Beijing is best

A lot of people laugh when I tell them about the stereotypes for different regions/provinces in China. Beijingers, and people from the north in general, are easy going and straightforward. Southerners, like Shanghainese, are meticulous and good with money. Some provinces are "pure" whereas others are where all the crooks are born. I guess there's nothing like it in the States, besides Southerners being "slow", West Coast hippie surfers, and an all around ridicule of Texans I never really understood.

Particularly deep rooted in China, is the rivalry between Beijing and Shanghai. I of course rep Beijing pretty hard, and you can definitely tell when I talk. Growing up in a place where people talk about Shanghai with a grimace and head shake, I couldn't help but fall into that.

In my limited experience living here, I can see where the stereotypes come from. To an outsider, Shanghainese are very exclusive. People here speak a dialect that is incomprehensible to outsiders. Even if you learn it, locals can tell immediately whether you're an old-timer. Someone actually scoffed at me when I said I wanted to learn some Shanghainese. Geez. They're also known to be snobby. Girls here are more fashionable and have "delicate features" as they say, but they're also high maintenance and difficult to warm up to.

They certainly have biases about Beijingers, too. To them, we're dirty, unsophisticated, sloppy, and someone said we smell like garlic. Pretty much hot mess status.

The garlic thing aside, I could kind of see it. We're kind of a bunch of rascals. We laugh like maniacs and talk like crude tomboys. And we really don't give a f***. I kind of like it. We keep it real, and what's more important than that? So, sorry Shanghai, you're cool but Beijing is best.