An American woman’s recording of a suburb in China that resembles ones in the U.S. has stunned viewers online.
Marissa Viale, who is known as @marissaviale on TikTok, filmed herself driving through the suburb in Shanghai, revealing a strikingly familiar landscape to anyone accustomed to American neighborhoods.
The video, shared on November 1, shows a housing development called The Links, which bears a remarkable resemblance to typical U.S. suburbs, complete with spacious front yards and distinctively American-style homes. The expat’s post has resonated widely, garnering over 2.3 million views and more than 331,000 likes.
“I have been enjoying sharing my experiences in China thus far,” Viale, 30, who is in the process of moving from Seattle to Shanghai told Newsweek. “My husband is actually a Chinese-American who grew up in Shanghai.
@marissaviale
“We are about to start our family there and the post features the neighborhood where he went to school growing up. The school is called Shanghai American School and the neighborhood it’s located in is called The Links.”
The neighborhood’s features include the American school, as well as a full 18-hole golf course which the houses are situated around.
“For American expats in Shanghai, there is often a desire to find a balance between the vibrant city life and the familiarity of home,” James Wang, the co-founder and chief executive officer of REAL, an AI-led real estate platform, told Newsweek.
“Shanghai Links offers an ideal blend, providing an American suburban style living within reach of Shanghai’s bustling cosmopolitan environment.
“This combination offers expats a touch of quiet American suburban life amidst nature, while still being conveniently close to major transport links.”
“They have designed the neighborhood to reflect an American style and I thought it was very interesting to share because I don’t feel like a lot of people in the world have exposure to these places or know that places like this even exist,” Viale said.
An overlaid text on the video read: “Driving through a neighborhood in China that reminds me of America.”
The video quickly struck a chord with viewers on TikTok, igniting curiosity and intrigue.
“You could’ve told me this was Orlando and I would’ve believed you,” one viewer said.
Another added: “I honestly did not know neighborhoods like this existed over there.”
“When my dad got a job in Shanghai, we moved to a neighborhood similar to that,” another viewer said. “A lot of expats live in these western-style compounds to make families seem more like home while living abroad.”
Another added: “So do they have suburban houses like this anywhere out their cities or is this a rare one-off type place in China?”
Viale’s reflections on her move to Shanghai and her explorations of her husband’s childhood haunts resonate with a broader narrative of cultural connection and discovery.
“The responses I’ve received have been extremely wide-ranged. It has made me really wonder and reflect on how many different viewpoints people have of China,” she said.
“I have had some people saying I am posting CCP [Chinese Communist Party] propaganda as a spy, to people who have actually attended school there and are showing excitement about seeing it go viral online since there has been minimal exposure for that area.
“I hope that people can see a different part of China they didn’t know existed.”
