Last Saturday, November 27, the Guangzhou Asian Games ended, which has intensely marked the sports news in China during the last two weeks. Apart from sporting achievements (China has swept away 199 gold medals, ahead of South Korea with 76 and Japan with 48), Guangzhou has tried to position itself as one of the most attractive cities in the country and the continent. This city in southern China also has some of the best and most influential media in the country, who have tried to show their chest and defend “their city” during these days. A good example is the list of “60 reasons to love Guangzhou” published by Southern People Weekly and translated below.

If they have forgotten any reason, you can leave them in the comments. Another good example of this Guangzhou defense was featured in Southern Weekly at the start of the Asian Games. In a report entitled ” Guangzhou invites you to criticize “, this weekly defended the critical capacity of Cantonese society and the humility of its politicians.

TRANSLATION

60 reasons to love Guangzhou .

(By Southern People Weekly, Nanfang Renwu Zhoukan , 南方 人物 周刊)

1. As it is close to Hong Kong, you can always go there to get some fresh air.

2. It is far from Beijing.

3. Tiene medios de comunicación valientes, se puede criticar a los funcionarios a nivel de departamento [el inmediatamente inferior al nivel ministerial], y antes de los Juegos Asiáticos también se podía criticar a mansalva las molestias que las obras de construcción han provocado sobre la población.

4. Los funcionarios a menudo salen en los periódicos respondiendo a las quejas de la población y pidiendo perdón.

5. Tiene un gobierno relativamente moderado que no abusa de su poder, y que ante el descontento popular se muestra receptivo y cauteloso con el uso de la fuerza.

6. Enriquece a la gente.

7. Sus poderosos representantes en la Asamblea Popular Nacional suelen pedir cuentas a los funcionarios del gobierno: esto ya se ha convertido en un fenómeno de Guangzhou en la Asamblea Popular Nacional.

8. Government offices do things according to the rules, and do not deliberately create nuisance or prevarication.

9. It is the city in China with the highest density of gyms and stadiums, with a climate that makes it suitable for practicing sports all year round.

10. It has a huge number of very peculiar bars.

11. It has buildings of very varied styles, with a mixture of the eastern and the western.

12. Food stalls everywhere.

13. Banks and ATMs anywhere.

14. The best art museum in China: the Guangdong Museum.

15. Lots of sports competitions throughout the year.

16. Guangzhou women who like to make soup.

17. Mountains and rivers in the city, and many lakes – the best natural conditions of all top-ranking Chinese cities.

18. The whole city is covered in green. It is one of the best cities in terms of green areas, and it has a lot of parks.

19. With a rich interior, Guangzhou harmoniously coexists with neighboring cities in the Pearl River Delta.

20. The Guangzhou Government is able to turn a business center like Tianhe into a green zone, where the price of land is gold.

21. Most schools and universities are open to the public: citizens can go as listeners to a university class and enjoy the atmosphere and sports facilities of the campuses.

22. In the parks there are hardly any fences, and generally they are all free.

23. An entire family can use the social security card of one of its members (a recently implemented measure).

24. Professional and silent taxi drivers (in many cities taxi drivers are very noisy, and that is something that bothers a lot).

25. People who do not show envy or hostility towards those who come from outside.

26. It is the Promised Land of those who fight to defend the rights of Chinese citizens. From the environment and the autonomy of the districts to the protection of the local dialect, the Government offers a moderate treatment.

27. After a protest march, people spontaneously clean up the garbage.

28. China’s more mature civil society, with a middle class that has an increasingly solid understanding of its rights and duties, of struggle and commitment.

29. A reflection of modernity and tradition: it is one of the most modern cities in China, although it fully maintains its traditions and customs.

30. Kind and courteous personal relationships, and with a fairly high number of people giving up their seats on buses.

31. In business, they are fairly fair, and you are seldom deceived.

32. No language or dialect is discriminated.

33. It is the first rank city with the cheapest housing.

34. Residential neighborhoods with a higher average level (in design, in ecology, in housing maintenance …)

35. It has [the media group] Nanfang Daily (南方 报业).

36. They have the opinion columns of the Southern Metropolis Daily (南方 都市报).

37. They have Chen Yang (陈扬) [a TV presenter], an old man from Guangzhou who loves to insult using the Guangzhou dialect.

38. Hong Kong TV and news can be watched (although they run into obstacles from time to time)

39. If it is true that the customer is God and you want to be God, come to Guangzhou.

40. A city with roots, and with the largest and best preserved old town in the country.

41. There are areas in the city center where people with low incomes and manual workers have a place to take shelter (a pity that there are fewer and fewer)

42. The city where it is more difficult to distinguish between rich and poor, in which workers and millionaires dress the same, all eating in the street in a T-shirt, short-sleeved pants and sandals.

43. In Guangzhou you can find the tastiest dishes in the world.

44. When going out in the middle of a winter night, you don’t have to worry about not finding things to eat.

45. Smells like fruit during all seasons.

46. ​​Cantonese Chinese and Cantonese music, so beautiful to the ear

47. It is the most tolerant city (rich and poor, black and white, thieves, sex workers… Guangzhou accepts them all)

48. The cost of living is lower than in Beijing, Shanghai or Shenzhen, and the quality of life is not at all lower.

49. There are many branded products, but counterfeits are also very competitive.

50. A wide variety of pirated CDs and DVDs (about this there is some controversy)

51. As it is a place that has been open to foreign trade for many years, the people are friendly, tolerant and open; Guangzhou people attach great importance to agreements, abide by the rules, and are easily accessible.

52. A few kilometers outside the city there is sea to the south and mountains to the north, with places to rest everywhere.

53. The streets are not wide, and they are more suitable for walking and for having small businesses (the streets of some cities are more suitable for the hordes of tourists)

54. Every Sunday there is a public forum organized by the Southern Metropolis Daily (南方 都市报), in which leading Chinese scholars interact with citizens on a regular basis.

55. Every month, under a large tree in a garden, the Yangcheng forum is held, the content of which is closely linked to the lives of ordinary people. In each edition, the delegates of the National People’s Congress and government officials have a face-to-face exchange with the population.

56. It is not the city with the highest GDP in China, but it is one of the cities with the most charitable donations per person.

57. Generally, the people of Guangzhou are proud of their city.

58. You can watch the Premier League for free .

59. All the mayors that Guangzhou has had have been able to stay in that city working for several years. It makes one think of a certain mayor of a certain city in a certain province, who had just been “elected” “by the National People’s Congress”, and that after losing the great trust that his people had placed in him, three months later, he went to Beijing to assume the position of minister.

60. Freedom.

Fountain

► Via Oh My Media !!!: 60 reasons to love Guangzhou