What's the comparison between Beijing and Shanghai?

Personally, I prefer Beijing in some aspects and Shanghai in others. If I had to choose another undergraduate school, I would definitely choose to go to Beijing. But if you choose to go to graduate school, the weight of Shanghai may be much heavier. I'm afraid that schools with similar difficulties will choose Shanghai. If you choose a place to work, it must be Shanghai.

Generally speaking, I think it can be said to be "studying in Beijing, working in Shanghai and starting a business in Shenzhen". As for life, we should choose some medium-sized cities with developed economy, good air and good climate. Of course, this is beyond the scope of the topic, so I won't say more.

As far as the topic is concerned, if your life ideal is to become the middle class that most people in this society want to be and live a decent and quality life, then there is probably no better choice than Shanghai. The city of Shanghai is big enough, the platform is high enough, and there are enough career choices. As long as you have the basic consciousness of "obeying order and striving for progress", you will not worry about not finding a suitable job and living a decent life in Shanghai. If you are more talented and diligent, you may become a member of the upper-class rich in middle age.

Specifically, the main advantages of Shanghai are:

Far better than the management and planning level of all cities including Beijing;

A more disciplined and "professional" culture in society and the workplace.

Compared with Beijing's better air and transportation, it brings a better commuting experience. The air is influenced by the nearby areas, and it seems that the advantages compared with Beijing in the past two years are not so great. )

I live abroad, and when I go to Shanghai when I return home, I will feel that all aspects of Shanghai society are very orderly, decent and perfect, unlike China.

If we understand the history of life and consumption in various places during the Republic of China, we can understand that the development of Shanghai was actually due to the fact that China's modernization was confined to Shanghai for a long time. The "software" accumulated in Shanghai's century-old modernization is the reason why the city can operate in an unusually orderly way, which makes it look higher than those places in Gai Lou that have just learned to build roads.

Other interviewees said that Shanghai is characterized by a market economy, but I don't quite agree with them. In fact, if there is a free market spirit, I am afraid it will still be Shenzhen, as well as Guangdong and Fujian provinces in South China. In contrast, Shanghai is a "big government". The role of the government in the city's economic life is very obvious, and there are many state-owned enterprises. Shanghai's culture is more like German and Japanese technocrats, and the most important things are "order", "rules" and "professionalism". In fact, this culture is not so picky about state-owned or private enterprises. Whether it is public or private, people consciously want to take their own money and do what they should do. Therefore, the biggest advantage of Shanghai compared with other places is the efficiency of the government and state-owned enterprises. In Shanghai, even if you work within the system, you basically don't have to worry about the incompetence of your boss. Being able to achieve a certain position in Shanghai basically shows a certain ability. And seeing that many people with no background can succeed by their own ability and struggle, you know you can.

In fact, Beijing's own resources are not worse than Shanghai. Don't be fooled by the appearance of small counties in some parts of Beijing. Hidden Dragon Crouching Tiger, the Imperial Capital, is not only the political and cultural center of China, but also the actual economic center (in China, a semi-market economy country, the central government and central enterprises have great capabilities). The best people, things and things in China are basically concentrated in Beijing. I'm afraid there is no better place than Beijing to broaden your horizons and increase your knowledge.

But the problem is that these resources are gathered in Beijing in an unnatural way, and most of them will be redistributed in an unnatural way. If you don't have any connections and talent/charm/luck beyond mortals, most of these enviable resources will not be with you.

So for most people, although Beijing is very powerful, Shanghai is a more suitable place to work and live. Compared with undergraduate courses, graduate students need to be close to the place where they plan to develop for a long time, which is convenient for internship and job hunting, and the school's local recognition and resources are better. Considering that the same famous schools in Shanghai are often much more advanced than Beijing in academic level, training system and management system, it is generally a better choice in itself.

But if you want to say "feeling", then Beijing will also have advantages that Shanghai does not have. Perhaps it is because Beijing has long been the capital of a multi-ethnic country, which is located in the border of China. The interaction with different cultures is far more than that of Jiangnan Shanghai, which is adjacent to the core of China. The sources of immigrants are also more diversified. Beijing's culture and values are more diverse, and people who are "different" are more tolerant, and "dreams" are less ridiculed here. In addition, most Beijingers are enthusiastic, friendly to strangers and new classmates and colleagues, and relatively willing to take the initiative to help. When I first arrived in Beijing, although it was very cold in winter, I felt warmer inside.

If you like avant-garde art, underground music, small theaters, or have a minority hobby but want to meet a group of young people to enjoy this hobby, then there is probably no place in the country that can satisfy you better than Beijing. Jazz is also available in Shanghai, but how much is written by local people? Just as Shanghai is more developed than other China cities, Beijing is richer in spirit and culture than other China cities.

Whether a person is "successful" can generally guess a recognized conclusion in Shanghai. Although society provides many career choices, there seems to be only one criterion for judging any career, just like every notice on the blind date corner of People's Park, which can be roughly converted into a unified score. But not in Beijing. The same person, placed in the internet circle, film circle, independent music circle, university circle, financial circle and civil servant circle, will probably have completely different evaluations. Although the air in Beijing is dirty, this atmosphere is fresh air for everyone who is "different".

A little higher, according to the camp system of DnD, the culture advocated by Shanghai Beach is "order neutrality" (in the dimension of order-chaos, it is biased towards order, and in the dimension of good and evil, of course, these concepts are not exactly the same as what we usually understand). In the words of Shanghainese themselves, it is to "carry it clearly". Shanghai people are the least willing to interfere with other people's interests, but they are also the least willing to be interfered with their own interests. Shanghainese don't ask themselves or others to take the initiative to "do good", but everyone should be polite, abide by the rules of social operation in society, and have professionalism in their careers. Although if you come into contact with Shanghainese, you will find that there are many compassionate "good" people, and of course there are selfish "evil" people. But because the order is particularly well maintained, it is difficult for evil people to do harm; And because the values of "neutrality" are deeply rooted in people's hearts, kind people do not often show their kindness. When foreigners first arrive in Shanghai, most of them will feel that Shanghai is a little cold, which is probably the reason.

What about Beijing? The culture advocated by old Beijing probably conforms to the Confucian tradition of "keeping order and being kind to others", or, in the words of Beijing, "having face". Now it seems that "having face" has been misinterpreted as a real benefit, but in fact, "having face" originally means that a person can be respected both internally and externally. Be "benevolent" at heart, be able to sympathize with and help the weak, act with "righteousness" and have everyone's demeanor. Typical "orderly" people, such as the second grandmother in the mansion, several mainstream warrior images written by the medieval European paladin Jin Yong, or Ned Stark, the wolf father in ice and fire, and so on. Such people not only abide by the rules, but also take the initiative to defend the rules, punish evil and promote good. In an orderly and kind society, there are often no written rules. These "people" are "rules".

But the problem with this set of values is that this series of rules and orders derived from kindness or benevolence, that is, propriety, righteousness and faithfulness, are so complex and profound that in fact, in the traditional agricultural society, only a few places with the most developed education, such as Beijing and Jiangnan area headed by Suzhou, can be basically maintained. Even in Beijing, because several revolutions are the first to bear the brunt, this set of rules only exists in a few people with good nature and good family style, which is not enough to maintain the operation of the whole society. The unwritten rules are maintained by people, which is always not so reliable in China during the transitional period. So in fact, like most cities in China, the rules are not enough, but there are still bad people in society, and some of them are sheltered by systems or relationships, and there are many disgusting things.

Moreover, even if an "orderly and kind" culture can monopolize a society, if people don't understand and accept these creeds from the heart, there may not be fewer hypocrites than real gentlemen. Lu Xun's works seem to be full of benevolence, righteousness and morality, but there is "cannibalism" in the cracks. Even a real gentleman sometimes seems too arbitrary and infringes on personal freedom.

On the other hand, the culture of advocating goodness has always been preserved. If a Beijinger is really kind at heart, his social education will definitely encourage him to show this kindness. Moreover, influenced by this "face inside" culture, Beijingers are unlikely to be ashamed to help others like people in many places.

In addition, it is also because Beijing concentrated on the powerful old order (this old order can be traditional Confucian jurisprudence or authoritarian bureaucratic rule formed 49 years later) and also concentrated on the rebellion against the powerful old order. It seems that more people in Beijing adopt the values of "chaos" or "rebellion" than in other places. There are not only many rock bands in Beijing, but also many people who play rock. This is not without reason.

On the contrary, when Shanghai was founded, it was completely an immigrant city. There is no old order here, only a new order brought by foreigners. Moreover, foreigners who come here are mainly businessmen, and they have not brought almost the same complicated Christian ethics to China. It is enough to have the basic order of doing business and living. This order is neutral in the judgment dimension of "good and evil", so it is relatively simple and can be mastered without kindness. Because of its simplicity, this order has been well maintained, so up to today, Shanghai is the most disciplined and fair city in China.

Back to the topic, although I praised Shanghai and talked a lot about the benefits of Beijing, I think Shanghai should be more suitable for getting down to business than Beijing. People who like Beijing have probably already felt the benefits of Beijing. Whether they choose Beijing in the end or not, there is no need to ask others how they feel about Beijing. Most places in Shandong are no closer to Beijing than Shanghai. There is no reason to choose Beijing just because it is close to home.

However, the subject has been studying in Shanghai for several years, and then choose a place to study. I don't think going to Beijing for two years is necessarily impossible. If family conditions permit, it is always good to toss as much as possible. How people finally "realize themselves" depends on one's knowledge. And I am already familiar with Shanghai. Beijing is the best place to learn more in China. Even if you finally want to go back to Shanghai, maybe your experience in Beijing will make you cherish and love your life in Shanghai more.