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Posts: 188

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Q: Have you lived in a noisier place?

I've lived in a few countries, but have never encountered sooo much noise as I have done in China!

Between the shouting (can't seem to speak at a normal volume) the incessant honking of horns (for no apparent reason, except to say..HERE I AM! I'M COMING!!) , the continual contruction work, the loud music at shops & even when at the beach...etc.

Any thoughts??

9 years 10 weeks ago in  Culture - China

 
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try staying in my house for a day
after my kids a through with the violin ,pokemon battles, fighting over the tv remote and any number of day to day episodes China will seem tranquil

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7 years 50 weeks ago
 
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No I haven't, but then I knew when I came that China was going to be crowded, chaotic and noisy so I accept that as a part of my life here. I even like it a lot of the time.

 

Having said that, when I rented my apartment I was looking for a place in a quiet(ish) area and it mostly is that, my sanctuary from the noise and chaos.

 

When I move on I'll be going somewhere with a LOT less people and a slower pace of life. Big cities are exciting and fun in their own way, I'm glad I experienced it but I have found I'm more  a small town type of guy.

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9 years 10 weeks ago
 
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I have some Chinese friends that will be going go Australia soon. Even though I tell them that they cant speak so loudly there they don't listen. Lots of luck not getting shushed or thrown out of a restaurant. 

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9 years 10 weeks ago
 
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same as the bulk of them are myopic, they are deaf too.

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9 years 10 weeks ago
 
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About the horn blowing thing.... I recently had to go through the process of obtaining a Chinese driving licence and had a policeman (driving inspector) tell me it's a requirement to blow the horn for this reason and that reason.  Any reason, just blow the horn seemed to be his message.

He also said that the car had to be in 2nd gear by 20kph, 3rd gear by 30kph, 4th gear by 40kph and top gear by 50kph.  If I didn't adhere to this I'd fail the driving test.

Does driving this way ring any bells in the taxis you get into?

Moronic people.

 

bill8899:

Yea the horns. And they're always dragging the engine. I don't think they ever use engines at their optimum output and economy. I revved everything from Mustangs to Hondas to BMWs around 3k and got the best power and fuel economy. Oh well, it means nothing here. 

9 years 10 weeks ago
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laowaigentleman:

@bill. Me too. If you changed into 2nd gear by 20kph in any kind of car you'd be changing up at around 1500 to 1800 rpm.

I'll bet the reason why they tell students to drive like this is yet another "no why" situation.

I told my girlfriend to wait until she gets out of here to learn how to drive properly. Either that or just do as they say to get the ticket and have me teach her properly once she's legit. I don't think the latter is a good idea though because they'll teach her bad habits which she might not be able to break.

Have you seen the advertising for driving schools here? They show a vast army of students standing beside the car with their doors open in a long row. It's scary to think of how many mis-educated people there are out there. The owners of these schools are the types who bring their vast profits from their shonky services to speculate on property prices in western countries too.

Hopefully western politicians get the message before it's too late.

9 years 10 weeks ago
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andy74rc:

Here they do not teach to drive, they teach to move a car around.

On my way to the office, I drive along a 3 lane back road where everyday about 100 school driving cars gather for training. I see so many mistakes done.... it's just hopeless. To begin with the correct driving position, which is the very first thing to learn. Here 9 students out of 10 drive with the wheel under their chin.

Stupid morons teaching the next generation of idiots behind a wheel.

9 years 10 weeks ago
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yongge:

And of course very few drivers have mastered the art of driving at a consistent speed.  It is accelerate...ok, I got the target speed, better take my foot off the accelerator... oh, I am slowing down now, better give some gas...  Even some bus drivers do it, It drives me nuts

9 years 10 weeks ago
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DrMonkey:

Errr, yeah, it's like the big RPM indicator in the car is good for nothing... I mean, there's even a red zone painted on it.... but no, don't look at the RPM indicator, don't listen to that poor engine or the car that is vibrating because you are way too slow for to be on 4th gear.

9 years 10 weeks ago
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Visco8:

Also, I've been told by my students doing Driver's Test, that ALL the learning & Testing is done largely in a CARPARK, then after passing they go in a real life traffic situation, not before!!??

Now, does that make any bloody sense at all?

But, it does kinda expain the chaotic nature of drivers in China...

9 years 10 weeks ago
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9 years 10 weeks ago
 
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I remember getting a phone call from a friend in China before I had even come here and I was astounded by how noisy it was in the background. I asked what the hell was going off. And it turned out they were inside a building and it was the cars honking outside.....

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9 years 10 weeks ago
 
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Someone once told me that the reason the Chinese are so loud is because there are so many people everywhere that each person has to shout louder than the next just to be heard. I decided not to point out the problem with that type of "reasoning".

Garbo:

That's crap people in India don't speak that loudly and their population is enormous too.

9 years 10 weeks ago
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9 years 10 weeks ago
 
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well,Iraq was pretty loud.

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9 years 10 weeks ago
 
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I love it when two stores next to each other play different Chinese pop songs. You can't hear either song, and you can't hear anything else. 

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9 years 10 weeks ago
 
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What about the friggin' stalls at the market that have a recorded message played on repeat on a loudspeaker for the whole day : BLAH BLAH, BLAH BLAH, BLAH BLAH, hahaha this one drives me mad LOL 

Lord_hanson:

And even though they have the opportunity to record a clear message they still just mumble it on the recording.

9 years 10 weeks ago
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9 years 10 weeks ago
 
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China is by far... 1000x noiser than Canada. People are noisy all the damn time for no reason. It's like they have to prove to the Universe that they exist by making a lot of noise so that some unknown entity is like "yeah.. that guy is on my radar and he is important!"

 

In reality, it is quite pathetic for someone like me, because you can see that they are all insecure people that are trying really hard to win in some stupid pissing contest and that somehow proves their worth by being extremely noisy and annoying. 

 

It's not how much NOISE you make, it is what you do with your life and how many people you influence in a POSITIVE manner that dictates the worth of your existence... just my opinion. 

laowaigentleman:

I agree entirely

9 years 10 weeks ago
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Stiggs:

Me too.

9 years 10 weeks ago
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October1st:

I'm Chinese living in pretty noisy place. It only gets quiet in midnight. Some nights are pretty noisy till 1AM or so, and I carefully listened to the categories. Motocycles are still picking up passengers, small kids are still playing hard outside, some business are still going on...If do further analysis, it is all about societal issues, all about culture. It is useless or fragile to criticize or explain in your way. The country is undergoing the urbanization and anti-corruption process. I am not so optimistic to see big changes in a quick way. I have dealt with the government for noise issue, air pollution in the community...i was totally shocked..they (the government officials) do not have big wisdom to deal with the issues..all corrupted.

9 years 10 weeks ago
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From my own experience =>

* Vietnam is about the same as China in term of noise. People shout, and even feel stressed if a place is quiet. In a hotel, the TV is put to high volume, room's door opened.
* France is the world of silence in comparison. Back from Asia, the few first days, the silence is surprising, even in places I used to consider as noisy. I can hear a small tinnitus-like background noise than I can never hear in Asian.

Second-hand experience => A friend who worked in Nepal told me that Nepalese drivers are worse, they honk more.

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Shifu

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I lived in New York City for most of my life and no, I've never lived anywhere as noisy as China. I grew up in a third floor apartment on a main street in New York and we often heard sirens and the noise of traffic but fortunately the drivers are civilized there without honking constantly because they would have to pay a hefty fine for unnecessary use of the horn. I'm lucky now to live in an apartment complex off the main streets so it's generally quiet at home unless my neighbors are beating their kids or drilling at strange hours of the night. 

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I think the noise is often just another version of the materialism. With the materialism everything is about showing off, to make sure everyone sees you arrive in the expensive car, knows how much your house cost, how much your new coat or handbag cost, who your important father is, what your salary is etc. It's loud and obnoxious in another kind of way.

 

A lot of the screaming and bellowing just seems to me like another way to make people look at you and take notice of how 'important' you are.Or like to think you are.

dongbeiren:

I've noticed more honking from more expensive cars. I think you're onto something.

9 years 10 weeks ago
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Eorthisio:

Indeed, how many times I saw people pulling out their phone to fake talking with their friends on how expensive their new bag or coat is, or people making obnoxious noises hoping that others around look at them or notice them. It will always make me laugh how local men constantly feel the need to compare themselves with male expats here, as soon as they see a foreigner they need to pull out their iPhone or slow down with their car so you can notice them and they are secretly expecting that you will jealous them, especially noticeable when at the bus stops, no nice car slows down when passing in front of it until there is a foreigner waiting for the bus, then it's a real car show, sort of like "Haha you take the bus and I have a car, envy me!" "Yeah cool story bro.".

9 years 10 weeks ago
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Last place I lived.... the silence was deafening. You could hear your heart beat as you lay in bed.

royceH:

In space, no one can hear you scream.

9 years 10 weeks ago
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October1st:

Back in my hometown in China, it is also very quiet to hear the heartbeat. It is a small town with lovely people.

9 years 10 weeks ago
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In the west, little children often make a lot of noise when they feel neglected and want to attract attention. I wonder if therein lies the answer? (and of course the lack of consideration for anyone else's feelings or comfort).

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Two US Navy aircraft carriers. I was stationed on the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower

( CVN-69 ) and the USS Independence. ( CV-62 )  I was able to handle the noise 

of the aircraft operations but my goodness noise in China is deafening. 

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9 years 10 weeks ago
 
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No and I hate it how people make noises to be noticed by others, "Look at me I am important", "Look at me and my new handbag that you can't afford", "Jealous me!".

 

As Stiggs said it might be a result of capitalism more than Chinese culture, capitalism and poor social skills.

 

If you want me to notice you just walk to me with a friendly "Hello" or "Hey", you don't need to make noises, speak broken English or be obnoxious.

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If you have lived in any part of SE Asia, than China is blissfully quiet!

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7 years 50 weeks ago
 
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try staying in my house for a day
after my kids a through with the violin ,pokemon battles, fighting over the tv remote and any number of day to day episodes China will seem tranquil

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7 years 50 weeks ago
 
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