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Location: Shaw, St. Louis/West Ridge, Chicago/WuDaoKou, Beijing
292 posts, read 871,606 times
Reputation: 152
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Haha!
It's true. I lived in Beijing for over a year studying at BLCU in the Haidian District...I had never encountered such rude people...people think New Yorkers are rude...hell...you've got a big surprise waiting for you in Beijing!
There is a pretty big anti-foreigner sentiment in Beijing but like most Asian cultures, they roll out the red carpet for white men.
(Its even the same in USA...I go to an asian restaurant [especially korean] and they drop my check off halfway into my meal and the white patrons around me have a relaxed meal and have to ask for their bill haha!)
But having that set aside, even to my white american roommates, Beijing people were rude and have horrible habits like spitting everywhere etc...
This mainly applies to the older generation (30+)...I found that the Beijing people my age (Early 20s) were generally very open and very nice.
Oh yeah...and the random beating of african students in the Sanlitun bar district wasnt particularly cool either...(I was there)
*Everyone in China thought I was from India lol.
Spitting is not exclusive to Beijing. In fact, it's much less common there than in other parts of China due to all the western hotels and other businesses there that discourage it. While it's true that Chinese are not real big fans of non-white foreigners, that's also not exlcusive to Beijing or even China. It's just as bad in other Asian countries too. I'm China bound in one month and cannot wait. But then I'm white, speak some Chinese and find the place to be almost paradise.
Location: Shaw, St. Louis/West Ridge, Chicago/WuDaoKou, Beijing
292 posts, read 871,606 times
Reputation: 152
Quote:
Originally Posted by Rick Lee
Spitting is not exclusive to Beijing. In fact, it's much less common there than in other parts of China due to all the western hotels and other businesses there that discourage it. While it's true that Chinese are not real big fans of non-white foreigners, that's also not exlcusive to Beijing or even China. It's just as bad in other Asian countries too. I'm China bound in one month and cannot wait. But then I'm white, speak some Chinese and find the place to be almost paradise.
Don't get me wrong, my time in Beijing was the best time of my life!
It's true. I lived in Beijing for over a year studying at BLCU in the Haidian District...I had never encountered such rude people...people think New Yorkers are rude...hell...you've got a big surprise waiting for you in Beijing!
There is a pretty big anti-foreigner sentiment in Beijing but like most Asian cultures, they roll out the red carpet for white men.
(Its even the same in USA...I go to an asian restaurant [especially korean] and they drop my check off halfway into my meal and the white patrons around me have a relaxed meal and have to ask for their bill haha!)
This is true in most Asian countries due to their colonial syndrome. White people were their masters with power & money to determine their lives. So to this day, most asian countries still can't shake the urge to serve white people, an attitude which was ingrained to them for years (some for centuries, depending on how long they were colonized by a western country).
Some are getting smarter and see white people as dollar signs who seldom think twice about paying for whatever price they're quoted, hence the red carpet treatment. Asians, on the other hand, will bargain to death over every little merchandise, and ask for more discount before paying just to be sure
This is true in most Asian countries due to their colonial syndrome. White people were their masters with power & money to determine their lives. So to this day, most asian countries still can't shake the urge to serve white people, an attitude which was ingrained to them for years (some for centuries, depending on how long they were colonized by a western country).
Some are getting smarter and see white people as dollar signs who seldom think twice about paying for whatever price they're quoted, hence the red carpet treatment. Asians, on the other hand, will bargain to death over every little merchandise, and ask for more discount before paying just to be sure
I really can not accept your words, lady! You are insulting most asian ppl in the world.
U simply put all of them in two groups:
Either serve white ppl as master or utilize white ppl for benefits
stereotype is stupd mistake.
I assure you there are some asian treating everybody equally regardless the color of skin, the gender, sexual-oriention,etc.( believe it should be the way it is)
It is regretfully if all asian ppl you come across behave like that and you can not meet well-educated asian, so mind me asking: where did you grow up? south subur'b of chicago?
I am not trying to pick up a fight or anything,
btw: I forward your reply to an asian forum, see how other asian respond
Happy thanksgiving!
Last edited by stilldoll; 11-26-2008 at 08:44 PM..
I really can not accept your words, lady! You are insulting most asian ppl in the world.
U simply put all of them in two groups:
Either serve white ppl as master or utilize white ppl for benefits
stereotype is stupd mistake.
I assure you there are some asian treating everybody equally regardless the color of skin, the gender, sexual-oriention,etc.( believe it should be the way it is)
It is regretfully if all asian ppl you come across behave like that and you can not meet well-educated asian, so mind me asking: where did you grow up? south subur'b of chicago?
I am not trying to pick up a fight or anything,
btw: I forward your reply to an asian forum, see how other asian respond
Happy thanksgiving!
Relax, she same "some" and "most", not "all".
Cultures do have different values and assumptions. That does not mean that every single person shares those values and assumptions. We know that.
But having that set aside, even to my white american roommates, Beijing people were rude and have horrible habits like spitting everywhere etc...
This mainly applies to the older generation (30+)...I found that the Beijing people my age (Early 20s) were generally very open and very nice.
Ahhhhh the Chinese and spitting. It's not bad until you have a taxi driver that spits out of the drivers side window and, well, because of wind and so forth not all the spittle makes it outside the car.
Hint to all visitors to China taking a taxi - sit behind the passenger seat.
I love China, as I have said before think of the people in the big cities as the Chinese version of "The Beverly Hillbillies". A couple decades ago they were all riding bicycles and living in tin shacks, now it's cell phones, Nissans, and high rises but the "couth" factor has not caught up with them yet.
I love China. I spent three weeks in Shanghai and Beijing a couple years ago and will be back in Beijing for a full month later this year.
I found it helpful to step outside of my sanitized western cultural ways and remain open-minded to things that at the onset seemed rude to me, but in reality were just part of a culture that I was new too. It probably helped that I grew up in SF and have been around Chinese my entire life.
Chinese don't spit to be rude or filthy. They live in a horribly congested environment and breathe toxic air. Clearing one's lungs and spitting phlegm out is just seen as a smart way to help ward off bronchial infections. Of course my delicate western sensibilities think this is gross, but reminding myself "you're not in Kansas anymore, Toto" was very helpful.
Chinese don't value personal space like us Westerners do. They are used to very crowded spaces and this is reflected in their habit of pushing against each other. It's to make room for others, not to be rude.
Chinese love to stare. It's a pastime. They don't do it to be rude, it's just seen as an interesting way to psss the time.
I had my days that I grew weary of the constant staring and Chinese whipping out their phones to photograph me. But I had overwhelmingly wonderful experiences everywhere I went including one particularly raucous evening at the Beijing Night Market with my husband and a large group of Chinese college students who wanted to hang out with us and practice their English and ask questions about the U.S. all night. They were just adorable.
Survival in China is dependent on having an open mind to a different culture. By the end of my first trip I began to see the value in why they do some things the way that they do. I absolutely cannot wait to return.
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