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China Elevator Stories
Behind the Modern Facade: The Reality of Life in Siping
I have lived in four cities in China, and Siping was my least favorite.
28/10/2025
Ruth Silbermayr
Author
Siping is a city that doesn’t seem very interesting to me. When you see that there are a few shopping centers and parks, and that it looks like a modern city, you may wonder if maybe I’m asking for too much.
I have lived in four cities in China: Kunming, the capital of Yunnan Province; Shenzhen in Guangdong Province; Tai’an in Shandong Province; and Siping in Jilin Province. Of these four cities, Siping is the one I like the least. (I should mention that I didn’t move here of my own free will—I was tricked into moving here by my ex-husband when our son was a baby. I moved back this year because my sons live here.)
When I take one of the very affordable cabs, the drivers usually ask me how I like Siping. Sipingers are very proud of their city and tend to think of it as a superior place to live.
But to me, the lack of history in the buildings, the absence of truly ancient architecture or interesting landscapes, and the fact that most rivers, hills, and other public areas aren’t kept clean make it a city that doesn’t feel very enticing to live in.
I have talked to other people who have moved here from elsewhere in China, and those who came from bigger cities with more culture and history to offer tended to enjoy those cities more as well.
But cab drivers? They have a love for Siping that seems to come from being brainwashed since childhood—everyone constantly telling everyone else how great a city it is to live in. I don’t mind if someone truly loves their city without being racist or discriminating against people from other areas, but in Siping, this love seems more arrogant than genuine—more like a tendency to see themselves as superior to people from other cities in China.
I remember talking to a hairdresser from Harbin before I left Siping in 2019, and we both agreed it wasn’t a very interesting city to live in. He had also lived in Beijing and enjoyed its international flair.
Siping, though some residents have an international background, isn’t very international. There aren’t many foreigners, and locals tend not to meet up with them, make friends with them, or share much about their private lives—at least not as much as people in other parts of China tend to do.
When I lived in Shenzhen from 2012 to 2014, many cab drivers and other people I met on the street or in the subway confided private stories to me and shared their views on life.
In Siping, most people keep their opinions to themselves and aren’t very talkative. The atmosphere feels quite different from that of many other areas. I’ve met many people who had no interest in meeting foreigners, truly talking with them, or getting to know them, so finding people to meet up with has been nearly impossible. The American teachers who used to work on campus all left during the pandemic, and no new ones have arrived since.
Here in Siping, there’s mostly one single opinion everyone seems to share. This kind of one-sided view makes it seem as if people have been brainwashed. Where there are various stories and opinions, people think for themselves and share those opinions openly. But when the only narrative is that the city is a perfect place to live, that’s a gaslit belief.
It isn’t truly a bad place to live—many new high-rises have been built—though less comfortable living conditions can still be found, especially among those who can’t afford high-rise apartments. For example, one hairdresser I recently took my children to had their bed in a small backroom behind the salon, with direct access to the work area. The bed doubled as a sofa during the day, and the private toilet was also the one used by clients. The kitchen consisted of an electric stove placed on a small table right next to the bed. Such living conditions are common among people who can’t afford better housing.
Siping features plenty of shopping centers, a few Pizza Huts, and even a McDonald’s. Many of these shopping centers have been built in recent years, and they are proof that income levels vary widely—poorer residents certainly wouldn’t be able to afford the products sold there.
I have recently taken a few pictures so you can get a glimpse of what Siping looks like, since I hadn’t shared much of what it looked like before 2019 on my blog (not on purpose — I was simply busy taking care of my children and had little time for photography).
Have you ever been to Siping?
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