Chinese visitors to the US are usually disappointed. American visitors to China are usually impressed. Why?

中国人去美国通常会失望，美国人来通常中国会惊叹，这是为什么呢？

以下是Quora网友的评论：

Emma Robin

There is a popular saying in China that says, "If you love someone, send them to New York because it's heaven; if you hate someone, send them to New York because it's hell. This quote is a good illustration of the sense of tear in American society and the international image of the United States.

中国有句俗话：“如果你爱一个人，送他去纽约，因为那里是天堂；如果你恨一个人，也送他去纽约，因为那里是地狱。”这句话很好地说明了美国社会和国际形象的撕裂感。

All along, thanks to the propaganda and reports of the Western media day after day, people imagine the United States to be a truly modern, technologically advanced, de ocratic and egalitarian country. Like This.

一直以来，因为西方媒体日复一日的宣传和报道，人们把美国想象成一个摩登现代、科技先进、皿煮平等的国家。

The Chinese also have a home-like fascination with the United States - the idea that America is full of wealth and that the other side of the ocean is paradise. In the 80s and 90s there was a "exodus" of Chinese to the United States.

中国人对美国也有一种理想家园般的迷恋——认为美国富得流油，大洋彼岸就如天堂般的所在。八九十年代，有一大批中国人“出走”美国。

However, after arriving in the United States, many people realized that the United States was not a paradise, and was even much more run-down and dirty than they had imagined. The gun battles in the streets, the smell of drugs in the streets, the "long history" of racial discrimination, and the political disagreements in recent years, such as the Capitol Hill riots, have all seriously affected the image of the United States and the impression of the country in people's minds. This is not how a post-Cold War superpower, a country known for its wealth and openness, should be perceived.

但很多人到了美国后才发现，美国并非天堂，甚至远比他们想象中的要破败肮脏许多。街头巷尾的枪战，毒品的气味，种族歧视的“悠久历史”，以及近年来的政治分歧，如国会山骚乱等，都严重影响了美国的形象和美国在世人心目中的印象。冷战后的超级大国、一个以财富和开放著称的国家不应该是这般模样。

Instead, China has been historically demonized by the West and portrayed by the Western media as a closed, backward, ignorant and even dic orial country. People imagine China as a country where people dress in rags and ride bicycles to make their way through cities with poor facilities. However, China, as a socialist country, has achieved a remarkable growth rate in recent years, and has topped the list of China's contribution to the world economy for many years. Their cities are highly modern and clean, their people live and work happily, and their living conditions far exceed those of the average develo country. This is the real China！

相反，中国在历史上一直被西方妖魔化，被西方媒体描绘成一个封闭、落后、无知的国家。在西方人的想象中，中国是这样的一个国家：人们穿着破烂，骑着自行车在设施简陋的城市里穿梭。但事实上，中国作为一个社 会主义国家，近年来在经济增长方面速度惊人，对世界经济的贡献连续多年居于世界首位。中国城市现代化程度高，环境干净整洁，人民工作生活愉快，生活水平远远超过发展中国家的平均水平。这才是真正的中国！

Walking through the streets of Shanghai, you don't get the impression that this is a backward socialist country as portrayed by the Western media. When you walk into the city, the everyday, life-affirming life of the people is completely different from the oppressive life under the dict-torship portrayed by the Western media. The huge contrast portrayed by the Western media amazes Western tourists, especially American tourists, when they arrive, as it is completely at odds with their prejudices. Not to mention that China is also the country with the largest cultural heritage in the world, with the sea, mountains, deserts, forests and grasslands ...... The travelers from all countries want to enjoy despite everything.

走在上海的大街上，你不会觉得这是西方媒体描绘的落后的社 会主义国家。当你走近这座城市，人们的日常生活跟西方媒体所描绘的水深火热的生活完全不同。与西方媒体所描绘的情形产生的巨大反差让西方游客，尤其是美国游客，一落地就感到震惊，因为这与他们以往的成见天差地别。更不用提中国还是拥有全球最多文化遗产的国家，有山有海有沙漠有森林有草原......世界各地的旅行者都想一饱眼福。

How can such a huge contrast not impress people? Americans need to put aside their prejudices, listen to less media nonsense, and take a trip to China to see for themselves what the fastest growing country in the world looks like.

如此巨大的反差怎能不让人印象深刻呢？美国人要抛开偏见，少听媒体胡说八道，亲自去中国走一趟，亲眼看看这个世界上增长速度最快的国家是什么样子。

Nivek Krutiy

I’m not an American or Chinese but I can understand why because I’ve been to both places.

My expectation of the US before I went there was that it’s one of the most sophisticated countries in the world. While it is true to some extent, it is not in some aspects. For instance, most of the roads there aren’t as smooth as some other developed countries that I’ve been to. Even the roads in Chinese cities are smoother and shinier. The public transportation, frankly, sucks, especially when compared to China’s very advanced trains and buses. New York is very filthy and shabby compared to China’s Shanghai and Beiing. Many buildings in the US feel like they’re stuck in the 80s-90s which I actually like though. Los Angeles today almost look the same as it was in 80s movies. The majority of American airports feel very 80s-90s.

我既非美国人，也非中国人，但我能理解为什么会出现这种情况，因为这两个地方我都去过。

我去美国之前，觉得美国是全世界最发达的国家之一。虽然在某种程度上这种想法是对的，但在某些方面事实并非如此。比如，美国大部分道路都不如我去过的其他发达国家的道路平坦。甚至中国城市的道路也比美国的更平、更新。坦率地说，美国的公共交通实在糟糕透顶，尤其是跟中国发达的火车和公共汽车系统相比。跟中国的上海和北京比起来，纽约非常肮脏破旧。美国的许多建筑感觉都是80 -90年代风格，其实我还挺喜欢的。今天的洛杉矶跟80年代电影里的洛杉矶几乎一模一样。大多数美国机场也感觉停留在80 -90年代。

As for China, before I went there (To Mainland China, not Hong Kong.), I was expecting the country to be backward and shabby and dull. While it was true to some extent during my first visit in 2009, it wasn’t as bad as I thought. The city centers feel exactly like a developed country and are impressively very clean. The city centers in Shenzhen made me feel like I was in Japan. I came to China again in 2013 and I was even more impressed. Roads are shiny smooth, cities are clean, infrastructure feels high quality, and contemporary-looking buildings everywhere. The Made-In-China bullet trains work like a charm. It’s not the China that I used to imagine it to be.

Basically, China is a develo country that feels like a developed country while the US is a developed country that does feel like a developed country to some extent but is oddly backward at some aspects.

至于中国，在我去中国之前（我是说中国大陆，不是中国香港），我以为会是一副落后、破旧和沉闷的景象。虽然2009年我第一次去中国时在某种程度上确实如此，但也并没有我想象中的那么糟糕。市中心感觉就是发达国家，非常干净。深圳的市中心让我仿佛身在日本。2013年我再次来到中国，印象更加深刻。道路平整，城市干净，基础设施质量高，到处都是现代风格的建筑。中国制造的高铁运行时极具魅力。这已经不是我曾经想象中的中国了。

总体而言，中国是一个让人有发达国家感觉的发展中国家，而美国就是一个发达国家，但在某些方面很奇怪地落后了。

Ty Doyle

I'd point the finger at two things: first, there is an enormous perception gap. Your typical American has been told for a generation that China is a “develo economy,” which is basically a code word for “poor place” in the West. China is also known for  a place where laborers work around the clock to make Americans t-shirts and iPhones. So yes, when Americans visit the best parts of China - and they tend only to visit the best parts - and see cityscapes that are every bit as nice as back home (nicer in some spots), it's not surprising that people say “wow, that wasn't what I was expecting!” Call it ignorance, call it arrogance/racism, call it whatever: the bottom line is that your typical American has overly low expectations for Asian destinations other than Japan (a lot of Americans imagine Tokyo the same way I suspect other people imagine New York or L.A.).

我要说的有两点：首先，大家存在巨大的认知差距。典型的美国人从小被灌输中国是一个“发展中经济体”，这基本就等同于西方的“贫穷地区”。他们还认为中国工人们昼夜不停地为美国人生产T恤和iPhone。所以，当美国人看到中国最发达的地区时——他们往往也只去最好的地方——看到的城市风景和美国一样棒(甚至有些地方比美国更好)，人们不禁说“哇，这跟我想的不一样啊！”这并不足为奇！你可以说他们无知，傲慢/种族主义，随便你怎么说都行；其实就是典型的美国人对日本以外的亚洲国家的期望太低了。

In contrast, Hollywood culture is omnipresent, and it sends a message to the world that Americans live ridiculous, opulent lives in amazing, exciting places. So people arriving to crowded, dirty cities and unimpressive accommodations if they can't afford a decent hotel room (a lot of Chinese travelers are not wealthy by American standards) kinda bursts that bubble.

相比之下，好莱坞文化无所不在，它向世界传达着一个信息：美国人在令人惊叹、令人兴奋的地方过着荒唐而奢华的生活。所以，当人们踏上拥挤、肮脏的美国城市，舍不得入住像样的酒店(按照美国的标准，很多中国游客都算不上富裕)，这个想象的泡沫就会瞬间爆裂。

Second, because of language barriers, a lot of Chinese tourists understandably travel in Chinese group tours. When I lived in San Francisco, this would always be the time of year when I'd see the buses traveling around the city. What always struck me was how much time they spent in parts of the city that weren't that great. I get, for example, that a Chinese tourist might want home cooking in the same way that an American abroad might crave a hamburger, but it always seemed to me as though the tours missed a lot of what makes the city interesting. In contrast, if you're an American in a major Chinese city, you can usually find enough people who speak English to get around fairly easily.

其次，因为语言障碍，很多中国游客会选择跟团旅游。我在旧金山住过，每年这个时候我都会看到公交车在城市中穿梭。让我印象深刻的是，他们在城市不太光鲜的地方花了许多时间。例如，我明白中国游客想吃点中餐，就像旅居国外的美国人想吃汉堡一样，但在我看来，这种行程会错过这座城市许多有趣的地方。但如果你是一个美国人，通常可以在中国的大城市里找到不少会说英语的人，出行就便利许多。

Robert Hill

I remember reading some answers a while back on Chinese people's impressions of New York City.

The overwhelming consensus was that it was a big disappointment for them.

They had expected the most important city in the world to be modern, clean as a whistle, super safe, and kitted out with all the latest infrastructure, much like many of the new top tier metropolises being built in China and other develo countries.

But what they got was a city that was smelly, streets lined with garbage bags, rats roaming, an underground system belonging to the Victorian era, homeless people sharing the sidewalk, and an undercurrent of violence and crime they weren't used to.

我记得前阵子看过一些关于中国人对纽约印象的回答。

他们有一个压倒性的共识，纽约让他们非常失望。

他们曾设想这座世界上最重要的城市非常现代化、干净、安全，拥有最新的基础设施，就像中国和其他发展中国家正在建设的新一线大都市一样。

但他们看到的是一个臭气熏天的城市，街道上堆满了垃圾袋，老鼠四处游荡，维多利亚时代的地下排水系统，流浪汉霸占着人行道，更有他们未曾见识的暴力和犯罪。

It's New York City.

Like you go there precisely because it has an edge. It has character and characters. It has a vibrancy and urgency. It's got the world's wealthiest and some of the biggest wealth discrepancies anywhere in the world. It's beautiful and ugly.

I mean, isn't all that a known quantity for pretty much the entire world?

Who goes to New York City and expects to find Singapore or Shanghai?

这就是纽约。

你去纽约，是因为它有个性。它活力四射、节奏极快。它是世界上最富有的都市，也是世界上贫富差距最大的地方。它有美的一面，当然也有丑的一面。

我想说的是，这难道不应该是世人皆知的道理吗？

谁会去到纽约，却想寻找新加坡或上海的影子呢？

Mr. Y.C

The population of Los Angeles is just about 4 million while Shanghai is 27 millions. LA has about 70,000 homeless people living on the streets, they set tents everywhere, they shit and use drugs on the streets. How many homeless in Shanghai? 70, 10 or 7? Probably 0. Once I stayed in Shanghai for 2 weeks and I didn't see any homeless.

洛杉矶的人口只有400万，但上海足有2700万。洛杉矶有大约7万无家可归的人露宿街头，他们到处搭帐篷，在街上拉屎吸毒。上海有多少流浪汉呢？70、10还是7？搞不好一个都没有吧。我曾在上海呆了两周，一个流浪汉都没看到。

Patrick Jones

Not true. I visited Beiing for 5 days in 2011, and found it to be exceedingly crowded with cigarette smoke and smog everywhere. The traffic was unending. At the zoo, I encountered long lines and fighting patrons.

对我而言不是这样的。2011年我在北京呆了5天，随处可见烟雾和雾霾，非常拥挤。交通堵塞没有尽头。我在动物园见识了长长的排队队伍，还有人大打出手。