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PaperclipPerfector  2d ago (text post)   1886 thread views

Friday Fun Thread for January 9, 2026

Be advised: this thread is not for serious in-depth discussion of weighty topics (we have a link for that), this thread is not for anything Culture War related. This thread is for Fun. You got jokes? Share 'em. You got silly questions? Ask 'em.

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I just got back from a December trip to northern China. It's a country that's modernised in a very non-Western way, such that it appears like a weird cyberpunky juxtaposition of hypermodernity coexisting with third-world elements - the streets are very clean, robots in hotels deliver stuff to your door, face recognition for check-in and boarding is a thing in some airports, the whole country uses pretty much only payment apps, etc, but the AQI can be bad, the public toilets are dirty, taxis and some train stations smell like cigarette smoke, nobody speaks anything but Mandarin (or some other Sinitic language), there are touts who will try to sell you shit, and so on.

Personally, I think it's an amazing destination. I would go back in a heartbeat if I could. I have so many superlatives for it, and I won't forget being almost completely alone on the Great Wall with mist rising over the surrounding mountains like some Chinese ink painting, or stepping into an ancient grotto cave the size of a cathedral with thousands of religious carvings covering every square inch of its walls, or suddenly encountering a colourful festival in the streets of a Qing dynasty walled town. There is an astounding amount of history and culture there, I think it boasts by far the greatest density of genuinely historical stuff in Asia.

I have a travel report lined up and pictures to upload, but I'm suffering from severe jet lag and am too lazy to do that right now.

Is real Chinese food as good as the MSG slop they serve at Chinese restaurants in the US? I love that shit.

Yes.

The old adage that traditional Chinese food is nothing like Western Chinese food is overblown. You can go into any restaurant in China and order Kung pao chicken, egg fried rice, and stir fried vegetables just like the West.

The difference comes because Western Chinese is mostly just Cantonese restaurants. China is an extremely large country with a long food history and there is a massive amount of regional variation. Discussions about "Chinese food" are the equivalent of talking about European food and then being surprised that not every restaurant in Germany serves pizza and pasta.

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