Dan Wang: belief

Transcript context

…I prefer Beijing. It has a better visual art scene. The state power there, I don’t like, but to me, it’s more interesting than the commercial nature of Shanghai, which I feel I can find in many places. I like the fact that in Beijing, I can get food from many different parts of China. In Shanghai, I’m never quite satisfied with the spicier foods of China. I get that it has better Cantonese food and southern flavors than what you would get in Beijing. Beijing does seem to me more bookish, better bookstores, and nonetheless more intellectual, just as an outside impression. The big ring roads, they’re terrible for walking, but once you’re in a neighborhood, it’s quite good for walking. There’s so many excellent restaurants. You can just stroll around. The fact that it’s scary, I don’t feel scared. I agree that Beijingers are much more fun to talk to. I think that the funniest two parts of China are, first, the southwest, which is Sichuan, Guizhou, as well as Yunnan, and second, Beijing. Beijingers are so much funnier. I think that the southwest is funny, Beijing is funny, Shanghai is not funny. The Shanghainese can’t crack good jokes. I don’t really understand what’s with that. If we can somehow just bring all of these Beijingers, and throw them into Shanghai, and then perish the Shanghainese up to the north, I would feel quite fine with that. I prefer Chengdu to Chongqing. I think Chongqing is visually spectacular in a way a few other parts of China are. That’s fun for me, but the greater refinement of Sichuan proper.…

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