China: Rural-urban divide · Global Voices
John Kennedy

Shak from Chinawhite leaves the city life for a countryside vacation and discovers some differences while out there.
“A quick dinner in a local restaurant and then on to experience some nightlife in Hefei [capitol of eastern China's Anhui province], first thing that strikes me is the price. Everything seems half the price of what we pay in Shanghai. Second thing that strikes me is the very very few foreigners here. In fact, out of the three clubs we went to, I see one other laowai[Mandarin term for foreigner]. Quite interesting that the best club in town is called ‘Beauiful Club,’ huge place with lots of signs and corporate identity all featuring a typo (welcome to China, why fix it if its working). Third thing that strikes me is the friendliness of these people compared to those in Shanghai (we love Prada, Gucci, LVMH and Starbucks),” writes Shak.