Foreigners praise country's high sense of safety

What would happen if someone left a backpack full of personal belongings unattended in one of China's busiest commercial areas?

YouTuber "Because I'm Lizzy" decided to find out in Southwest China's Chongqing last year. After spending nearly two hours wandering through the city's winding streets, sampling local delicacies, and taking in its neon-lit nightlife, she returned to find everything exactly where she left it.

The 29-year-old South African content creator was not surprised by the outcome. "I've been proven so many times that nothing would ever get stolen," she says."Safety is the number one reason why I stay in China."

Currently based in Kunming, the capital city of Yunnan province, the YouTuber, Jannelize Bessenger, has lived in China for seven years. She created a series of videos about the country after noticing that many people know little about the high safety level of the nation, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion.

But for Bessenger, "It is the people who live here and their value and respect for life that make China the safest place, where I will stay for many years."

Her first impression of China was shaped by an unexpected act of kindness from a stranger. She recalled that in 2019, just four months after arriving in China, she fell seriously ill while in Nanchang, Jiangxi province. Although she had the hospital's location saved on her phone, she still could not find it.

Speaking little Chinese at the time, she turned to a man nearby for help, using a translation app. To her surprise, he voluntarily accompanied her to the hospital by subway and then left.

Wondering whether the man would ask for her contact or something in return, Bessenger said nothing happened. "He was just being nice," she says. That moment made her realize she could live alone in China safely as a foreign woman.

Hailing from a small South African town renowned for its wildlife and safaris, solo traveler Bessenger says China's secure environment allows her to embrace a relaxed lifestyle.

"Whether I'm going for a walk with headphones on at 11 pm because I can't sleep or I want to get some fresh air without checking a map, I just go and explore," she says.

China ranks high among other countries on the safety and law and order index, according to Gallup's 2025 Global Safety Report.

When Bessenger shared her appreciation for feeling safe on the lifestyle-sharing platform RedNote, many Chinese users were puzzled as to why she kept bringing it up.

"They take it for granted. They don't really realize how lucky they are to live in such a safe country," she says. The feeling was shared by her mother, who visited China from South Africa two years ago and later decided to settle down.

China's safety and openness are also echoed by short-term travelers. In 2025, inbound tourist visits to China surpassed 150 million, up more than 17 percent year-on-year. Of these, over 30 million foreign travelers entered the country under China's visafree policies.

With expensive camera gear in hand, Canadian YouTuber Dave Mani and his wife comfortably moved around Chinese cities and roamed rural areas.

"After visiting 56 countries, we can say that China is very high on the list in terms of general safety," says Mani.

As an independent content creator, Mani notices how deeply technology is integrated into everyday life in China. Whenever he and his wife needed help during the trip, locals were quick to use translation apps to communicate with them.

The couple quickly became fans of WeChat, saying the super app brought great convenience, especially WeChat Pay, which allowed them to make payments easily and safely.

"That level of everyday safety made filming and exploring very easy and enjoyable," says Mani.

Like Bessenger and Mani, Ana Rosa Neumann Devers, an exchange student from the Dominican Republic studying in Harbin, Heilongjiang province, finds it cozy and relaxing to stroll past the orderly market stalls day or night.

The girl from the tropical Caribbean nation has fallen in love with the icy northern city, captivated by its snowy nights and warmed by the kind sincerity of her schoolmates. At a school ball, she appeared in traditional Dominican attire and was met with warm applause and heartfelt compliments.

"People here respect different cultures and customs. No one treats me differently because I'm from another country. I truly feel respected," she says.

In the past seven years, Bessenger has found that in China, every place offers something entirely different for travelers to discover. But for those who don't know where to go or who are eager to tap into the "becoming Chinese" trend, her advice is simple: just head downstairs when night falls.

"Walk around, get some street food, and see how people enjoy their meals and how the city settles into a peaceful but vibrant rhythm," she says. "That's when China feels most real."