IES Global

China is modern! Taxi's are on meters and the city was filled with sky scrapers and large apartment complex's, with glowing lights, and abundance of English spelling and grammatical errors on signs amongst Chinese ones.

The fast pace of things in China also shocked me, after finding myself sitting on my own couch in the apartment I successfully signed a contract for with my limited Mandarin, all in a space of 24 hours. The interesting pre paid system differed from home but soon made sense and quite convenient when keeping a tab on how much was being spent on Hot Water, Gas and Electricity.

The Chinese also love to bargain and are all sales people at heart. Finding this out at the local markets, which range from street sales near subway stations, to large department store complexes which house everything personal for a person, all sold in typical bargain market style. Once can enter naked and walk out with a wardrobe of outfits, with a handful of Chinese RMB and a smooth bargaining mouth!

The Life style depends on the travel purpose into China. Working people live the fast paced lifestyle from being packed on the subway to reach work; to running between business meetings, and client meetings whilst having lunch, all to find it is the weekend. Fortunately shops in Beijing close quite late every night (9pm) therefore making grocery and general shopping more convenient.

The life style of a student is long and relaxing, running between classes, study sessions and social events. Students seem to have fun mingling with local and international students, majority of international students within Beijing are here to study the language therefore making social outings interesting and entertaining!

Finally the life style of a tourist is spent pouring over maps and travel guides. Seeing the sights and sounds of China do not stop and can take you to places and scenes only seen in documentaries. Beijing Alone plays host to a large percentage of China's wonders.

This leads me to the final point of the people in China. They are warm and friendly, especially with the Beijing 2008 Olympics approaching, they are more attentive and helpful to westerners. A large percentage of Chinese locals do speak English and are more than helpful when approached with a smile.

Related Links: http://www.news.com.au/travel/story/0,26058,23888761-27983,00.html