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382 Comments
- Muyoso, on 10/12/2007, -4/+187People are so ignorant of China. I lived there for several years. Yes, they have population controls, but the poorest people do not follow them. The nanny that we had while I was there had 5 children, and another on the way. There is a GIGANTIC poverty problem in China. Most of China DOES look like this. The cities are heavily industrializing, but as in most countries, a majority of the people do not live in the largest cities. Also, as for environment, it was one of the most hilarious things. When the UN inspectors came in to do their annual pollution assessment of Beijing while I was there, almost all of the poorest people had to go without power. Thats right, the government TURNED OFF all of the coal power plants, which turned the skies an eerie blue color which I had not seen for the previous year through the normal shade of brown to brown grey.
Despite that, China was one of my favorite places to live. The people are great, and the culture is pretty cool as well. The government, that is another story. It was hilarious watching these "apartment maintenance" people come and change the "batteries" on out smoke detectors every couple of weeks. We just knew not to talk about anything sensitive while near the "smoke detectors". - GreenAnole, on 10/12/2007, -15/+143I have nothing against China or India. I would like to see their people achieve greater prosperity in their own countries.
That said, I don't think it is a good idea for western populations, or for that matter any racial or ethnic group, to allow itself to die out. - fantasmacanino, on 10/12/2007, -50/+143@hiscity:
If you think that's what all China really looks like you're a complete fool. If you think there's not a single place in the U.S. where people live in similar economical characteristics, you're kidding yourself. Go to some of the poorer neighbors of Louisiana, Alabama or Texas and you'll see that your two-car, three-bedroom-house dream isn't lived by everyone in the world, let alone your own country. Again, this isn't the real China. This is complete *****. And stupidverizon is an unsensitive *****. - Sanooj, on 10/12/2007, -4/+93I don't know, I wouldn't mind being that tailor...
- jerryparid, on 10/12/2007, -20/+81Some of the pictures posted here are truthful (or partially). This collection of picture was shown to incite hate. It depicts the negative aspects of a nation. Such photos could be fabricated from anywhere around the world.
http://www.zonaeuropa.com/ is a pro Taiwanese, anti Chinese website. Take everything on that site with a grain of salt. - mightyarmenian, on 10/12/2007, -10/+60I know people are going to start drawing ridiculous conclusions about how terrible Chinese working conditions are from these pictures, so please keep in mind that this gallery is not a statistical sample. Pics of deplorable conditions in the US could be amassed just as easily.
[edit] fantasmacanino beat me to it - Daiken, on 10/12/2007, -5/+54Beautiful pictures, even if they are heavily biased by showing mainly rural or poverty stricken areas.
- inactive, on 10/12/2007, -7/+51"We're sorry. These photos have been removed."
-China - Anthem26, on 10/12/2007, -6/+49i want to see pics of fake china!
- tech42er, on 10/12/2007, -6/+46There was a great write up in the WSJ on China's real poverty and how the government does nothing about it and just hopes it will go away. It also actively opposes any attempt to help them, whether by foreigners or natives.
- lostinnowhere, on 10/12/2007, -23/+52Hey fantamacanino and mightyarmenian!
For years I've been hearing people talk about the "hidden" desolate areas in the USA, and the children "starving to death" in the USA - And how it's there if anyone looks for it.
For more than 50 years I've traveled to every corner of this country - Cities, rural areas, industrial area...you name it, I've been there. And yes, I've seen some shanty looking areas - But nothing of people starving, or living in pure squalor.
Let's face it pals - You and everyone else in this world knows that any little indiscretion in the USA is plastered on the front page of every newspaper in the world. And, if one child in the USA starved to death - It would be on every news channel, and every front page of every paper in the world. And, the same with people living in squalor.
We've got all types of social programs available to anyone here - The people that do live in the squalor are doing so because they have problems or issues putting themselves there or mental problems (like the homeless). But how much can we do for them without the ACLU crying "Hey you're violating their rights!"
People like you always got to twist everything around to bash the USA... Hey!..It's the best place in the world, and you know it! - arcooke, on 10/12/2007, -2/+28@themastersb
Boobs do not automatically mean NSFW. These photos are in the same realm as those in National Geographic. - dielawn, on 10/12/2007, -2/+26is it just me or are some of those captions...a little off
- GoneFishing, on 10/12/2007, -2/+23Sorry for the long post, but as I started to write, more and more things came back to me. It's a little bit here an there, and some parts might not make much sense to some of you. But just hang in there with me! Thanks.
I was born and raised in China. After seeing some of the pictures and comments, I felt pretty moved and decided to register just to post a comment.
I would like to thank everyone for their sympathy, and appreciate all the things you have said. The kindness to help or sympathize is what make US a great nation and what modern China lacks right now.
I would consider all the picture to be real. Time is irrelevant. Even if only one part of China suffers like some images you saw, that does not mean the issue should be ignored.
Here is a list, my list, of critical issues China is facing today.
1. Pollution of industrialized areas
2. Exponentially increasing gap between rich and poor
3. Depleting natural resources
4. Lack of education in rural areas, and lack of proper education for those in the city.
5. Uneven distribution of wealth. (70% of wealth found on east of china)
6. (for you singles out there, male to female ratio in younger generation breaching 1.2 last year. in other words, for every 100 girls, there are 120 boys, so 20 will be left out a marriage life. not good for sustainable growth. not a good sign for the us men. )
And if you look closely to all the pictures, they can all be summed up by the issues above. Some of you might notice that I left population out. If anything, population is China's only advantage. Human resource is what has being driving foreign investment for the past 2 decades. And the one-child policy is doing what it can to curb and adjust the population in city areas, but in villages far away from direct central government jurisdiction, the impact is minimum and people will be having more babies. Usually around 3 to 6. Unfortunately, the more poor you are, the more babies you have. The more babies you have the more poor you are. It s a vicious cycle.
Personally, I have experience similar things like the barber shop. While the one I used to go to at least had some lighting in it, the pictures here bring back memories. The street doctors do give out good massages, they have no license so its usually the neighbors going to them. I always bought baked yams from some of the farmers where they are baked inside wasted oil barrels. And morning rush hour is a pain in the butt, actually, any time on the road is a pain in the butt with all the people. We slept in the streets on summer nights. Not that we didn't have anywhere to sleep. It just that we didn't want to waste money buying AC, or microwave, TV, DVD player, computer for that matter.
Yes the life living in China is hard to imagine with Hummers and Limos around here in the US, but I managed to get by and so did everyone else. To throw in a little economics, wants and needs are different from the expectations in US. I need food, water, and a sustainable income, that is all. To be quite honest, people in the US are making way too big of a deal about liberty and freedom. Yes, it is essential; yes, it perhaps is a man's birthright. But look at the pictures people! Being able to speak my mind and oppose the local government is last thing I would ever want to do, when I don't even know how to feed my family tonight. All your concern for humanity rights is well appreciated, but it doesn't help in the realistic version of life.
Chinese are notorious for enduring hardships and sticking it through. That is why Friday nights at local universities, you will find the Chinese still working in the PC labs (same goes out for a lot of other international students.) Please don't compare anything with ABC (american born chinese) friends you might know. If anything, they are too far removed of knowing the history their grand parents experienced.
No matter what China's issues are right now. I would be glad, because at least they have food, at least they are shelter. This is the great progres they made from the 60 and 70. For example in the 60-70's for comparison, (WARNING Following might be disturbing content, skip paragraph) If you were to ask my parents, they grew up in times that they had friends who resorted to eat the so-called "Guanyin Soil". Guanyin is a famous Buddha, known for kindness. This soil is pretty much dirty. People were so hungry and isolated at the time, some would eat dirty from the ground. It was enough to satisfy the urge for hunger, but in the following days the person would no doubt die. You can say it was a method of suicide, and dying with a full stomach. Because, suicide seemed to some to be such a kindness as suppose what they had to live through. Finally earning the name of Guanyin Soil. (End warning).
China is a developing country, some parts of if show greatness surpassing the ranks of London and New York, other parts of it show chaos of that seen in Iraq or typical 3rd world countries. It is a placed mixed with hope and hopeless. But at least now there is hope, something that the country has not seen for too long. If these pictures have moved you, thank the poster, and I hope it will change your thought of human and our endurance to life, and change your view to the world in general. - vfrex, on 10/12/2007, -9/+29You an idiot hiscity. China has population controls.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/One-child_policy - laowai101, on 10/12/2007, -0/+19I'm British and worked in China for 2 1/2 years, both in big cities and smaller towns. The 'real China' is not being shown in those images, that's the poor, the downtrodden, even old China. Blatant propaganda.
China's large cities are the fastest growing and most exciting areas in the world. They look like modern Western cities except on a vast scale. Imagine Shanghai in 20 years when it has 50 million people, making New York and London look like backward towns.
China's the future. - voidvector, on 10/12/2007, -0/+19I was born in a small city in China (Hefei for those who care). Half of my relatives still live in the countryside. I visit them every few years.
I can tell you that at least half of the pictures are accurate, however, they made it into black and white (or color saturated) to create a dramatic affect. If they were colored, it wouldn't look so depressing. Many of the later pictures are depictions of tragedies. While I do agree they occur quiet often in China, majority of the population does not experience it. So I buried this as inaccurate. - ryodoan, on 10/12/2007, -2/+21http://duggmirror.com ?
Nope, but this caught it: http://www.zonaeuropa.com.nyud.net:8090/20041223_1.htm - Ransomowris, on 10/12/2007, -3/+21I wonder when these were taken. That would make all the difference.
- inactive, on 10/12/2007, -2/+20I used to live in India for 15 yrs. This reminds of India poverty is very sad in any country.
- loringalta, on 10/12/2007, -1/+18i went to china in 2006 and my mom sent me to the countryside to live as they do for a while. She wanted me to understand that poverty is a real thing and that it is really here and you can do something about it. It was the worst weeks of my life. There was barely any food to eat. (luckily my mom packed along some instant ramen-didn't want me to starve to death) the conditions were horrible, no plumbing and your feces were used to fertilize the ground, their was practically no education while children were desperate for books and paper. But they were happy. Yes I know that sounds incredible but they had a tight knit community, the parents loved their children, they had their culture, their music, and their laughter. They lived the simple life and they weren't unhappy.
But to me a American born and bred chinese girl, it was horrible. But i learned that poverty is there and in front of you.
And on the way to Beijing, my mom put me on the 3rd class hard back chairs...and that was not fun not fun at all. But I realized chinese people are really sociable, they kicked back and pull out their family pictures and just talked to you. The pictures are true, but realize that these people don't know any better, and really it has improved a LOT! - superbonbon, on 10/12/2007, -1/+18I found the pictures eye-opening and facinating, but I would have appreciated more background info. I wonder how accurate the captions are?
- gubin09, on 10/12/2007, -3/+19Opium's "a" hell of a drug... get your quotes right
- inactive, on 10/12/2007, -2/+17These pictures seem pretty old. There's lots to hate about China, but these pictures ignore the great progress that has been made in recent decades. My cousin married a man who works in China 10 months of the year for an American company; her pictures she sends me look nothing like this. Granted, she lives in an ex-pat community, but she's also done some traveling.
- inactive, on 10/12/2007, -2/+17"Boobs do not automatically mean NSFW. These photos are in the same realm as those in National Geographic. "
I can hear the excuses being given over at HR right now... - dynasty, on 10/12/2007, -2/+16@Ender008
Honestly, I don't know how staying with 1 family for 2 weeks and some traveling qualifies you to make a statement like that. Let's put it this way: even if you had seen 1 million Chinese people, that constitutes less than 1/1,000 of the country's population. I go back to visit extended family every year and if the percentage of even my family that lives in such conditions is any indication, the VAST majority of China lives just as these pictures depict. I'm talking one lightbulb houses with wildlife practically growing inside, insects everywhere, sanitation almost nonexistent. I don't know what you mean by China as a whole; sure, the range of living conditions is quite large, but unless by "traveling" you mean stepping out of your car off the industrialized highways and taking the dirt paths (oh which there are many), you have NOT seen China. The majority of China... IS what is shown. - Jibberwalk, on 10/12/2007, -0/+13You really can't do anything about having triplets.... if it happens, it's not like the government is going to come around and toss the other two off a cliff.
- kevin.gc, on 10/12/2007, -7/+20Ever heard of China's 1 child rule?
- undersky, on 10/12/2007, -4/+16are you retarded? never heard of b/w photography?
- undersky, on 10/12/2007, -4/+16what you said is not true. the china that i know is indeed very different from those posters the china government use for their olympic campaign. the riches are so few (percentage wise) yet they are extremely rich. playing baccarat in las vegas $5000 a session. but the majority of them is extremely poor and hoping to become rich. basically the economy expands so fast that the intellectual progress (art, humanity, quality of life) does not catch up to its materialistic progress.
the future of the world will be in their hands however because just look at the kind of tough life these kids grow up, they will be far more persistent and enduring than their western counterparts. - HelloIAmGary, on 10/12/2007, -0/+11Granted that most photography now is colour, but a photo doesn't have to be old to be taken in black and white. Black and white seems more classic and gives greater contrast for most subjects. I saw this exhibition in Frankfurt last year during the world cup, and the span of the photography is within the last 5 or 10 years (correct me if i'm wrong please)
The other sets of the collection can be seen here
RELATIONSHIPS
http://www.zonaeuropa.com/20041224_1.htm
DESIRES
http://www.zonaeuropa.com/20041226_1.htm - etnu, on 10/12/2007, -3/+14Yeah, because high population has always correlated with high productivity. India and China will never meet or exceed western standards of living -- western standards of living will get worse, but theirs aren't going to even come close to what we have at present. There's just way too many people to be able to sustain that level of consumption on this planet.
- ManxShearwater, on 10/12/2007, -1/+12Most of the pictures are old and the captions are ridiculous. I live in China.
- undersky, on 10/12/2007, -1/+11dude i don't think any of us forget about the progress of the china. china has an amazing economy and been made textbook example. lots business schools want to have a satellite campus there or have something to do with the china bandwagon. these photos are just showing us the other side of the china. they are not photo of hate. objects in these pictures are mostly happy, such as the school childrens, kids lying on the field, or the kid checking the license plate. for most of them that's their way of life and they enjoy them.
- seable, on 10/12/2007, -5/+15It is not real China.
I come from China and has been live in US for 3 years.
People live in Western country need to understand China has 1.3 billion people. China has to grow with its own way. The modified Communism might be the best way for now.
For the pictures, it is true. However personally I only saw less than 10% of these pictures in the real world in China for my life. It is not real China! - stupergenius, on 10/12/2007, -2/+12Ehhh I have a hard time believing "6. Instant lottery ticket purchase line".
- SabreWolf, on 10/12/2007, -1/+10@crimsonalucard
Wow that was the most ignorant comment I've ever heard. Spending a week in China hardly qualifies you as an expert on Chinese customs and such. Chinese people don't normally ***** on a tree like you stated. The kid needed to take a ***** real bad, so he probably shat on the tree out of necessity. I've seen an American drunk take a crap on a dude's lawn, does it mean all Americans ***** on lawns. The answer is no. Stop your racist generalizations.
I've also seen Vietnam War amputees who yell at imaginary people and beg for money at my gas station. What's the difference? - mutatron, on 10/12/2007, -0/+910 workers to 1? 1.3 billion Chinese .vs. 1 billion Westerners if you only include the US and Europe.
- Carsonauto, on 10/12/2007, -1/+10Are you kidding? The country's industries and economy bring upon 75% of their problems. You can't stop the poverty in China anymore than you can stop it here.
- jerryparid, on 10/12/2007, -4/+13Population has nothing to do with wealth and development. On the side note; you can't compare India to China. There is atleast a 20 year gap between India and China based on GDP, Human Development Index, and global influence.
- Thinkpol, on 10/12/2007, -0/+9I actually thought the pictures were charming. Was this supposed to make China look bad?
- inactive, on 10/12/2007, -0/+9Silk worms.
- inactive, on 10/12/2007, -2/+11this is pretty much true in rural china where over 50% of the population lives
but in the cities it's much different. i've been to shanghai and beijing and life is better there. that's why the population keeps on moving east. - tech42er, on 10/12/2007, -1/+10@under
With that logic, the poorest countries in Africa should be leading the global economy. Unfortunately, the poor won't have the same opportunities and probably won't become much richer, particularly under a repressive, oppressive government. - Comatose51, on 10/12/2007, -1/+9It's not that hard to believe since the Western part of China has always been neglected. Historically China did not include parts of the west and development is heavily concentrated along the coast and northern/central China. I know there are a lot of Chinese apologists trying to make excuses about the pictures and explaining that's not all of China. That's definitely true but it is also true in certain parts of China. Being originally a southern Chinese, I know there are people who are less fortunate than my family, who by Americans standards were pretty damn poor. Stop making excuses and trying to save face and do something about your own countrymen. One of the tragedies of Chinese progress is that now you have people who are rich enough to pay $300,000 USD for a license plate because it has lucky numbers and at the same time you have the situation we see in the pictures. That cannot possibly be good for a country.
- Ender008, on 10/12/2007, -7/+15I just stayed with a family in China for two weeks, plus traveling around the country after that. I can tell you from personal experience that this is nowhere near an accurate representation of China as a whole. Granted, these pictures are all real and don't surprise me, but an incorrect picture is being painted here.
I'm not discounting this article or calling it fake, just want to throw in that for the most part China is a very different place then what these pictures show. - Jibberwalk, on 10/12/2007, -0/+8China is still considered a member of the Global South... it's not considered developed in the Western sense.
- alrokerisfat, on 10/12/2007, -6/+14"Well actually, we prefer Taiwan to China. The Taiwanese leadership are somewhat more human than the Chinese leadership."
Im supprised no one has commented on this.
Look into the curruption of the Taiwanese leadership. Look at their approval ratings?
Its gross. People dont like their leadership there.
I'll say it over and over. I lived in China. People there seemed to truely believe in their government. Mao screwed things up really really badly. The fact that China has already come this far is amazing. - laowai101, on 10/12/2007, -3/+10So much ignorance on here...
Go and see the place for yourself. - seandfeeney, on 10/12/2007, -1/+8coral cache http://www.zonaeuropa.com.nyud.net:8090/20041223_1.htm
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