China through the lenses of a Venezuelan

Editor's Note: 

A growing number of foreigners who are living or have lived in China are now presenting China's real life to the outside world through their videos and tweets. Today, we present you the fourth of a series of stories about the social media influencers who are endeavoring to right the wrong of the Western perception of China.

Rafael Saavedra from Venezuela poses for a picture in Bao'an, Shenzhen. Courtesy of Rafael Saavedra

Before March 2015, Rafael Saavedra from Venezuela was living in the Dominican Republic looking for a job related to his major in hotel management, far away from home. Then like destiny knocking on the door, a job offer from Shenzhen reached him, a good package for a one-year contract as a guest relations officer for the Shenzhen Nanshan L'Hermitage Hotel.

Unlike most others, Saavedra already knew about Shenzhen before coming to the city, thanks to the first-hand information shared by one of his good friends who lived here back in 2007.

"Most of the impressions I got came from a good friend who lived here in 2007. We went to the same university and she did her professional training here in Shenzhen. I also researched about life in China and found many positive aspects such as quality of life and how convenient it is to live here. But I also heard about some challenges I could face like the language barrier," Saavedra told Shenzhen Daily.

Thrilled, a bit nervous and intrigued, Saavedra came to Shenzhen, and didn't expect to stay so long. But he has been living here for six years now as he is "love drunk" with the city of Shenzhen and the great country of China.

"Now all that nervousness and curiosity I had in the past before coming to China have transformed into a deep admiration, respect and love for a city and a country that have given me so much. It didn't take me too long to start feeling comfortable here. The people have been very nice to me since the very first day," said Saavedra.

Recording the country via videos

To show his love for the city and China, the 33-year-old started making videos about one year ago, recording and presenting different aspects of this unique city and country through his videos.

Though a beginner in video making, Saavedra currently has over 14,400 subscribers on his YouTube channel "Rafa Goes Around!" and over 4,500 followers on his bilibili channel "Rafa的环游记."

Rafael Saavedra talks about his life in Shenzhen in his YouTube videos. Screenshot from YouTube

Most of his videos about life in China, especially those of Shenzhen, have gone viral. For example, the video "Living in China|How is it like living in Shenzhen in 2020," has over 130,000 views on YouTube.

"In total I have uploaded about 90 videos on my YouTube channel, mostly focusing on my daily life and trips here. Sometimes I also make some videos related to more specific topics, like high-speed trains or technology in Shenzhen," said Saavedra, who has long been enamored about traveling and exploring around.

Among the 90 videos, 35 are about Shenzhen. Saavedra focuses mostly on Shenzhen for three reasons. "Firstly because it's the city where I live; secondly because I consider it the most exciting city in China, where a lot of things are happening at the same time; and thirdly because its many impressive achievements have been made in such a short amount of time, which makes Shenzhen a very unique city!" Saavedra said excitedly.

Mostly positive comments

According to Saavedra, when he uploads content about Shenzhen and China on the Internet, generally he will receive a lot of mixed comments.

"I would say 90 percent of the feedback is positive. People out of China are very interested in what is going on here. They want to know how we do things here, they want to hear the perspective of a foreigner who lives here and shares what the reality of modern China is … Some people will say how surprised they are about some things in China, because they might ignore it or have never heard about it. Other people will ask a bunch of questions," said Saavedra.

Sometimes he also receives some negative comments or is even accused of being paid by the government for his content, because some people are misinformed about the reality in China, especially when they live in other countries.

"People who have never been here or never heard of it before might question the information I am providing, saying it is a lie or I am getting paid to say this or that. But the truth is I am doing this content because I like what I see, I like the way everything works here and I want to share it with the rest of the world," said Saavedra, who is currently the guest relations manager of the hotel and father of a 4-year-old son.

Depending on how negative the comment is, Saavedra might reply politely and provide some extra data to inform them better. "Other times I will just ignore them, and some other times my own subscribers will reply to these negative comments. Once in a while you will see a very long thread full of comments arguing and expressing their points of view. It is really interesting. I also learn from them from time to time."

'Reality is what I see every day'

When asked about reports of China on foreign media, Saavedra said he doesn't pay much attention to them, but the reality of China is what he sees every day.

"I live here so I have the most accurate source of information about China that anyone could have: the reality that I see every day. But I get a lot of feedback from my subscribers on my YouTube channel mentioning a lot of different misconceptions and poorly objective news about China that they watched on foreign TV channels or read in a newspaper. That's how I can conclude that not every source of information can be trusted. And that is why I insist to my viewers that they can better trust a source or a person who lives here and tells them the real situation in China," Saavedra said.

Rafael Saavedra talks about his life in Shenzhen in his YouTube videos. Screenshot from YouTube

Saavedra feels very lucky to live in Shenzhen. "One thing is my interest and passion for what is happening right now in China, and another is my excitement and enthusiasm for what is coming in the future.

"I am in the middle of a transformation era of a big city of the world's second-biggest economy, which is about to become the biggest one in a few years. Shenzhen is one of those pillars of China's economic development. I am living in Shenzhen and I feel somehow part of it. There are so many reasons for me to love and feel passionate about the city and the transformation process that it's going through," Saavedra said excitedly.

He follows very closely every single development or plan that is announced for the city by using many local social media such as Douyin (the Chinese version of TikTok), Xiaohongshu (a social media and e-commerce platform), Toutiao (a Chinese news and information content platform) and Xigua Video (a Chinese online video-sharing platform).

It's safe to say that, Saavedra, though an expat, probably knows more about the city's development plans than some local people.

"I know there are big plans for the city, like the new transportation hub planned for the Shenzhen airport, the new CBD in Qianhai, the new Shenzhen-Zhongshan Bridge set to open in 2024, the master plan for the future Huanggang Checkpoint in Futian and the new development plans for Guangming, Pingshan and Yantian districts and Dapeng New Area. The number of projects that are now under construction, the number of people that they will benefit and what they represent for the rest of the country are extraordinary," said Saavedra.