So beautiful, I can't help but want to share it with everyone on the VB6 forum

[dreammanor]

So how do I know the picture on the left wasn't real and someone made up the second one to cover the real abuse? It is so hard to tell anymore. I suppose it is what it always has been before the internet. It is the readers/viewers responsibility to consider and weigh the sources.

Americans have better creativity, while Chinese have better judgment. Do you know why?

[FunkyDexter]

I'm intrigued

[TysonLPrice]

Americans have better creativity, while Chinese have better judgment. Do you know why?

Maybe it depends on what side of the equator you live in...I can't decide :-)

[dreammanor]

Maybe it depends on what side of the equator you live in...I can't decide :-)

In China, children in cities are required to learn English from kindergarten, and children in rural areas are required to learn English in the third grade. The Chinese government encourages people to learn the languages of other countries, and also encourages people to travel abroad and learn about other countries. In 2018, 150 million people in China traveled abroad.

It can be said that the Chinese know about the United States is 10 times as much as the United States knows about China. That is why I think the Chinese have better judgment. Of course, this is also due to the good mathematical ability of Chinese children.

Fake news and media prejudice have not only deceived American politicians, but also the American public. They all thought that they knew the truth, but this was not the case. They thought that others were in a cage, but they didn't know that they were in a deep well.

Some people may never understand why the Chinese government has banned Google and Facebook, but some people (such as me) still think that China is a very open country, and it will become more and more open.

[FunkyDexter]

Some people may never understand why the Chinese government has banned Google and Facebook, but some people (such as me) still think that China is a very open country, and it will become more and more open.

I'm 50/50 on this. The Chinese Government certainly has tried to supress information in order to propagate it's agenda. But so have the US, Russian and British Governments. All Governments try to get their constituents to believe what they want them to believe. It's in the nature of Governments. The tools the Chinese government uses (suppression, blocking sites etc) tend to be a lot more obvious than the tools the West uses (fake news, propaganda etc) but aren't particularly different in their outcomes.

As I said, I do think we in the West tend to overreport the ignorance the Chinese people are living in. Why? Because it serves the agenda of Western Government to portray you guys as a down-trodden mass, oppressed by your evil overlord dictators. It's not true though. The travel figures you cited are pretty good evidence of that. If China really was the oppressive tyranny we like to portray it as it would take view of similar to the Soviet Union before the collapse of the Berlin Wall. It doesn't take that view and actively encourages it's citizens to travel abroad.

But you would be naïve to assume that your government is not, at some level, trying to control your information flow to suit it's own ends. Just as we would be naïve to assume ours aren't.

[kfcSmitty]

So 150 million is approx 10% of China's population. This post here (https://skift.com/2019/04/03/record-...untry-in-2018/) seems to indicate over 20% of Americans travel abroad.

You also have to note that travelling abroad costs a lot more in North America than it does overseas since every flight goes over the ocean.

I'm also curious about Chinese being forced to learn English. Is this new? It is rare I ever meet a Chinese tourist that speaks anything more than a few simple English words, similar to what I would say when I go to Italy and attempt to speak Italian.

[dreammanor]

But you would be naïve to assume that your government is not, at some level, trying to control your information flow to suit it's own ends.

I certainly know that the Chinese government is trying to control the information flow to the people. This's a topic that will take a lot of time to discuss.

[TysonLPrice]

That is why I think the Chinese have better judgment.

I'll bet you also have trouble buying hats

[dreammanor]

So 150 million is approx 10% of China's population. This post here (https://skift.com/2019/04/03/record-...untry-in-2018/) seems to indicate over 20% of Americans travel abroad.

20% of the US population is 60 million, isn't it?

You also have to note that travelling abroad costs a lot more in North America than it does overseas since every flight goes over the ocean.

So I said China is a paradise for foreign tourists. But this situation will not last long, maybe 5 or 10 years later, tourism in China will be more expensive than North America. Now is the best time.

I'm also curious about Chinese being forced to learn English. Is this new? It is rare I ever meet a Chinese tourist that speaks anything more than a few simple English words, similar to what I would say when I go to Italy and attempt to speak Italian.

50 or 60 years ago, the second language of Chinese students was Russian. 40 years ago, Chinese junior high school students were required to learn English (but most of their English is only Dumb-English, which can read, can take exams, but cannot communicate verbally). 25 years ago, primary school students in China had to learn English. Now, China's senior high school entrance examination must test English listening and speaking.

Edit:
What I learned was also Dumb_English, so I don't speak English with Americans. Writing English is not an easy task for me. But I can read English easily.

[dreammanor]

I'll bet you also have trouble buying hats

After 5 or 10 years, you'll know the exact answer.

[kfcSmitty]

20% of the US population is 60 million, isn't it?

US Population is like 330 million, so 93 million would be around 28%.

[dreammanor]

US Population is like 330 million, so 93 million would be around 28%.

93 million is indeed a lot, after all, the United States is the only superpower in the world. But America now seems to be becoming more closed and conservative. Closeness, conservativeness and prejudice will gradually make the United States lose its superpower status.

[TysonLPrice]

93 million is indeed a lot, after all, the United States is the only superpower in the world. But America now seems to be becoming more closed and conservative. Closeness, conservativeness and prejudice will gradually make the United States lose its superpower status.

You should keep in mind US politics, like our social movements, tend to be like a pendulum. It may swing conservative for a while and then back towards the more liberal end. To look at the current political status and extrapolate that will be the end of us as a super power is analogous to your saying how little outsiders understand China.

[dreammanor]

You should keep in mind US politics, like our social movements, tend to be like a pendulum. It may swing conservative for a while and then back towards the more liberal end. To look at the current political status and extrapolate that will be the end of us as a super power is analogous to your saying how little outsiders understand China.

Maybe I know more about American politics than you think. America can no longer go back to the past, even if other parties came to power. Some people's actions have caused tremendous damage to the United States, and this damage cannot be recovered in the short term.

[Shaggy Hiker]

The US is both swinging more conservative and more progressive at the same time. It's really just a matter of perspective. The current president has pushed the needle to the right...except that his isolationist trends are more to the left than the right, but aside from that, he's pushed it right. Meanwhile, the country, as a whole, is slowly moving leftwards, which is one of the reasons this president got elected. Older people vote more regularly than younger people. The shift to the left is mostly the upcoming generations. Therefore, the overreaction move to the right will naturally occur in the group that is fading out, but voting more reliably. They are shoving the needle to the right, while at the same time their grip is weakening.

So, leftwards and rightwards motion at the same time.

[Shaggy Hiker]

America can no longer go back to the past, even if other parties came to power. Some people's actions have caused tremendous damage to the United States, and this damage cannot be recovered in the short term.

I think we can all agree on that. As long as you don't say WHO, then every side can put their own favorite person in that role.

[Millennial]

The Chinese government encourages people to learn the languages of other countries, and also encourages people to travel abroad and learn about other countries.

Is the Chinese government really trying to expand people's minds or are they preparing them for something?

Why Don't Chinese People Speak English?

[FunkyDexter]

So, just to be clear, when we're looking for an opinion on if and why Chinese people speak English we're going to take the word of two South African dudes over the word of an actual Chinese dude?

I mean, they've got a You Tube channel so they must know what they're talking about.

[Millennial]

So, just to be clear, when we're looking for an opinion on if and why Chinese people speak English we're going to take the word of two American dudes over the word of an actual Chinese dude?

I mean, they've got a You Tube channel so they must know what they're talking about.

Well, here's their channel description:

Living in China for so long, we would like to share some of the comparisons that we have found between China and the west, and shed some light on the situation.

Also, they mentioned in that video that their wives are both from China (@ 10:26), so yeah, they probably do know what they're talking about.

[Shaggy Hiker]

How many Americans speak Chinese?

Frankly, English is becoming the essential language. Most people will end up speaking that...and maybe something else, except for the US, where they'll speak English and gripe about other languages.

[TysonLPrice]

English being hard...I like these:

1) The bandage was wound around the wound.
2) The farm was used to produce produce .
3) The dump was so full that it had to refuse more refuse.
4) We must polish the Polish furniture.
5) He could lead if he would get the lead out.
6) The soldier decided to desert his dessert in the desert.
7) Since there is no time like the present, he thought it was time to present the present .
8) A bass was painted on the head of the bass drum.
9) When shot at, the dove dove into the bushes.
10 ) I did not object to the object.
11) The insurance was invalid for the invalid.
12) There was a row among the oarsmen about how to row ..
13) They were too close to the door to close it.
14) The buck does funny things when the does are present.
15) A seamstress and a sewer fell down into a sewer line.
16) To help with planting, the farmer taught his sow to sow.
17) The wind was too strong to wind the sail.
18) Upon seeing the tear in the painting I shed a tear.
19) I had to subject the subject to a series of tests.
20) How can I intimate this to my most intimate friend?

[TysonLPrice]

You really fell for that one

Our government is guilty of the same things though albeit in lesser terms. For years you couldn't even show a toilet on TV and couples always slept in twin beds. The government decides what is pornography and what words can be said in public. I'm willing to say the USA has some of the most free speech on the planet, but, that doesn't stop people from trying to enforce their beliefs on others via government involvement though.

This is my own post and just by pure coincidence I came across this picture. It goes to "For years you couldn't even show a toilet on TV". It is from the "Brady Bunch".

[passel]

...
19) I had to subject the subject to a series of tests.
...

I think that one could be better with three meanings for the word.

I had to subject the subject to a series of subjects.

Does "subjects" refer to other persons in a group, or to various studies?

[dreammanor]

Is the Chinese government really trying to expand people's minds or are they preparing them for something?

Why Don't Chinese People Speak English?

So, just to be clear, when we're looking for an opinion on if and why Chinese people speak English we're going to take the word of two South African dudes over the word of an actual Chinese dude?

I mean, they've got a You Tube channel so they must know what they're talking about.

Do you know where the video was taken? It's time to explore the truth.

[passel]

Do you know where the video was taken? It's time to explore the truth.
...

Well, obviously the video was shot while walking around some downtown streets in Hanoi, Vietnam.
But, they are talking about China in comparison to Vietnam, i.e. in Vietnam you hear English spoken more often and better than when they've traveled around China, and are postulating reasons they think that may be.
Also they say that foreigners that live in Vietnam tend to try and succeed in picking up some phrases in Vietnamese, whereas it seems less so for foreigners residing in China.

Of course, it is just their opinion.
I don't know. I've seen videos of a couple, an Australian with a Chinese wife who lives in China for the most part, and he seems to speak some Chinese fairly competently, but how would I know, other than it doesn't seem like he stammers or struggles while talking to local people.

I've spent some time in South Korea, and English is fairly widely spoken, but then we have a large military presence there. But, they certainly also push learning English even outside school, as I've seen short pop-up English lessons on regular Korean television, where they go over some idiomatic English (American English) expression that doesn't make sense if you try to interpret it literally. They explain the meaning and how it is used in a sentence and the pronunciation.

Reminded me of the Schoolhouse Rock! educational shorts on ABC that started in the mid 1970s.

Here's a 360 degree camera shot on the corner where they started the video from Google Street View.
The view is down the street they were walking on at the beginning of the clip. Spin the view around 180 degrees to see a banner, which shows a building that will be built (it is under construction at the time of the photo) which is one of the building behind them in the future, now past.

At 3:00 minutes, they had rounded their second corner so were heading West away from this corner.

Generally, around 10 minutes, the corner where they got their hair cut has changed quite a bit since this photo was taken, i.e. street walks well marked, and perhaps some trees removed. Definitely a more attractive gate over the store opening on the corner, and better drainage along the street edge. The hair cutting business may have been operational even when the photo was taken, notice the green covered chair near the yellow bucket.

[dreammanor]

Well, obviously the video was shot while walking around some downtown streets in Hanoi, Vietnam.
But, they are talking about China in comparison to Vietnam, i.e. in Vietnam you hear English spoken more often and better than when they've traveled around China, and are postulating reasons they think that may be.
Also they say that foreigners that live in Vietnam tend to try and succeed in picking up some phrases in Vietnamese, whereas it seems less so for foreigners residing in China.

Vietnam was a affiliate/dependent of China 100 years ago and their official language was Chinese and all their history is recorded in Chinese. Vietnam became a French colony in 1885 and gradually separated from China. In order to demonstrate its independence, Vietnam decided to abolish Chinese characters and use a new type of phonetic-words. Compared with Chinese characters, this phonetic-words is more acceptable to Westerners. For this reason, Vietnamese speak English more easily. But Vietnamese today can hardly understand their history. Their newly created phonetic-words cannot fully translate and express the meaning of Chinese characters.

The situation in South Korea is similar to that in Vietnam.

I've spent some time in South Korea, and English is fairly widely spoken, but then we have a large military presence there. But, they certainly also push learning English even outside school, as I've seen short pop-up English lessons on regular Korean television, where they go over some idiomatic English (American English) expression that doesn't make sense if you try to interpret it literally. They explain the meaning and how it is used in a sentence and the pronunciation.

Reminded me of the Schoolhouse Rock! educational shorts on ABC that started in the mid 1970s.

China is very, very big, and what foreigners see was a very small part of China. As I said in the above post: For a foreigner, if he stays in Beijing for a year, he will know about 0.01% of China. If he has been in Beijing for ten years, he will know about 0.1% of China. Only when he has been to different places in China can he have a preliminary understanding of China.

The size of China's land area is similar to that of the United States, but China's population is 4.5 times that of the United States. In a sense (population and culture), China is equivalent to 4.5 United States.

The population of South Korea is only equivalent to a few (only two) cities in China. The population of Beijing is 22 million, and the actual population should exceed 25 million. The population of Shanghai is 27 million, and the actual population should exceed 30 million. The population of Guangzhou is 15 million, and the actual population should exceed 20 million.

If you go to several large cities in China, you will know that the prevalence of English is similar to that of South Korea and Japan.

There is a joke on the Chinese Internet:

In Beijing, a mother wanted to apply for a kindergarten for her child, she asked the kindergarten teacher: "My child is four years old, and his English vocabulary is only about 1500. Is it enough?" The kindergarten teacher replied: "It's certainly enough in the United States, and certainly not enough in Haidian District(Beijing)"

[FunkyDexter]

...so yeah, they probably do know what they're talking about

oh, so we are. Goodo.

...except for the US, where they'll speak English...

…well, sort of. You guys are embarrassingly ignorant of what "pants" are.

Here's a 360 degree camera shot on the corner where they started the video from Google Street View.
The view is down the street they were walking on at the beginning of the clip. Spin the view around 180 degrees to see a banner, which shows a building that will be built (it is under construction at the time of the photo) which is one of the building behind them in the future, now past.

At 3:00 minutes, they had rounded their second corner so were heading West away from this corner.

Generally, around 10 minutes, the corner where they got there hair cut has changed quite a bit since this photo was taken, i.e. street walks well marked, and perhaps some trees removed. Definitely a more attractive gate over the store opening on the corner, and better drainage along the street edge. The hair cutting business may have been operational even when the photo was taken, notice the green covered chair near the yellow bucket.

Remind me never to offend you. You would make a truly terrifying stalker.

[dreammanor]

Today is a festival in China: DongZhi(the winter solstice, meaning winter has come), cn.bing.com uses two Chinese landscapes as background pictures (domestic and international).

Hapyy DongZhi and Merry Christmas !

https://tupian.sioe.cn/b/bing-home-i...c/20191222.jpg

[Shaggy Hiker]

I like the first one. That's my kind of place.

[FunkyDexter]

Love the lighting effect on the second one. The first one looks beautiful but too cold for me. Unlike Shaggy, I like a duvet and central heating.

[dreammanor]

I don't know where the first picture was taken in China. The second picture is the Summer Palace (formerly the Royal Garden) in Beijing, and I've been there several times.

https://cn.bing.com/images/search?q=...af&FORM=HDRSC2
https://cn.bing.com/images/search?q=...af&FORM=HDRSC2
https://cn.bing.com/images/search?q=...af&FORM=HDRSC2
https://cn.bing.com/images/search?q=...af&FORM=HDRSC2
https://cn.bing.com/images/search?q=...af&FORM=HDRSC2
https://cn.bing.com/images/search?q=...af&FORM=HDRSC2

https://cn.bing.com/images/search?q=...b1&FORM=HDRSC2
https://cn.bing.com/images/search?q=...b1&FORM=HDRSC2
https://cn.bing.com/images/search?q=...b2&FORM=HDRSC2

In addition, you could also search for the images of the following keywords in Google, you could see a lot of interesting photos
(Note: search results using Chinese keywords and English keywords are different)

庐山 雪景
黄山 雪景
华山 雪景
张家界 雪景
新疆 雪景
云南
云南 雪景
浙江景色

OR

Lushan Snow
Huangshan Snow
Huashan Snow
Zhangjiajie Snow
Xinjiang Snow
Yunnan
Yunnan Snow
Zhejiang Scenery

OR

most beautiful places in China
most beautiful snow scene in China
most beautiful snow places in China

[dreammanor]

Love the lighting effect on the second one.

That's not the light, it's the sunset in winter. (The sun is about to go down)

[passel]

That's not the light, it's the sunset in winter. (The sun is about to go down)

The sun provides the light, so it is lighting the bridge with the orange of sunset. The sun going down is producing the lighting effect.
We call it Sunlight. You were interpreting "light" as possibly a lamp, which also produces light and can be called a light, but FunkyDexter was referring to the light of the sun.

[FunkyDexter]

but FunkyDexter was referring to the light of the sun.

I was genuinely unsure whether it was an artificial or natural effect but I knew I liked it either way. It has a really "warm" quality to it.

[sapator]

We have some too :P
https://dynaimage.cdn.cnn.com/cnn/q_...a-bradford.jpg

https://www.greekcommunity.com.au/go...greece_545.jpg

[FunkyDexter]

I think I've been to both of those. Is that the Bridge at Arta? And I think the monastery's just one of many, all perched on top of really narrow fingers of rock. Cant remember the name but they were pretty spectacular.

[sapator]

OH, yeah that's right.
I remember now that you told me you have been to Arta.
The other one is Meteora (translated roughly as "hanging rocks").

[dreammanor]

The sun provides the light, so it is lighting the bridge with the orange of sunset. The sun going down is producing the lighting effect.
We call it Sunlight. You were interpreting "light" as possibly a lamp, which also produces light and can be called a light, but FunkyDexter was referring to the light of the sun.

Yes, I misunderstood the meaning of the word, thank you for your explanation.

We have some too :P
https://dynaimage.cdn.cnn.com/cnn/q_...a-bradford.jpg

https://www.greekcommunity.com.au/go...greece_545.jpg

Very nice!

I was genuinely unsure whether it was an artificial or natural effect but I knew I liked it either way. It has a really "warm" quality to it.

I've seen this kind of scene in the Summer Palace with my own eyes. On the other side of the lake (opposite the bridge) I watched the sun fall into the horizon little by little, and its last little sunlight shone on the bridge. After a few minutes, it was dark.

Hundreds of years ago, perhaps an emperor and his family stood in the same position and looked at the same scene. He certainly wouldn't think that after hundreds of years, every citizen could visit his garden.

[dreammanor]

The most beautiful pictures of Chinese starry sky in 2019
http://n.miaopai.com/media/s9jNY4j42...bhe8eF7-4P5cDY

[Shaggy Hiker]

IMO, China is neither a democracy nor a communist country. China has been exploring a system that suits its own national conditions and is constantly adjusting according to the development of society.

Yes, definitely. Communism is like a radioactive element with a VERY short half-life. It barely exists before it breaks down into something else. In many cases, that something else is bad (cause we're humans), but in the case of China, it's mostly just different. Some elements are good, some are bad, but most are different.

10 years ago, when the Chinese government banned Google, I was very angry. But when Google banned Huawei from using Google products according to the requirements of the US government this year, I understood why the Chinese government banned Google.

Really? How about explaining that, cause I really don't see any connection. Google restricted Huawei from using the Android OS, and pretty much everybody knows it's temporary, and it's just an OS anyways. Heck, Huawei will end up stronger if that ban were long term. They might anyways. It's a petty and stupid business move with a temporary impact.
The Chinese government banned Google search (but not Android, as far as I know), the most powerful information disseminating tool humanity has ever seen, specifically because it is the most powerful information disseminating tool humanity has ever seen.