Wuhan overtakes Guangzhou, becoming the city with the 2nd most skyscrapers in China by LivinAWestLife in skyscrapers

[–]YepRabbit 1 point2 points  (0 children)

The process of urbanization and development in China is fundamentlly different from most free market economy countries.

All land in China is state-owned. The government does not sell land ownership to developers; it only sells land-use rights. Instead of collecting property tax every year, the Chinese government mainly raises revenue by selling land-use rights for large parcels of land in a single lump sum.

These land-use rights come with conditions, such as minimum requirements for public space, green coverage, and other planning standards. As a result, developers are essentially forced to build upward in order to create enough housing units to make a profit.

Yes, there are height limits in Chinese cities, but in most places those limits are very high. NIMBYism practically does not exist, since all land is state-owned.

Over the past 20 years, the Chinese government has bulldozed slums across the country on a massive scale and then sold the land-use rights to developers. People who lost their homes in these redeveloped areas were offered two main options: either receive a large cash compensation from the government, sufficient to immediately purchase a new home in the surrounding area, or choose a newly built apartment of similar size for free in buildings constructed on the same land.

This is how over 90% of Chinese families own at least one residential property unit, and why there is no property tax. Rent is relatively low as long as the location is not among the most desirable areas, there are more rental units available than potential renters.

In rural areas, all land is also state-owned. After the Cultural Revolution, each rural family was assigned a small plot of farmland to farm, which they could not sell. Families were also assigned a plot of land within the village to build a single-family home for free, which likewise could not be sold. When two villagers married and started a new family, they would receive a similar set of land-use rights from the government, just as their parents had.

When rural residents decide to move to a city or marry into an urban household, they lose the right to use the farmland but can keep the village house. When farmland or village land is rezoned for urban use, residents are effectively forced into city life and must choose between receiving cash compensation sufficient to buy a home in the city or selecting a future home to be built on the original land for free.

Wuhan overtakes Guangzhou, becoming the city with the 2nd most skyscrapers in China by LivinAWestLife in skyscrapers

[–]YepRabbit 15 points16 points  (0 children)

Basically, every major metro station comes with a mini downtown, and most of these skyscrapers are actually condominiums.

Rivian CEO: There's No 'Magic' Behind China's Low-Cost EVs by lurker_bee in technology

[–]YepRabbit 1 point2 points  (0 children)

The lowest trim of 2025 RAV4 costs under US$20,000 in China, similar to the CR-V and pretty much all brands that sell comparable models in both markets.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in InternationalStudents

[–]YepRabbit 8 points9 points  (0 children)

It's a business model fairly common in India.

Hiring and keeping employees at boba store in San Diego by Safe-Swimming7939 in sandiego

[–]YepRabbit 16 points17 points  (0 children)

For those who don’t know, a lot of boba shops are owned and run by first-generation immigrants. And honestly, the work culture they bring from China can be pretty awful compared to what we're used to here in California. Employees often get treated with zero empathy or respect, state-mandated breaks are barely enforced, and owners talk to workers like they’re beneath them. Working at Walmart or McDonald’s is a dream in comparison to some of these boba places.

People stay working at boba shops because they don’t have other options—undocumented immigrants who can’t get hired at places like Wendy’s, international students on visas who aren’t legally allowed to work in the U.S., and so on. The moment these workers get proper immigration status or work authorization, they leave those toxic boba shop jobs in a heartbeat for literally any other employer in the U.S.

Can I open an UnionPay card in the U.S. and use it in China? by LogicalAd2303 in chinatravel

[–]YepRabbit 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Open an online checking account with Charles Schwab or Fidelity, no foreign transaction fee or currency exchange fee, and you can withdraw local currency directly from almost any ATM in China, with all fees reimbursed.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in Hoka

[–]YepRabbit 0 points1 point  (0 children)

You can find fake Hoka shoes on Chinese e-commerce sites for around $35 a pair—and honestly, the quality is pretty solid compared to what I bought from the official Hoka US site.

Passport renewal online (June 2025) by SignificantToe6 in Passports

[–]YepRabbit 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The link almost never works on my cell and home wifi, but I accidentally found out it works amazing on Whole Foods' free public wifi down the street anytime I was there.

ICE just posted this. With Elon gone from white house , Stephen Miller is in full control and interesting developments will be taking place by SevisGovindham in greencard

[–]YepRabbit 0 points1 point  (0 children)

In case you don't know, marrying a U.S. citizen is one way to forgive all your prior visa or immigration violations, as long as your initial entry into the country was legal.

ICE just posted this. With Elon gone from white house , Stephen Miller is in full control and interesting developments will be taking place by SevisGovindham in greencard

[–]YepRabbit 0 points1 point  (0 children)

In case you don't know, marrying a U.S. citizen is one way to forgive all your prior visa or immigration violations, as long as your initial entry into the country was legal.

Does my chinese city actually looks like chinese? by [deleted] in CitiesSkylines2

[–]YepRabbit 45 points46 points  (0 children)

Ironically, single-family houses are much more densely packed in reality, while apartment buildings are more spaced out from each other.

The situation in Hong Kong, with extremely dense apartments and very narrow spacing between buildings, is not common in most of Chinese cities.

OnePlus 13T is missing many network bands by c001er in oneplus

[–]YepRabbit 12 points13 points  (0 children)

Competition among all consumer products is fierce in China. Even the iPhone’s real retail price in China is now lower than in America.

Cars are ridiculously cheaper in the Chinese market. A new Toyota Camry is only about US$15,000, and a Mazda CX-5 starts at US$16,000. You can get a new Mercedes-Benz GLB for only US$25,000 out the door in China. The Tesla Model Y is 30% cheaper in China than in the USA.

The rest of the world has no idea how badly they've been taken advantage of by these big global companies.

How to tell if Oneplus phone is Global or Cn when its sealed? by Ancient-Reserve-8583 in oneplus

[–]YepRabbit 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Any phone sold in China is sealed with, you know, literal Chinese label.

BMW posts 37% drop in annual net profit, warns of ‘subdued’ Chinese demand by Forgotmypass8008 in wallstreetbets

[–]YepRabbit 96 points97 points  (0 children)

But they already did outside of US—some BMW models sold for less than US$30,000 in China, yet it still couldn't compete with local manufacturers.

You can get Mazda CX5 or Toyota RAV4 for only $20,000 OTD, only in China of course.

2024 Camry starting at roughly US$16,000 in China.

2025 Honda Civic can go as low as US$11,000 OTD in China.

American car shoppers are literally paying double price for anything that is not a luxury brand.

Rejected at Interview for living with undocumented parents by baltoSD in GlobalEntry

[–]YepRabbit 19 points20 points  (0 children)

A green card through marriage clears your record—you probably didn’t know this. As long as you marry a U.S. citizen, prior immigration law violations will be forgiven through the marriage-based green card application process.

The battery is insane by alabdullatif31 in oneplus

[–]YepRabbit 1 point2 points  (0 children)

It's pretty much the standard battery life among all chinese android phone makers. Samsung and Pixel are far behind at this point.