Where did you go? I've only been to Bejing, Shangahi, Nanjing, and Hanzhou. They seemed like normal large cities. I didn't see police anywhere. I walked around the cities no problem. Road the subways no issues. Ate lots of yummy food. Went shopping, walked malls, went to mom and pop stores. Bought stuff at covenience stores. Went to bars. Went to museums. Went to several night clubs. Went to China Joy, video game trade show that seemed a lot like Gamescom but more sexy. I literally saw nothing oppresive. The most was that Google Maps being bad and I don't read enough Chinese to use Baidu maps. Used a HK sim last time I went (can order online) but my day to day experience like a pretty normal life would be in Los Angeles, New York, Paris, or London except the of course the cities are full of Chinese people with Chinese inspired architecture etc.. I did see lots of poverty, especially outside the big cities.

Note I am not defending Chinese. Just shocked at how different our experiences were. Plenty of youtube travel videos or videos of Shenzen or other cities that look similar to the experiences I've had.