to follow any religion here...they observe old chinese festivals, weddings like christians, some buddhist shrines here and there..so its a mixed pot...
staple food here is MEAT and they go on pork big time...
There are a few indian grocery shops but their stock is nothing great, they sell a lot of old stuff so have to carefully examine all items for expiry dates etc before accepting and paying for the home delivery...few indian restaurants are there but nothing for authentic south indian food...whenever i complain, DH tells me to start a idli dosa shop and that he would invest... here such a restaurant will really be a hit...lets see...
hardly any indian movies realeased here..and very few indian channels on cable...only star vijay in tamil...
lots of shopping malls but indian jewllery, clothes very less...chinese traditional jewels are avlbl, they also have some heavyweight gold jewellery(yaayeekss) jade is famous here, they believe wearing jade brings good luck..
we have a disneyland also...and another theme park called ocean park...
around HK there are couple of places to see..macau the gambling paradise...they have regular helicopter services to macau from HK to fly the millianaire cow boys...shenzhen is a business centre that acts as the gateway to the industrial belt in guangdong...this belt along the peal river delta helps to increase Hongkong's pollution by spewing forth from their chimneys...guagdong was anglicized to canton and hence the language became cantonese...
keep the ques coming...it is interesting to write these info....

Dear Krithika,

this question is really difficult to answer, i myself dont understand the culture. I will tell you what i saw and heard from few chinese friends.
(4) How is the culture? will it be a culture shock for people from India? What is their national dress?

Yes, for Indians china culture is definitely shock. National dress i don't know but one dress called "qipao" made up of silk is their traditional dress for womens and a similar to that for men. But you will never find anyone wearing that dress. I saw it once a women wearing on the mid autumn day festival.

First of all, there is no religion in china. Chinese people dont follow any religion due to the cultural revolution which abolished all the religions and culture. Few elderly people are still following Buddhism but who follow buddhism are not necessarily a vegetarian. Even marriages now a days are registering at the police station and go to outstation with family friends or people you like. Parents don't have to look for a match. Chinese people follow americans in all the ways so you can imagine now. You can find even junior high school girls have boyfriends and they too enjoy in pubs and night life is a necessity for everyone. Who can afford they really enjoy and KTV is a common thing. We can see one or two KTV and pub in every street. Dress all the western only, i never saw anyone wearing anything else other than the western outfit. Even old ladies in late eighties are seen in trouser. Middle age women prefers long skirts and trousers. Younger ones no limit micromini to whatever. After high school hardly one can any student staying with their parents for the further studies, generally they prefer to go very far from their parents as long as they can get money, even they do part time job for money. They don't mind for the nature of work even they are ready to work as waiter in restaurant or if they are good enough in english they get translator job which makes a hell lot of money.
One thing after marriage noone stays with their parents, a separate appartment is necessity if a boy wants to get married. Parents are like guest only. They need parents either for delivering baby or baby care. They leave their kids with their parents until they become able to take care of themselves. Even old people they stay in separate appartments or house, their grown up children are ready to help them by money or providing a maid but never allow to stay with them. Older people are really a matter of concern for the government. In few cities government has started community hall for the old people above sixties, where they can get a healthy and delicious food for least price, then can enjoy whole day. Those who have been registered there are getting home to home medical facility, which i really appreciate.
Earlier it was their chinese people are decent and well mannered. Now a days we can find only few people specially middle age are well mannered otherwise decency is difficult to see.
Definitely chinese are hard working whether it is men or women.

Dear Padma,


Thanks for providing detailed answers and really appreciate your effort.

So, what you've written, Great Wall of China is a wonderful place to visit...fantastic !

You've also described other neighboring places to visit and buy silk, apparels etc.

As for Education, i still have a doubt. Since you've mentioned most of the schools have Mandarin as the main language, will the children from India, be able to cope up in these schools? Or will the prefer being admitted to English medium /international schools?

Do they have preschools/playschools like in US and India?

As for Indian students coming to China to study medicine...I am still wondering why they would do that when they know very well that the medium of instruction will be in Mandarin? Won't it be real tough to learn all the medical terms from english to mandarin?

It is really interesting & exciting to read all the information you've provided !
Keep going..love to know more !

Cheers
Krithika

hi Krithika,

here comes another question-
5) Food- What is the staple food here? Do you get vegetarian food? What type of food do the Chinese eat mostly?
Do you get Indian groceries in China?

Definitely for vegetarians this is not a correct place........
Staple food is generally some meat, egg, glutinous rice. But different regions prefer different food as we have in india roti and rice. People in south prefers much steamed rice whereas in north china they prefer noodles. But now a days everywhere same noodles or rice and rice buns. If we talk about chinese food it have varities even for vegetarian too but there is point to be cautious generally chinese cook vegetables too in pork oil. So, it is not safer to eat in chinese restaurant. Here corn porridge, small rice porridge,black rice porridge and beans porridge is popular breakfast itmes. Vegetarian like indians can go for small rice porridge it doesn't contain any meat or egg generally. Speciallty of china is its dumpling stuffed with tofu, veg, egg, pork or any other meat we can different stuffings, dumpling are either boiled or steamed sometimes deep fried too. Another is rice buns which is soft we can get plain buns and stuffed too with chinese cabbage or some meat or sweet red beans.
One popular chinese breakfast ins youtao chinese crullers it is totally pure veg made up of soya flour served with soya milk. I like mooncakes which are eggless specially sold during mid autumn festival.

Indian groceries are not easy to get. Generally indian groceries are in major cities like beijing, shanghai, guangzhou and few more, it is difficult to get. We drive for tow hours to reach indian kitchen. Generally in chinese supermarket difficult to get any indian groceries. There are few supermarkets are getting few items which are also used by americans or other foreigners.

Hi Vidhya Parani,

hats off to you girl ! Really appreciate the effort..for writing such detailed answers.

It really feels enriching and interesting to learn about other countries..especially from Indians who actually live there. It gives a whole new perspective..wonderful !

Your description has kindled my interest to see the Great wall of China, pagodas and Shanghai ! It must have been an unique experience for you guys..right?

Wow..never knew there was a disney land here..so you mean Mickey, Minnie, Goofy & all Disney characters speak in Mandarin?

Since you've mentioned that people don't own cars..do you commute mainly by ferries? what do you do when you want to go somewhere closeby..but cannot walk due to bad weather? You mean..is it a rule that you cannot own cars?

Hey Vidhya, It might be good idea to start Idli- Dosa shop..good luck for this !

As for the jewellery, keep collecting them..who knows, that might become the fashion and rage very soon.

So are you learning this language Cantonese?

So, will it be difficult for you to get new indian-Hindi/tamil movies?

Will keep the questions coming..

Cheers
Krithika

here they call the traditional dress as "cheong sam" waitresses wear in some reastaurants, it is a skin tight dress with a long slit in the back..looks kind of sassy though...yes they dont wear these dresses anymore...only western outfits...especially short skirts even in winter with those knee high leather shoes...most of chinese women here look like mannequins with absolutely no excess fat anywhere....western clothes look so elegant on them...here in HK everbody is very fashion conscious....they workout a lot, keep tremendously fit and take great care for appearance...even pregnant ladies are into swimming etc and dont put on extra weight at all...they prefer having pets and really pamper their dogs and cats...lots of prams/strollers for those pets and sometimes the pets wear such cute dresses also...
one remarkable thing i notice here is that the old people dont depend on their children for support...they are very fit and come out everyday for walks and meet up to have discussions...some groups practice tai chi in public parks playing soft music...they seem to be a happy lot not unduly worried abt changing times/customs etc...they feel more positive and content and dont complain/feel sorry about the young generation...i think the good spirit roots from their fitness and good health...

hi krithika,
thanks so much...it gives me a great boost...
here not only mickey, minnie and pooh, all cartoon characters speak cantonese...we have two audio settings for all cable channels....
people do own cars but parking space is very expensive..Hk is one of the cities with most no. of millionaires in the world...so u'll only see porsche, merc, lambhorgini, audi, masserati, BMW etc..here no ordinary cars...becoz only those millionaires can afford to pay the huge parking fees....we have a very good public transport system...for going to nearby places taxis are there..only in a few exclusive developments like ours dont allow taxis or cars for pollution free environment...the main HK island (urban HK) has no dearth of taxis etc...and also buses,mini buses and trams...not to mention the underground trains....
here one can go up the corporate ladder only if he knows cantonese also....some indians are learning cantonese by attending classes...also some sindhi, punjabi families who took refuge in hongkong during india pak partition are fluent in cantonese because of staying here so long and do business with mainland people...im planning to go for cantonese class once baby starts kindergarten...

hi Krithika,

i am trying to answer all the questions with the best of my knowledge but i am forgetting many things i will add if i remember.

As you said Indian students coming to china for medical studies i too really wonder why the hell they are chosing china it is nothing like a holiday trip of 4-5years and like spoiling all money in the pubs. Definitely few teachers only speak english i have experience as i go to those hospitals. For me as i think it is totally a waste of money. There are few good international schools and few schools provide english medium too. You can get the play schools but imagine what language they will speak or if you go to other where they speak english they are really blood suckers i mean money suckers. I approached one chinese school near our appartments which is the only one in our area, i asked about their fee i was shocked to know 18 USD per class of 45minutes....i thought better not to learn. Chinese language have five thousand characters officially recognised by the govt.

I came to know that indian students are coming to china either for the less fee compare to india or few are really interested to learn chinese traditional medicine.

Ok i will call Henna chatkara tasty....she is in south china her daughter is studying , she can provide me better information regarding schools.
I will post this later after speaking to her.

Dear Padma & Vidhya,

Great job ladies !!

Marvelous and meticulous details in all your answers that makes me want to delve deep !

One main question for both of you..from what I understand, language is a big problem for newcomers..right?

How did you guys manage? Did you have an interpreter/translator/guide for the first few months? Did you both learn the language? How are you able to go around sightseeing,shopping and travelling...meaning how do you communicate with the other people?

Don't you have to be familiar with some of the Mandarin/local languages to even commute in a taxi? How do you order a menu at a restaurant..will they have both English and Mandarin? I am really curious!

Padma,

As for the culture, it seems to be exactly like Western countries...i guess...from your description. As for children leaving home at 16..you are right..even here...the parents openly admit that they couldn't wait for their kids to leave home so that they can start living their own life !!

Whereas we Indians...we live for our children and make sure they are well settled, indpendent and able to take care of themselves before the parents even allow their children to set up their own home !!

The care of senior citizens is something to be applauded ...same as in US !! They are given concession rates everywhere, special seating and even community facilities to make their life more comfortable.

Yes, I've heard that Chinese & Japanese are very hard working people !

From what you both wrote, I understand that though both China and Hongkong have different traditional dresses, they have embraced the western outfits quite well.

Looks like their parents are also broadminded and welcoming this change and modern attitude in their children..that is good!

Vidhya, it is funny to read about dressing up their pets..yes..even here in US..i've seen people make special dresses/sweaters/bows etc for their pet dogs and display them proudly !

Yeah...heard of Taichi...in Sanfrancisco, California...I've seen many people practicing this in parks and some open places...especially early in the morning..looks like these people are very health conscious!

Though I've heard that Chinese eat everything under the sun..looks like they do a lot of exercise to keep them fit !

One way it is nice to know that the old people are not dependent on their children and are still able to manage things on their own. Probably it is because of their healthy lifestyle...don't you think?

Great job girls...keep posting more info..lovely read !

Cheers
Krithika