Part 6, the final part of my series on Living in China.

9/ safety since I first arrived in China I have always felt it is a safe place to be, much safer than many cities or countries elsewhere in the world that I have visited. Even walking late at night I have felt safe and not under any threat as is apparent elsewhere in the world. Generally you do not see too much drunkenness, occasionally yes, but individuals rather than groups or mobs. Families, especially children are valued here much more than I have seen in other countries. A Chinese friend of mine once told me that the Chinese are very friendly, but do not make an enemy of a Chinese person. Maybe they are friendly but not forgiving.

10/ population, pollution and smoking currently I am living in the city of Wuhan, the capital city in Hubei province with a population of over 10 million people. It can get very crowded, travelling by bus or on the metro can be claustrophobic, and traffic during the morning and evening rush hours is notorious for how long it takes to cover a short distance. In China a small city is regarded as having one million residents or less, I have lived in some of these smaller cities as well as country towns. The advantages of living in a large city far outweigh those of elsewhere just through the public transport. In small towns public transport (usually only buses) in general will stop operating in the early evening.

I have often read of the pollution in China, in Beijing there are problems with the smog level. Elsewhere it is much better, Wuhan generally has clear skies and fresh air is not a problem. Back in Harbin in 2007, I remember the color of the snow shortly after it had settled, turning black through pollution, and children out playing in the snow.

My last point in this article is smoking; it is very cheap to smoke here so lots do. There is a no smoking policy on public transport where it is generally enforced, in restaurants it is not always observed so strictly. People in China do not seem to be aware of the effects of passive smoking, younger generations are becoming educated into the dangers that smoking brings but their older peers are too stubborn or entrenched in their smoking habit to listen.

Overall it is an enjoyable experience living in China. From time to time it can be frustrating but I do not see myself rushing back to rejoin the rat race I left behind back in 2010.