Having lived in China and Canada and having traveled to many countries including Russia, Korea, Britain, Thailand, Egypt, Qatar, I do think Canada is one of the best managed countries in the world, and compared to Canada, the Chinese concept is so wrong on many levels--In China, from east to west, from north to south, you might have seen millions of small sticker ads on walls, floors, staircases and poles, about creating fake diplomas and certificates for people who need to showcase their qualifications. There is a market for those things simply because employers don't check their employees' reference and background.
Here in Vancouver, I have been going through reference check and criminal record check for my new job. Sometimes HR managers will call my previous employers to check my performance at my previous work.
In China, so many schools in major cities have marble floors in their school buildings to show their wealth, and yet have no central heating and so students all freeze to death in their luxurious classrooms. Facilities are up-to-date but not open to students at all times unless VIP guests come to inspect.
Here in Vancouver, schools are not luxurious at all, where walls are just painted and floors covered by cheap carpet or simply plastic or rubber leatherette which is not used in China anymore due to the cheap look. But the schools all supply photocopiers, printers and paper to students and open their equipment rooms, gym rooms and library to students as much as possible.
In Beijing I have been to this newly opened amusement park, very modern and very high tech, with one of the largest roller coasters in the world. Apparently the investment was huge. But all the public washrooms are not heated, so in winter it is -10 outside and -8 in the washrooms. People have to shit or pee in the freezing cold and wash their hands with cold water. I always wonder why they don't want to make the washrooms more comfortable like in Canada?
I've been to a fishing village in Canton/Guangdong, China, where every family has millions of RMB in their bank account as the villagers all go fishing and export fish to the U.S. market. No matter how wealthy they are, they all live in filthy 2-3 story houses, ugly and dark, with bare light bulbs, tacky fake flowers, crappy, worn out furniture that they have never thought about abandoning for something new. It's not that they cannot afford it. They are all wealthier than any of us probably. They just don't care about their living environment. Interestingly, right next to their ugly "modern" houses I see the remaining ancient style Chinese residential architecture where the villagers' ancestors lived. They are beautiful and delicate, elegantly structured, with painted beams and ceilings and wood carvings on the symetrical window frames. They tell me that all the old buildings were ruined during the Cultural Revolution for they all belonged to the "four olds" that should be totally destroyed according to Chairman Mao.
The above pictures are of the apartment of my neighbor, Kenny, in West End of Vancouver. He doesn't have money, and barely finished high school, but his home looks prettier, tidier and more comfortable even than a university professor's home in China. Of course his house can by no means compare to mine in Beijing, since I'm highly educated and better-to-do. But I would say no high school graduates in China may make their home as clean or tidy as Kenny's.
Simply check these lovely pictures closely. Kenny just loves to clean and decorate the apartment and loves to collect knick knacks. His kitchen is spotless and his bathroom is neat like hell.
Let me know if what it is like in your country. Is it the same as Canada?
