现在中国人的生活水平真的很高吗？

Zw Zhu
The living standards of people in different places cannot be generalized, but in general, they are okay.

不同地方人们的生活水平不能一概而论，但总体而言，还算不错。

Chinese people are used to living in poverty but happily, and we try our best to make our living environment better. Fortunately, China is an industrial producer, so even if your income is very low, you can buy a lot of daily necessities to maintain basic life.

中国人习惯于在贫困中快乐地生活，我们尽力改善生活环境。幸运的是，中国是一个工业生产国，所以即使你的收入很低，你也能购买到许多日常必需品来维持基本的生活。

This is the most popular picture on the Chinese Internet this week.

这是中国互联网上本周最受欢迎的图片。

It rained and we hid.

下雨了，我们躲了起来。

People of different professions and ages took shelter under the only umbrella, just like children. Each of them is ordinary, but also unique.

不同职业和年龄的人们躲在唯一的伞下，就像孩子一样。每个人都是普通的，但也是独特的。

China - World Leader. ·
For a Chinese urban resident, the real living standard is no worse than that of developed countries.

对于中国城市居民而言，真正的生活水平不亚于发达国家。

Although China has not yet reached the standards of Western countries in terms of per capita GDP, China also has its own advantages:

尽管中国在人均GDP方面尚未达到西方国家的水平，但中国也有自己的优势：

Extremely cheap household appliances. Imagine a huge TV for $300, a high-quality laptop for $500, an IoT refrigerator for $200…

极其便宜的家电。想象一下，一台巨大的电视只需300美元，一台高质量的笔记本电脑只需500美元，一台物联网冰箱只需200美元……

Cheap public medical care. The registration fee for a specialist doctor is US$1.50, and the price of tooth extraction is US$20... Medical insurance can even reimburse 90% of it!

价格便宜的公共医疗。专科医生的挂号费用为1.50美元，拔牙的价格为20美元……医疗保险甚至可以报销90%！

Cheap infrastructure. Electricity costs US$0.1 per kilowatt hour, tap water costs US$1 per ton...the price will not fluctuate with the market!

廉价的基础设施。电费为每千瓦时0.1美元，自来水费为每吨1美元……价格不会随市场波动！

Cheap education. Tuition for a university education is $1,000 per year, and accommodation in a student apartment is $120 per year... and you can even apply for interest-free student loans!

廉价的教育。大学学费每年1000美元，学生公寓住宿费每年120美元……甚至可以申请无息学生贷款！

Cheap public transportation. $0.50 for the subway, $0.30 for the bus...

廉价的公共交通。地铁0.50美元，公交车0.30美元……

Cheap produce. Thanks to drone-automated agriculture in the Northeast!

廉价的农产品。得益于东北地区的无人机自动化农业！

Although I live in Beijing, most cities have these.

尽管我住在北京，但大多数城市都有这些。

David Levy
Why do a lot of people think China cannot catch up in average living standards because of its large population?

为什么很多人认为中国由于人口众多无法在平均生活水平上赶上？
原创翻译：龙腾网 https://www.ltaaa.cn 转载请注明出处

Because they have never seen anything like the enormous transformation China has experienced, can’t imagine it, and therefore find it unlikely.

因为他们从未见过像中国经历的巨大变革那样的事情，无法想象，因此认为这是不可能的。
原创翻译：龙腾网 https://www.ltaaa.cn 转载请注明出处

I arrived in China in 1986 from my hometown of Ridgewood, New Jersey. Most families, it seems, had two cars, at least 2 TV sets, telephones in every room, vacations every year, and the likelihood of a university education for most of their children. We could imagine families without a car (very poor, or inside the city) but could not imagine (and never saw) houses without multiple TVs, telephones, one large fridge, etc.

我于1986年从新泽西州里奇伍德镇来到中国。大多数家庭似乎都有两辆车，至少有两台电视机，在每个房间里都有电话，每年度假一次，大多数孩子有上大学的可能性。我们可以想象没有汽车的家庭（非常贫穷，或者在城市内），但无法想象（也从未见过）没有多台电视、电话、一个大冰箱等设备的房子。

The China I stepped into was poor and isolated. Almost no one knew anything about the world outside China and, in most cases, about life outside their own province. Almost no one owned a TV or a telephone. They hardly ever saw a foreign movie. Seeing a foreign person inside China was a rare event (outside of Shanghai, Beijing or a few hotspots), and actually talking to one was the stuff of fantasy. There was no outbound tourism; pretty much the only outbound travel was for business (insignificant) and for education (mostly the students stayed overseas).

我进入的中国是贫穷而孤立的。几乎没有人对中国以外的世界了解多少，在大多数情况下，对自己省份以外的生活了解甚少。几乎没有人拥有电视或电话。他们几乎从未看到过外国电影。在中国境内看到外国人是一个罕见的事件（除了上海、北京或一些热点地区），与外国人真正交谈更是难以想象的事情。几乎没有出境旅游；几乎唯一的出境旅行是出差（微不足道）和接受教育（大多数学生在海外留学）。

The economy was disconnected from the rest of the world, too. RMB was not convertible, and imported goods were almost impossible to buy using local currency. Most people in my City (Jinan, Shandong) wore identical blue or green suits (padded in winter).

经济也与世界其他地区脱节。人民币不可兑换，几乎不可能用本地货币购买进口商品。我所在的城市（山东济南）的大多数人穿着相同的蓝色或绿色西装（冬季有加厚）。

There were no private cars. Illiteracy was not uncommon (nor was it pervasive, though).

那时没有私家车。文盲并不罕见（尽管并不普遍）。

So when I arrived in China in 1986 it was like getting out of a time machine. But since then, China has built beautiful, towering cities, modern highways, high-speed trains, gleaming subways, etc. Chinese travel everywhere and spend lots of money doing it. There is nothing western people “have” that Chinese don’t, and despite official censorship shaping their opinions, there is not information about the outside world they can’t access. There is no technology or social trend of which they can be said to be ignorant.

因此，当我在1986年来到中国时，就像走出了一台时光机。但自那时以来，中国建设了美丽而高耸的城市、现代高速公路、高速列车、闪闪发光的地铁等。中国人到处旅行，花费大量金钱。西方人拥有的任何东西，中国人也都拥有，尽管官方审查塑造了他们的观点，但他们可以获取外部世界的所有信息。没有他们不了解的技术或社会趋势。

People who haven’t been here in China over the past few decades have never experienced this rate of change, so they can’t imagine it’s possible. For those lucky enough to have experienced it, almost ANYTHING seems possible.

过去几十年里没来过中国的人从未经历过这种变化速度，所以他们无法想象这是可能的。对于那些有幸经历过的人来说，几乎任何事情都是可能的。

Keith Lamb
How do foreigners feel about Chinese living standards?

外国人如何看待中国的生活水平？

I live in xiamen China opposite Taiwan working in a university. My income is about 1000 dollars a month but I work less than 20 hours a week, have a free apartment that comes with free electricity and water. I barely pay any tax and get free health care. Oh there's also over 4 months of holiday every year. I make more than enough to have a higher standard of living here than when I was working in the UK as living costs are low here. The flat given to me is pretty basic but I live on campus so it's super convenient. I just have one bedroom, a living room, kitchen and toilet with a small balcony. Having said that if I got married and had kids they would give me somewhere to live suitable for my needs.

在中国厦门工作，与台湾隔海相望。我的月收入约为1000美元，但我每周工作不到20小时，有一套免费公寓，包括免费水电。我几乎不缴税，还享有免费医疗保健。哦，还有每年超过4个月的假期。在这里，我赚的钱足够让我过上比我在英国工作时更高的生活水平，因为这里的生活成本较低。分配给我的公寓相当基础，但我住在校园里，所以非常方便。我只有一间卧室，一个客厅，厨房和带小阳台的卫生间。话虽如此，如果我结婚并有孩子，他们会给我一个适合我需求的住所。
原创翻译：龙腾网 https://www.ltaaa.cn 转载请注明出处

Having a relatively light work load means I can work on my own projects. If I need more work there's plenty of it out there and well paid too. Currently I'm finishing another degree, working on a Chinese speaking dictionary and running a gym in my free time.

相对较轻的工作负担意味着我可以致力于自己的项目。如果我需要更多工作，这里有很多，并且报酬也很高。目前，我正在完成另一个学位，制作一个中文词典，并利用空闲时间经营一家健身房。

In terms of quality of life I need time to fulfill my potential not money so from where I am life is much freer than it would be stuck in the system in the West. Anyway, it's not like I don't earn enough to have a good life materially.

在生活质量方面，我需要时间去发挥我的潜力，而不是金钱，所以在我所在的地方，生活比被困在西方体制中要自由得多。无论如何，我赚的钱足够我在物质上过上好日子。

In terms of convenience it's far more convenient living in China as compared to the US, UK and UAE three countries I have spent a lot of time in. For one it's much safer than the US and UK. The police are actually very reasonable and don't carry guns. They are certainly not that intimidating type I've witnessed in the US. Transportation is much better in China there are buses to everywhere, and in most cities including mine the underground is being laid. Taxi fares are subsidized to make them cheaper. It's fair to say China in terms of the infrastructure of its cities has passed the majority of US cities. To give you an example when I went to San Francisco I felt getting around to be not so convenient. There is high speed and normal speed railway crossing the entire country now that caters for different budgets, obviously the high speed railway is super convenient getting to Hong Kong now takes 4 hours whereas before it would be twelve. The cost of a ticket is about 20 dollars.

在便利性方面，与我在美国、英国和阿联酋度过的三个国家相比，生活在中国更加方便。首先，它比美国和英国更安全。警察实际上非常理性，不携带枪支。他们绝对不是我在美国见到的那种令人畏惧的类型。中国的交通要好得多，到处都有公共汽车，而且在大多数城市，包括我的城市，正在修建地铁。出租车费用得到补贴，使它们更便宜。可以说，就城市基础设施而言，中国已经超过了大多数美国城市。举个例子，当我去旧金山时，我觉得四处走动并不那么方便。现在全国范围内有高铁和普速铁路，适应不同的预算，显然高铁非常方便，现在去香港只需要4小时，而以前要12小时。一张票的价格约为20美元。

China is a huge country so there's plenty to see and do. If you speak Chinese all the better but even when I didn't people were usually helpful. Foreigners here will usually get a much better reception here than foreigners going to the UK.

中国是一个庞大的国家，所以有很多值得一看和一做的事情。如果你会说中文那就更好了，但即使我不会，人们通常也会乐于助人。在这里，外国人通常会受到比去英国的外国人更好的接待。

I find that now homelessness seems to be a much bigger problem in the UK now and on a trip to the USA I was shocked that in such a rich country there existed such poverty.

我发现现在英国的无家可归问题似乎更加严重，我在访问美国时震惊于在这样一个富裕的国家存在着如此贫困的现象。

The streets as I've already said are much safer here, to be a victim of a violent crime you would have to be really unlucky. However, be wary of pickpockets. The parks and squares are used by people dancing and doing their hobbies late into the night. British parks are no go areas at night.

正如我已经说过的，这里的街道要安全得多，成为暴力犯罪的受害者你必须非常不幸。然而，要小心扒手。公园和广场晚上常常被跳舞和进行业余爱好的人们使用。英国的公园在晚上是禁区。

The urbanization is greater here, going to say London makes me feel lonely, there's no one on the streets at night in most places, relatively speaking somewhere like London feels dead even compared to a small city like xiamen which is busy 247. As such doing some thing like eating out is more convenient places to eat are every where with fruit and freshly squeezed juice ubiquitous.

这里的城市化更加发达，比如去伦敦让我感到孤独，大多数地方晚上几乎没有人，相对而言，像厦门这样的小城市甚至与伦敦相比也繁忙。因此，像外出就餐这样的事情更加方便，到处都有吃的地方，水果和新鲜榨汁随处可见。

Of course there is the pollution but that's not such an issue where I am and it isn't for many other cities either. I went to the West of China recently to find it is rapidly developing. I came across beautiful towns and cities. I went through some places I had been ten years ago, the slums where gone and in their place new flats and clean orderly roads. No doubt this will continue to spread into the countryside. I was skeptical of everything when I first came to China but the changes I have witnessed have been incredible. This I keep reading in the Western press is the enemy, suppressing its own people and yet how can I have witnessed so much good.

当然，污染是一个问题，但在我所在的地方并不是那么严重，其他许多城市也一样。我最近去了中国西部，发现那里正在迅速发展。我发现了一些美丽的城镇。我穿越了我十年前去过的一些地方，贫民窟已经消失，取而代之的是新的公寓和干净有序的道路。毫无疑问，这将继续传播到农村。当我第一次来中国时，我对一切都持怀疑态度，但我所见证的变化令人难以置信。这正如我一直在西方媒体上读到的，即这是一个敌人，压制着自己的人民，然而我怎么能见证到这么多的好呢？

In terms of buying things online you can't beat taobao. Everything can be paid for using ali pay or wechat and as such the country is rapidly heading to a cashless society. The post is the best I've encountered anywhere in the world. There are collection depots everywhere and often they will ring and deliver to the exact place you are there and then.

在网上购物方面，淘宝无人能敌。一切都可以使用支付宝或微信支付，因此这个国家正迅速朝着无现金社会迈进。邮政是我在世界上任何地方遇到的最好的。到处都有集运站，而且通常他们会打电话并立即送到你所在的确切地点。

In terms of freedom of expression many Westerners feel much freer in China once they’ve escaped the all pervasive thought control called PC which doesn't allow people freedom of thought let alone freedom of speech. In China there will be criticism of the government in the media but not in terms of suggesting the solution is its overthrow. For example there is much reporting on corruption etc. Now of course the press is the mouth piece rather than Western business so one wouldn't expect too much criticism just like there is little in the way of the business press about overthrowing business.

在言论自由方面，许多西方人一旦摆脱了那种无所不在的所谓政治正确的思想控制，就会觉得在中国更加自由。在中国，媒体会对政府提出批评，但不会提出推翻政府的解决方案。例如，对腐败等问题有很多报道。当然，媒体现在更像是政府的喉舌而不是西方商业的喉舌，所以人们不应该期望太多的批评，就像商业媒体对企业推翻一样。
原创翻译：龙腾网 https://www.ltaaa.cn 转载请注明出处

In terms of daily annoyances some people find the constant attention they get as foreigners in some places too much, though this can be a good thing too. Queueing is still not great though way better than ten years ago. There is less spitting and smoking indoors than there was ten years ago too. So gradual improvements all round. Public transport though convenient can be crowded. Thing are still developing and some places look half finished though most places are thriving. My personal pet peeve is the poor quality workman ship of many of the new buildings.

在日常烦恼方面，一些人觉得在某些地方作为外国人受到的持续关注太多，尽管这也可能是一件好事。排队仍然不太好，但比十年前好多了。吐痰和室内吸烟的情况比十年前好多了。所以各方面都在逐渐改善。尽管便捷，但公共交通可能会拥挤。事物仍然在发展中，有些地方看起来还没有完工，尽管大多数地方都在蓬勃发展。我个人最讨厌的是许多新建筑的工艺质量较差。

To finish with a couple of good things I would say overall the Chinese have a praise culture even if you're bad at something they will give you a lot of encouragement for trying this is in contrast to British culture which is more elitist and unless you're actually good already you might well be mocked for your efforts in for example taking up a new sport. One other thing I must note is that despite all the news about corruption in China even in the Chinese press I have never paid a bribe to anyone this is in contrast to South East Asia where, from my experience, the Police regularly shake people down.

说到一些好的方面，我想总体而言，中国人有一种赞美的文化，即使你在某件事上不擅长，他们也会给予很多鼓励，这与英国文化形成鲜明对比，后者更加精英主义，除非你已经很擅长，否则你可能会因为尝试新运动等而受到嘲笑。我还要注意的另一件事是，尽管中国存在有关腐败的种种新闻，甚至在中国的新闻媒体中，我从未向任何人行贿，这与我在东南亚的经历形成鲜明对比，那里，从我的经验来看，警察经常 shake down 人们。

There are some great things about the West for example the air quality in the big cities and the historical buildings but the advantages of China are many and things are constantly improving.

西方有一些优点，比如大城市的空气质量和历史建筑，但中国的优势很多，而且事物不断改善。

原创翻译：龙腾网 https://www.ltaaa.cn 转载请注明出处