Similarities Between American And Chinese Society example essay topic

During our age of globalization, more and more societies around the world start to possess features that are more common. The lifestyles of people in these societies become more similar, due to a global change in cultural values. Today it is even possible to say that there exist Western type of lifestyle, which has been and continues to be rapidly adopted around the globe. China is eastern country with its unique culture, however due to growing trade and information exchange between the United States and China, Chinese had adopted lots from American culture and American lifestyle. Thirty years ago, China was very different country, but today it is a close to the West as never before, even though Chinese preserve their national identity very successfully. It is easy to find similarities between American and Chinese society through observing leisure time of citizens.

Today, Chinese lifestyle is becoming more western. It is noticeable through observing daily lives of Chinese and Americans, even though lifestyles in general still remain different. An all-American invention, the shopping center has today revolutionized the global face of retail and entertainment, having the same impact on the worlds cities that another American invention the skyscraper has. Many Chinese cities and especially Hong Kong, where Mountain Plaza mall is extremely popular, is the vivid example. Over the past couple decades, spending time in the mall has become a national pastime, not just for teenagers, but people of all ages. They come to enjoy the all-weather; one-stop shopping, dining and entertainment experience that only a mall can deliver.

A major icon of a past retail generation, the American department store, has only survived as a part, an appendage, of a mall. There is little doubt that China itself is now prepared to follow this trend, as a tidal wave of new mall openings has overtaken Far East and shows no signs of abating. In China over the past decade, there have been many developments, which have been touted as shopping malls but have fallen far short in many regards, because of scale, layout, facilities and other factors. However, it has not been until the past few years when real malls have opened throughout the country. American type of malls has brought already a new standard to Chinese citizens and even Western tourists and lays the ground for more of the same in the future. People in China enjoy shopping even more than Americans do.

Shopping in China is not the process of buying items that are badly needed, from one hand it is a whole excursion with various adventures, just as it is in the Unites States, where mall is the best place where teens hang out. From another hand, only in mall it is possible to buy designer, top-quality clothes and accessories. In the United States, for instance, malls are also popular due to the quality of products sold in them. It is prestigious to buy something in the mall rather then in convenience store. Shopping gives a lot of pleasure to citizens of China; western people view shopping in similar way, too, but there are some minor differences. Far East people (in general) like to buy expensive closing from famous designers.

In contrast, Americans prefer to buy closing that is convenient and cheap. Americans do not care too much about fashion, while fashion is very important for Far East people. The process of looking for specific clothes is excursion, which brings a lot of pleasure for Chinese and for American, especially if he or she has found the thing they were looking for. Therefore, malls are as popular in China as in the United States.

Besides, Chinese are wearing now western type of clothes and western designers are very popular in China. Today, leisure time in our society is much different from the way it was twenty years ago. Leisure time has even more changed in China. For many people, leisure time does not exist at all.

Magazine ads and TV commercials show how technology has affected the way people spend their past time. Either people are running errands leaving no time at all to relax, or they are most likely spending their past time watching television, playing video games, or surfing the net. The television is now a part of every home. Some time ago in China television in the living room was considered a luxury; today houses without a TV is rare.

Chinese enjoy watching TV as much as Americans do. They also like to listen to western music and watch MTV. Many people do not realize how much time they spend watching TV. Young kids watch hours of TV after school, and adults watch after work. They want to catch their favorite program or movie, many people like to browse internet. This shows how important is information in American and Chinese society.

Many people in China and in the United States find time to every day to watch TV, no matter how busy their schedules are. Although TV may become unhealthy if too much time is spent watching it, it does provide a means for relaxation. For most people, there is a lot of time spent watching TV, playing video games, and surfing the net, but there are many others, who cannot find time for these activities. Most of the day Americans and Chinese spend working or going to school and the rest of the day is spent running errands. Education and work are two the most important things for Americans and Chinese. Today, people in both countries are working harder than ever.

It is possible to conclude that over the time there will be much more similarities between Chinese and American society. World is changing rapidly and western culture has significantly influenced eastern. With rise of global trends countries become more similar in attitudes towards different aspects of social life, but all try to conserve national identity.