Personally I think we're created by our situation and much of China is fighting it's way out of near third world poverty. That very situation creates a certain state of being from which patterns of behaviour are born, neither of which are likely to reflect the better nature of man. Personally, and against the cynical caste of my own nature, I try to see the best in people, and in all honesty I do not have a hard time doing that with the majority of the Chinese I encounter. I am also certain that were I to have been born here, within the living situation of the average Joe (or Zhou), i'd exhibit the very same negative qualities we tend to zoom in on in our moments of criticism. And above all it is my belief that we have no-one to truly understand in this life than our own selves. Most critical observations we make of the world around us are, on one level or another, projections of our own spiritual (or psychological if you prefer) state of being. In other words, if you call me a monkey, then fair play to you, but it takes one to know one, so have a banana.

When I first came to China about 10 years ago I had no expectations, just plain, genuine curiosity.

I was just focusing on my adaptability to new situations, something luckily I never been missing.

Now, curiosity satisfied, I'm getting too old for all the bs surrounding.

China is nothing like I've imagined. I had not ever imagined how rude and careless people are. When you watch good old fashioned american movies, and you see the worst bad guy imaginable, he still puts his trash in the bin

I agree with Martian that China has its struggle against poverty. But Taiwan had too, if you go back 100 years, there was not much difference in wealth. Both societies grew from the same "base of people" The difference is the rulers, not the people. 

(Taiwan pineapple-cake beats anything any bakery in China could ever make. )

When I first went to China I used to try and be indifferent , to try and understand and not judge , There are reasons why they build houses the way they do for example, However 10 years later I tend to lean more toward the Latter. Maybe Taiwan would be a better place to go? in fact that is not a bad idea  How hard would it be for my Chinese wife to get a visa to Taiwan?

Yep, I kind of imagined China to be a bigger, colder and slightly more Chinese-y version of SE Asia. Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahagahahahahahahaha.... idiot I was!

I thought Djibouti was the worst place I had ever been to and could ever go, then I arrived here.

Of course, there are bastards everywhere, no wonder you could meet such people in Taiwan.  Still, there is a question of statistics.  especially when you're driving here, all the people you encounter on the roads would certainly drive you nuts.

All I can say is that I never imagined that would  Sarsaparilla ask such boring questions.

I think it boils down to the old maslow's hierarchy of needs. Mainlanders, no matter how much money/assets they have, are still starving peasants in terms of their mindset and acculturation. Look how everybody panics and runs when the subway doors open, that's starving peasant behavior. I.E. there is NOT enough for everyone, you make sure you GET YOURS or you'll die. At the top end of the spectrum it's all about consolidating your power at the expense of other through acquisition of land/connections. They're still generally stuck in survival mode and probably will be for the next 50 years or so. Once people get the idea that yes, there is another train/serving/elevator coming for them they can start to develop personalities and become more well rounded. Plus the income gap contributes a lot to that. Being wealthy here means a LOT more than it does in the US. An average person in the US can afford to be happy, i.e. afford fun vacations, even cheap one, and have some money/time for fun and family happiness, an average chinese person cannot.

Yeh, I drive every day now....2500 km for a month now. . I say 'fucking idiot' many times every day hahaha. But I'm used to it now, I drive like a Chinese..LOL

I didn't have any expectations before I came to China. Any country I visit I arrive with a completely open mind because what ever you encounter when you get there is different to what you're used to so there's no point in always comparing it to your own country. True, the longer you stay here the more you begin to get annoyed at stuff but you (should anyway) also learn why things are the way they are. In China people come across as selfish because if you're not then you'll lose every time. I used to have a habit back home of letting women walk through a door before me, but if you do it here on the subway or other public places you'll just end up standing there forever. so now i just walk and make sure I get where I'm going. People clear their throats here and spit because the majority of them are smokers and that's what happens when you smoke. you have shit in your throat. (the pollution adds to that too). Obviously there are some aspects we wish didn't exist. But they way I see it, expats choose to be here, if you don't like it, then leave.

Before coming here I am a bit afraid of the people,but later on they are nice I think

i knew it was a third world country so were my expectations and i wasnt disappointed at all