Exploring the vast, second largest economy and third largest country by land area in the world that is China as an Indian traveler; I bumped into interesting social differences across the cultural landscape that exceed mere tourist sites.
Surprising beauty standards, digital ecosystems and culinary customs that do not make it to your travel guide — were just some of the insights my exposes into local lives of beijing took me.
Getting Around Beijing: The Official Urban Transport Advocates Guide
My journey to Beijing started with a full on assault by all the trains in China’s sprawling metro network. In many locations the Chinese-only signage made this place so puzzling that I often pressed “help” (which led me to English speaking people).
Beijing Subway Tips
| Feature | Notes |
|---|---|
| Help Button | Available at most stations – press for English assistance |
| Line Numbers | Displayed clearly with color-coding |
| Cost | Approximately 25 Yuan for typical tourist routes |
| Navigation | Change between lines at major junction stations |
Temple Experiences: Local Ways of Going
When my local Chinese guide Tammy showed me how to pray at a Chinese temple, I did it correctly. The experience was as follows:
- Get incense sticks
- Just Start lightning Correct and enhance then only;
- Sit on prayer mats with little fur
- Which a simple three time bow
- Initially put the incense in particular places
It’s a bit like cultural immersion that forced me to feel “Chinese already” as I said during the experience. What I found significant was how separate and alike these two systems were from Hindu temple rituals in India.
Dealing with the Dietary Restrictions
| Culture | Commonly Consumed | Religious Restrictions |
|---|---|---|
| Chinese | Pork, chicken, beef, duck | Limited religious restrictions |
| Indian Hindu | Chicken, mutton (varies by region) | Many avoid beef |
| Indian Muslim | Chicken, mutton | Avoid pork; require halal preparation |
During a hotpot, I found out the menu served plenty of animal blood — dog blood. It spoke to a real, born difference in food cucksfold between our cultures
Roving Through the traditional beijing vicinity areas
During an exploration of those traditional quarters in Beijing, Tammy was illustrative from her:
1. Government-owned historic properties
2. You can only live there if it is a Beijing local
3. $10k (approximate monthly rent)
4. Filled mostly with seniors
5. Is not for sale, only rent
But these neighborhoods are priced unaffordable to most young people and they enforce generational divides by living arrangements.
The Parallel Internet: China’s digital divide
Perhaps the most intriguing finding was acknowledging this second digital ecosystem in China.
COSMASANIMOS v. DEVELOPMENT UP Philippines and India
| Global Platforms | Chinese Equivalents |
|---|---|
| TikTok | Douyin (Chinese version) |
| YouTube | Bilibili, Youku |
| Xiaohongshu (RED) | |
| WeChat, Weibo | |
| Baidu |
Tammy commented that Chinese citizens are unable to use the international version of TikTok, even though it was developed in China. The app becomes unstable even with the VPN access, so Chinese location data is visible. This results in two content ecosystems with minimal interaction.
Glossary: Beauty Standards A (cultural) eye-opener
One of the most frank conversations I had was over bubble tea with a question on beauty filters on Chinese social media to which Chinese used ubiquitously. Tammy, in a super real way opened up about Chinese beauty standards
| Attribute | Ideal Appearance | Cultural Significance |
|---|---|---|
| Skin tone | Very white/pale | Associated with purity and refinement |
| Body type | Extremely thin | Viewed as disciplined and delicate |
| Facial features | Soft, childlike | Perceived as obedient and sincere |
| Overall aesthetic | “Cute” rather than “sexy” | Values youthfulness over maturity |
During an interview Tammy said Photo editing and its exploitation comes from :
1. Culturally, humility (dislike of being told how good you are)
2. Striving to “be perfect” with formulaic beauty rules
3. Exposure to the idealized image
The Dark Indian in China
“This is very candid, no sugar coating talking: As a brown-skinned bearded Indian man there are few more likely than many Chinese people to assume I’m ‘dangerous’; Tammy admitted. Appearance | She said, Without knowing what I look like from the inside most people probably picture me a bad person or a Robber.
Perception Challenges
| My Appearance | Typical Chinese Perception | Reality |
|---|---|---|
| Dark skin | Associated with danger/criminality | Normal variation in human appearance |
| Beard | Viewed as untamed/threatening | Common grooming style in many cultures |
| Athletic build | Not matching “thin ideal” | Healthy body type |
| Direct gaze | Can be interpreted as aggressive | Normal communication style |
This conversation was awkward but educational on the impact of cultural distance in understanding foreigners who do not align with local beauty ideals.
Pearl Market Experience
This is Beijing, and with visiting the Pearl Market I just discovered another unmissable fact — for the first time here non-Chinese visitors were crowds in this place! It was a clear sign that international tourists are targeted by the market.
1. English signage
2. Expecting bargained
3. For foreigners, higher starting prices
4. Many fake luxury goods
Take it from tourist traps
My China sojourn opened to me that in being truly culturally informed you do not go and visit iconic places such as the Great Wall. Too often, the deeper insights were only found on the rare occasions we really talked about beauty standards and digital divides to one another.
This is in contrast to China’s rapid emergence as a worldwide technological superpower and surprisingly old-fashioned appearance preferences, deeply beneath the conscious surface that this cold. Upon being an Indian traveler, this enlightened me to some extent that our ancient civilizations are further apart by distances but are also closer by surprising similarities.
That a casual tourism excursion morphed into this interesting walk of cultural psychology showed me days later, that the best mementoes one can bring home are lessons learned from real and honest cross-cultural discussions.
