Only In China - A Collection of funny stories through the eyes of a foreigner

Borenstein, a Miami native, directed the documentary largely based on his experience of living in Chengdu, Sichuan province in his 20s as a Fulbright scholar majoring in anthropology. He took dozens of jobs as a rented foreigner from to The first job came when he was approached by an agent on the street and asked if he wanted to perform as a band member at the opening of a real estate project.

This Map Shows China’s Hilarious Stereotypes of Europe

He was curious and when he turned up to the event the next day, he was part of a band whose members had never met. Expats in red armbands turn heads in southwest China. In his nearly three years with the agency, Borenstein took gigs in more than 50 cities. Most of the events were organised by property developers, which were seeing tremendous growth as the market flourished. For many Chinese, the international veneer is still desirable. Xie Fengyun, a Shanghai resident in her 50s, said she felt products that were promoted by foreign models and companies with foreign executives were more trustworthy.

But for expatriate professionals who have lived in China for many years, the phenomenon is not so harmless. Canadian John Lombard has been based in China for more than two decades. Expat pay packages in Hong Kong hit five-year low, survey finds.

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But for Katie, who is now an event organiser in Beijing and still attends dinners with the company director once a month, her role does not constitute cheating since she never discusses business with the clients. She said they only ever engaged in small talk over dinner. She added that the job had been an eye-opening opportunity that had helped her to better understand Chinese society. Skip to main content. Saturday, 10 June, , 7: Sunday, 11 June, , 9: More on this story.

Society Locals come first: Jenevieve Chang on expat parties, performing for Jackie Chan and reconnecting with her violent dad The practice is explored in Dream Empire , a minute documentary by Denmark-based American director David Borenstein. You are signed up.

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We think you'd also like. Thank you You are on the list. This article appeared in the South China Morning Post print edition as: Model workers of the rent-a-foreigner business. Most Popular Viewed 1.

This Map Shows China’s Hilarious Stereotypes of Europe – Foreign Policy

But I did have book recommendations—an iPad full of them. Some of those are included here. Whenever I walk down a Beijing alley, my mind flutters between thinking this country is about to regain its place atop world powers because of sheer scale—1.

Casual readers about China are lucky in one sense: The third, Country Driving , provides an on-the-ground account of the rapid industrialization in China that foreigners often read about but rarely see. A bra-parts factory producing thin-steel rings for straps—and only those rings—is one of the memorable businesses.

I know two people who loved this book: One was an experienced China hand who has worked in and out of the country for three decades; the other knew almost nothing about the country. They represent the spectrum of what a citizen of modern China faces: Osnos, another former New Yorker correspondent, includes known figures like artist and activist Ai Weiwei, whom he befriended in Beijing, and former World Bank chief economist Justin Lin, who defected to mainland China from Taiwan in , as well a striving Chinese English student named Michael Zhang.

China will be a country that builds things for a long time.

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Migrant women in China are particularly interesting because unlike men, who are obliged to care for their aging parents, women experience freedom and liberation once they escape their farming villages. Chang weaves together stories of the grueling work schedules—8 a. How much do you make?

So whenever an execution took place, the little town on Hanzhou Bay where I grew up would buzz with excitement. The book also comes recommended by another author on this list, Osnos, who has said he wished he had written it.