Indian journalist tells of what he sees as real China

Shamim Zakaria is a journalist from India who works in Beijing. Shamim says that before he arrived in China five years ago he knew very little about it, even though it is his country's neighbor. In fact there were many basic things he didn't know about China, such as whether taking photographs of public places was allowed, he says.

He has come to regard China as a remarkable country, and says that the way Western media depict it is misleading and biased. He now knows a lot about the country and its people, whom he finds kind and welcoming. Even though his command of the Chinese language is slight, he says this poses few problems when he travels in various parts of the China.

There's a saying in India that “if you want to acquire knowledge, go to China, because of its wealth of knowledge and culture”, he says, and that he has never regretted his choice to live in China.

For him there is so much more to China than meets the eye. One can see and learn a lot in the country's big cities, but to get to know the heart of China, you need to visit the countryside, he says. He has experienced China through remote villages, and it is there that he has celebrated some of China's most well-known holidays, such as Tomb Sweeping Festival. However, It is people, not places, that are China's most valuable asset, he says.

Join us in welcoming Shamim to My China Surprise, a series by China Daily that highlights foreigners and their stories in China.