I am Mukhammadali, 28, from Uzbekistan. And I am now studying in International School of Shanghai University of Political Science and Law, majoring in International Economics and Trade. Having been living in this metropolis for the past four years, I have seen different people from different walks of life and have heard different stories from different sources. I would like to share them with you.

Mukhammadali poses for a photo in Shanghai, China.

Before coming to China, in particular to Shanghai, I used to have a totally different view on the country. This is all due to the fact that we don’t have a full understanding of China. This in turn ended up giving us a right or wrong impression of it. Those who have been in the country can easily figure out why it’s the case.

From my perspective, it might be because the outside world does not have the right access to Chinese media, which prevents them from seeing what the real life is out there. Because of this, what I knew back then was only a tip of the iceberg or let’s say what “others” want me to hear.

One of the false accusations was that all the products manufactured in China are of low quality, so we simply didn’t want to purchase stuff made in China. Another would be the food they eat, as the saying goes in Chinese: whatever moves in the water, land and air is eatable. These examples are just most common ones among foreigners, but there are plenty others if to make a list.

Regarding Xinjiang, what we would often hear was that people were mistreated through some policies which, I learnt later, actually target only illegal individuals or groups.

Yet, in 2019, my understanding of China started to alter from the moment I landed in Urumqi airport from Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan. The design and the size of the airport was so astounding that it made me think if this is an airport in mega cities.

Actually, looking at the city’s infrastructure, you can guess how developed a country is. When I arrived at Shanghai, transport system was like that of other European countries which confused me since China was in my imagination still a developing country without advanced developments and technologies. Here, the goods placed at market stalls for sale and services offered are of high quality.

So far, I have been able to acquaint with so many people who are originally from Xinjiang and work or study in Shanghai. All being well-educated and no different from other Chinese, they speak fluent and natural Mandarin, contrary to a stereotype of them.

Overall, I’ve been living my life in this city with great pleasures as I have learned how to use and enjoy eating with chopsticks, to drink more hot water for any kind of illness as it balances out body’s Ying-Yang, to stay humble and cool-headed, and to admire eye-catching late evening street dances by aunties, which is hard to experience in most other countries.

Mukhammadali is an Uzbekistani student studying in Shanghai University of Political Science and Law.

Planner: Jie Wenjin

Reviewers: Hou Weili and Cheng Li