Dania Faruqui, a Bengaluru-based startup founder, has sparked a wide-ranging dialog on LinkedIn after sharing her first-hand expertise of visiting China’s lesser-known metropolis of Shantou. What started as a analysis journey into wearable electrical tech was a deep dive into China’s city innovation, infrastructure, and public planning — far past what she had anticipated.
“My thoughts acquired completely blown away in China,” wrote Faruqui, reflecting on her twenty ninth day as a full-time entrepreneur with no wage. The founder mentioned she had initially been exploring China’s developments in wearable tech, the place it ranks as a world chief in high-quality manufacturing. A spontaneous choice led her to journey to Shantou — a metropolis the locals described as “small,” however which, by Indian requirements, felt something however small.
“I anticipated it to be like a small city in India — perhaps underdeveloped, slow-paced — however Shantou shattered each stereotype,” Faruqui shared.
She described:
- EV cabs zipping by metropolis roads at 120 km/h
- Meticulously deliberate roads with separate lanes for pedestrians, two-wheelers (all electrical), and four-wheelers
- Clear streets, seen greenery, and an Air High quality Index (AQI) of 5 regardless of it being an industrial hub
- Seamless city planning, high-rise buildings, and flyovers at each flip
- Surprisingly reasonably priced journey and lodging (together with a Sheraton at ₹5,000 an evening)
Flights inside China, she famous, had been astoundingly low-cost — with bookings between main cities obtainable for underneath ₹5,000 simply days prematurely. Even the 120-km airport commute took solely 75 minutes.
What left the deepest impression, nonetheless, was the sense of societal mindfulness and inclusion. “From eating places to buying malls, there have been exercise areas to have interaction kids — Lego tables, clay corners, even small fish tanks for youths to play. Most kids weren’t glued to screens. That stage of planning doesn’t occur accidentally,” she famous, hinting at potential authorities mandates or robust public coverage behind such integration.
Regardless of being a solo girl traveler who didn’t communicate Mandarin, Faruqui described her expertise as “secure, respectful, and surprisingly welcoming.”
The viral publish struck a chord with netizens, lots of whom echoed her sentiment that China’s home infrastructure has lengthy outpaced public notion — particularly in India.
“Completely eye-opening… if you block out the exterior noise, you may focus deeply on nation-building,” mentioned one person.
One other commented, “That they had this scale and high quality even twenty years in the past — what we see now’s simply the compound impact of constant focus.”
A 3rd added, “Anybody who’s been to China is aware of the shock. It’s not only a step forward — it’s a special recreation. India has the potential, however we want pace, scale, and sharper execution to bridge this hole.”
Faruqui concluded her reflection with a pointy distinction: “I went to China pondering I’d discover one thing much like India. However China resides sooner or later. We simply don’t realize it but.”
