Saskatoon, a Canadian city of just over 200,000 people, could almost be regarded as rural. With flat agricultural lands, a low density of houses and kind residents, it has many of the characteristics that rural communities across the world have in common with each other.

    However, compared to other cities in China, Saskatoon enjoys more differences than similarities in its environmental, social, economic and religious aspects.

    Clean and quiet

    It’s hard to find a piece of garbage anywhere in the city. Instead of employing cleaners for each block, residents must keep their own neighborhoods clean and tidy.

    Keeping a neighbood clean is much harder than it sounds. To keep an area clean by employing a cleaner requires funding from the government, or without employing a cleaner it requires love and care from people living in the community.

    It will take time for Chinese communities to reach Saskatoon’s standard. People in China with little education still need a job to feed their families, the solution may lead to recruiting more cleaners than needed. Having a cleaner makes some people think unless they throw rubbish on the floor the cleaner won’t have a job. Obviously, more littering requires more cleaners, but it creates a vicious circle. I think the Chinese Government still has a lot more to do socially, even though the economy is growing.

    If I’m asked, what do I dislike about this city? I’d say it must be both the terrible mosquitoes and the quietness.

    People may argue the latter is actually desirable for them, but where I come from, the fast pace of life in the city is its signature. After a day of work, people seek fun and entertainment by singing in KTV, watching movies, or having fun in a bar. Thus, I feel uncomfortable with the pace of life in Saskatoon.

    High salaries, high taxes

    China’s gross domestic product is the second-largest in the world. However, the average wage level is still far behind most economically developed countries, and the social welfare is also far behind that of many developed countries.

    In contrast with other parts, most families in Saskatoon live a wealthy and enjoyable life. Its average yearly salary is about US$30,000, and the cost of housing is reasonable, a two-storey villa is affordable for most middle classes families.

    My aunt told me that the tax rate for the rich is very high, while the tax rate for the poor is much lower. Sometimes the local government may even compensate extremely poor people with a tax rebate. She also told me that the government has made many monetary incentives to motivate people to donate part of their income to charity.

    American people sometimes mock the overlarge power that the Canadian Government has in redistributing people’s income, saying it discourages those who work hard.

    I’m not judging either ideology, but I think that the low crime rate, friendliness and hospitality I’ve experienced in Saskatoon is evidence of good governance.