Last week, toward the end of Spring Festival 2025 I flew to Shenyang, where I have a lot of friends. In fact, for the last decade I've spent time in Shenyang, enjoying the salty food, admiring the fiercely loyalty they have toward "northeastern cuture", and braving the brutal winter winds.
My friend's father turned 80, and a large, formal celebration had been planned. I was excited to have been invited, and looked forward to going.
At one point during the celebration, the audience engaged in a game that had to identify the difference betwen Mandarin phraseology and the way "we say it in Shenyang!" the Master of Ceremonies went through at least 20 examples of simple, every day phrases that carry the same meaning, but are articulated quite differently when in Shenyang. Was it funny? Yep. But it was even more impressive.
The pride with which Shenyang natives have in their language, culture, customs and norms is reflective of culture across China. As a foreigner living and working in a foreign land, I find that north China is a different world than south China; the same would apply to Guangdong vs Chengdu. Each province has its own distinct personality, and each of those personalities is celebrated with sincerity, while being passed down from grandfather to son to grandson. That's what I witnessed last week. For work, I hope to spend some time in Wuhan the following few months, where I can experience this again!