What’s China like in the eyes of foreigners (外国人)? Is there anything that surprises them? The short video series, My China Surprise《中国让我没想到》 brings us some answers. Some episodes (集) have come out on Bilibili, Douyin and WeChat. Each episode tells a foreigner’s surprising experiences (经历) in China. Let’s check out three of them!
Beijing Opera fan
Lulu is from Hungary. She first came to Beijing in 2017. Here, she found her greatest hobby—Beijing Opera.
“The clothes were beautiful and the movements (动作) were so wonderful. The face-painting was something I never see before. It is quite different from Western opera, ”she said, “I love Beijing Opera. I hope I can share this passion (激情) of mine with people outside China.”
Now Lulu is in the Beijing Opera Group at Tsinghua University. The group members practice singing and movements twice a week and have another rehearsal (排练) on Fridays.
The biggest problem Lulu faced was learning the singing way. “In the beginning, my throat (嗓子) hurt, because I used my voice in the wrong way,” she said. But with the help of teachers, she has improved (改善) a lot.
Livestream host (直播主持)
Asilbek is a college student from Uzbekistan. Now he has stayed in China for four years. Becoming a livestreaming -commerce host (直播带货主播) is his most wonderful experience here. In his livestreams, he sells things from his home country, including caps and scarves.
When Asilbek first came to China, he was amazed to see the digital (数字的) life here. “I never thought that everything in China would be online, ” he said. After just arriving here, he went to a shop, the seller asked him, “Do you have WeChat or Alipay?” He said, “I have cash (现金). ”
After studying e-commerce, he quickly changes. Cashless payment, online shopping, fast logistics (物流), he thinks these are the top reasons why Chinese e-commerce livestreaming is better than the ones in the other countries.
Lifelong student
Merna, who is half Chinese, half Jordanian, is still surprised by colleges for the old people in China.
That was in 2021. She read an article about the colleges on WeChat and also saw a sign reading, “Laonian Daxue”. After talking with her friends, she got to know it means a school for old people to take classes and learn things like calligraphy (书法) and modeling.
Busy with schoolwork, she doesn’t have enough time to spend with her grandma in Beijing. So she is thinking about signing (报名) her grandma up for some classes. Once, she went to such a college. There, she met a 59-year-old lady in qipao to learn modeling. Seeing her positive (积极的) energy, she thinks such colleges can really make old people happy and give them a new start.
Some | *The short video series shows what China is like in some foreigners’ eyes. * Some episodes telling foreigners’ surprising experiences in China have come out on Bilibili, Douyin and WeChat. | ||
Three examples | Lulu | Beijing Opera fan | * She thinks Beijing Opera is not the Western opera. *As a *At first, she had |
Asilbek | Livestream host | *He sells things from *He knew *He thinks Chinese e-commerce is the | |
Merna | Lifelong student | * She began to know colleges for the old people in China in 2021. * * She thinks old people can be happy and have a new | |
Conclusion | Many foreigners really feel |