I didn’t say anything about my “pleasant living conditions”, and I travel extensively in China, mostly in rural areas. My opinions are derived from more than personal anecdote. I even read articles about China.
Chinese lower level workers are usually literate, sober, hardworking and productive. The technical workers have good education and are not the unimaginative drones of US mythology.
The middle class is thriving and expanding. There are great opportunities for young people to work hard and do well. The GINI coefficient of China and US, per CIA data, are almost identical.
You can find an article about dreadful pollution in almost any country. On the ground, the situation in China is not nearly as bad as that article says. And yes 2013 was a long time ago in Chinese development. As you say, it’s a big country, there are clean and dirty depending where you go.