An Indian vlogger has drawn attention online after sharing a video from Guangzhou, China, showing a narrow lane filled with construction barriers, old buildings, tangled wires and scattered garbage. Comparing the surroundings with similar neighbourhoods in India, he questioned why India is so often singled out online for being dirty and unhygienic.
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The man, identified as Pranav, shared the video on Instagram while walking through the Haizhu area of Guangzhou during his trip to China.
‘Our local markets are better than this’
"Honestly, man, I feel like I'm wandering in some alley in India. Same roads, man, just like how construction work keeps going on back home. Metal sheets are put up, barricades are set up. Old, dilapidated buildings, man, dangling wires. Man, only the people here look quite different, otherwise I really can't see much of a difference. It's dirty, man. Trash and garbage can be seen everywhere, and on these walls here, I guess these must be advertisements. Need a job, or renting out a house, or whatever it is, they're advertisements and people read them,” he said.
As he walked further into the neighbourhood, he also pointed to the condition outside several shops and the garbage lying along the street.
{{/usCountry}}As he walked further into the neighbourhood, he also pointed to the condition outside several shops and the garbage lying along the street.
{{/usCountry}}"And look at the state of these shops, man. Outside the shops, so many plastic bags and trash have been thrown around. Man, our local markets are better than this too, but I never imagined markets in China would be like this as well. Even alleys in China would be like this, shabby, bottles and garbage thrown on the street by people. Why is only our country, India, notorious when it comes to filth and being called the dirty country? Look here too, people have just eaten fruits and tossed the waste like this."
‘Every country has a side like this’
In the caption accompanying the video, Pranav wrote, "These are the streets of Haizhu, Guangzhou. Narrow lanes, piled garbage, wet corners, and the kind of dirt you do not see in the city posters. Every country has a side like this. So why is it mostly India that gets called dirty and unhygienic on social media?"
Watch the clip here:
Internet reacts
The post drew a few reactions from social media users. One user wrote, "Social media rarely shows this side of China." Another said, "No country is spotless everywhere." A third commented, "Interesting to see the less glamorous side of China." Another added, "India gets judged too harshly online."
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HT.com has reached out to the user for his comments, and the copy will be updated once his response is received.
(Disclaimer: This report is based on user-generated content from social media. HT.com has not independently verified the claims and does not endorse them.)