Guangzhou, I'm Starting to Hate You (and Here's Why You Might Too)
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Having graduated from Sun Yat-sen University and lived in Guangzhou for 10 years, I never expected that out of a group of over 30 of my former classmates, only 3 are still in Guangzhou. Even some Guangzhou locals have left, with most of them heading to Shenzhen. The city is becoming increasingly chaotic, with fewer and fewer job opportunities. Some Guangzhou residents have been constantly telling outsiders to 'get lost' from their city, and now it seems their wish is coming true. But if all the talent 'gets lost,' leaving only low-end jobs and an influx of low-skilled workers, can it still be considered a first-tier city?
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What do you mean, 'as they wished'? Guangzhou still has the highest net inflow of migrants in the entire country, you know...
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The mayor isn't even a local. How can you expect him to truly love Guangzhou? No way.
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That's a political regulation. High-ranking officials in a region usually can't be natives of that place. Otherwise, it would be easier for a hereditary system to develop.
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As a Guangzhou local myself, I agree. Too many so-called 'low-skilled' people have moved into Guangzhou... It's become a chaotic mess.
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It's a bunch of toxic, uncultured so-called 'low-end talent.' Nightclubs, saunas, massage parlors, and foot bath places are everywhere, along with a ton of fraudulent financial companies.
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As someone from Guangzhou who visited Shenzhen these past two days – wow, it's incredibly 'cutthroat' over there. For instance, my hotel had robot delivery, but the delivery guy still called, costing him extra, just to tell me he'd left the food with the robot at the front desk. At the subway security check, they proactively offered a basket and even said 'thank you' when checking my water bottle. All my frustrations as a worker just vanished. I don't really feel like going back to Guangzhou now.
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Oh really? Where do delivery people just leave food with a robot without calling first?
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Can't we just ban those electric scooters (e-bikes) already?!
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They banned motorcycles in the past, so why not ban these e-bikes too? I don't get it.
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To be honest, e-bikes are really convenient! But look at Liuzhou – the entire city is practically full of e-bikes, yet they manage them extremely well! Why can't Guangzhou learn from them? Is it an economic issue? A policy issue? Or a population issue?
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Nanning is also a major city for e-bikes, and they manage them very well there too.
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I'm temporarily living in Shenzhen and sometimes travel to Guangzhou for exams. I don't know why, but every time I go, I feel 'unlucky' – the chaotic traffic, the crowded and somewhat run-down subway, and Cantonese being spoken everywhere. I just feel like I can't fit in and can't understand much. Oh well, forget it.
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Is that so?
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All this talk of 'driving out the so-called low-end population'... it truly makes you feel the dehumanization of people.
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Actually, I kind of feel the same way...
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My biggest impression visiting Guangzhou from Nanning is that in such a big city where every inch of land is precious, the roads are narrow, there are no dedicated lanes for non-motorized vehicles, taxis are expensive, and journeys take a long time. Also, compared to Nanning, there are actually far fewer e-bikes on the roads here.