I grew up in China. You can probably google up a lot of articles and tweets on growing up Asian from the perspective of a first- or second-generation immigrant, but I am all about being Chinese Chinese, the authentic made-in-China kind. Growing up not only in a Chinese household but also in China has developed a strong identity in me, an identity that would not be erased by being a third culture kid and living abroad for an extensive amount of time.

Spoiler alert: growing up native Chinese is much more than getting A’s in school and being reserved.

1. There are two types of main dish in the entirety of China: rice and noodles.

It’s one way or the other.

2. There are always interesting debates on the North v. the South.

The cultural difference within a single nation can be stunning. The southerners are not rednecks though — they just think that dumplings are called hun tun 馄饨 instead of shui jiao 水饺.

3. You wash your rice before cooking it.

And you might have come across news articles about how the leftover water from rice-washing is good for you. Oh, this kind of washing does not involve soap.

4. Summer time = reruns of cartoons and dramas.

It is literally the same thing every summer. Still enjoyable nevertheless.

5. Your dialect might sound completely different from standard Mandarin and have its own grammar system

Which makes you a natural-born bilingual.

6. Provinces have artsy acronyms that reflect history rather than spelling.

I'm from Shanghai (上海) and Shanghai’s acronym is Hu (沪) because both words mean port, which was what the city used to be. Meanwhile, states in the US draw two letters from their names and jam them together.

7. Instead of sprinkling your essay with “therefore,” “however,” and “nonetheless,” you polish yours up with idioms.

8. Girls, you have owned at least one qipao in your life.

Which makes you really stand out among friends.

9. Weekend school is a thing.

Same as additional workbooks. Because practice makes perfect.

10. You gotta be extra careful/sneaky to date in high school.

And parents expect you to have a decent partner once you are out of college.

11. You play at least one musical instrument because your parents have taught you the importance of starting young.

I was banging myself against piano keys at the age of 3.

12. You know fortune cookies are fake. They don’t exist in China.

Sorry, my fellow Americans.

13. Beauty standard is slightly different in your hometown.

Where pale = beautiful; tan = you need to get under the umbrella on a sunny day.

To elaborate this: China used to be an agricultural country, and therefore being pale meant having a decent, high-status job in the office — whereas in Western countries where everyone sits in the office, being tan is synonymous to having quality times outdoor. It’s all about the history, guys.

14. 13 is an unlucky number (in both Chinese and Western cultures) so I made it 14.

Yep.