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Q: Are there any Chinese who have never seen a foreigner?
A light hearted question.
To avoid the obvious answers, lets set an age demographic of between 25-50 years old. This age range pretty much covers economically active people.
Foreigners are everywhere in China these days. Do you think there are any Chinese who have never seen a foreigner?
Plenty in the coutryside and the tiny towns.
I usually forgive the fresh off the boat migrant workers for staring at me, what I do not tolerate are urban local people who see foreigners around all the time yet keep staring like it's the first time.
ScotsAlan:
I find the older generation, visiting from the countryside to look after babies are the worst for staring. I often feel like I am being laser scanned, so intent and long their stare.... :)
Last year i was on the beach and a girl approached me and said i was the first foreigner she has ever said hello to, i was touched, then a million of her friends came around started staring so i just ignored everyone until they went away
Plenty in the coutryside and the tiny towns.
I usually forgive the fresh off the boat migrant workers for staring at me, what I do not tolerate are urban local people who see foreigners around all the time yet keep staring like it's the first time.
ScotsAlan:
I find the older generation, visiting from the countryside to look after babies are the worst for staring. I often feel like I am being laser scanned, so intent and long their stare.... :)
Yeah, plenty of places. I've been to places where people have said, "We've never seen a foreigner in our entire lives!"
I've even been to some third-tier cities with amazing food (I go back for the food, but have to avoid the crazy ex's family) who have never seen a foreigner. "WAIGUOREN A!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" happens all the time.
ScotsAlan:
Yeah.... but you are green. I must admit, I have never seen a Hulk too. So forgive me if I stare.
Like mentioned above. The smaller places in the countryside usually have lots of people who have never seen a foreigner. They are usually cool about it. They just stare a little. It is like Eorthisio said stupid locals who have seen many foreigners but do the stupid hellloooo that are annoying.
You wouldn't believe the number of isolated villages in the inner regions of China. There are even reports of people living in natural caves (not dark bear caves, actually quite nice looking caves, but still caves).
Don't forget that 70% of the territory is either composed of forests or mountains, most of which remain hardly by modern means.
Most of the population has never seen and will never see a "foreigner", or even a city.
ScotsAlan:
I have seen the cave houses on the BBC documentary "wild China". But they have seen foreigners.... the BBC was there :)
I asked because I was reading about uncontacted peoples at the weekend. And although I know there are no groups of uncontacted people in China, I suppose it can be said it depends upon the definition.
I lived in rural south Korea, and people mentioned that from about 1950's to 1990, no foreigners were in that area.
Most foreigners in my hometown know me before I moved to Shanghai.
I do not like staying with Chinese,I rush to foreigners whenever i got the chances.
Shining_brow:
I would like to point out that the phrase "knew me" has a particular meaning, that I think you should find out...
Hotwater:
Is that why you moved to Shanghai as none of the foreigners in your hometown would date you?
Strawberry66:
Unfortunarely in the opposite. I want to see more white men to choose the better looking one. They wanted to date me. I guess most men on ecc will want me too if they ever see me in real. I am very confident about that.
I was teaching at a university in JiangXi province (in a rather famous city, with only slightly less than 5000 years history), when walking through the campus to the shops, I heard a couple of boys talking about the 'laowai' they were looking at (me). I made comment to my Chinese companion, who suggested that perhaps I was the first foreign/white person they had ever seen (in real life).
And, as I said, this is in a university! In a T3/4 city.
There certainly are a lot of foreigners in China who certainly wish that they would never see another foreigner too!
ScotsAlan:
Yeah. I have come across that. I am amazed how often a friendly "Hi" or a slight wave to another foreigner is totally ignored.
Sinobear:
Shut up! I'm sick of your liberal-politically correct drivel! And, I spit on the back of yer trousers yesterday, too! Imperialist running dog!
Eorthisio:
Well that's me, I usually do not hang out with other foreigners, not that I hate them, I'm a lone wolf by nature, I like my quietness, but my few outings on weekends are with locals since my girlfriend is Chinese and so is the vast majority of my friends here. However I will try to help if I see a fellow foreigner in need for directions or translation. But typically the fewer foreigners I see around the better I feel.
Sinobear:
I think "lonewolves" account for a large percentage of us here. Ironically, we marry then become members of the "Howling Wolf Society."
Yes, there are still quite a few.
I have run into some of them myself. For example, I was the first foreigner to my wife's village. Also, just recently I went on a crazy 4 day hiking trip through a massive gorge on the Henan-Shanxi province border and there was a very small mountain village that had never seen foreigners in person.
I would say... only about 50-60% of China has seen a foreigner in person.
Yes there a quite a few I must say. In my city, I was the first foreigner most of these people have ever seen in real life. My city isn't a countryside or anything like that, but I've heard that it has grown quite a lot in the last 15 years or so. For example 10 years ago, they didn't even have roads, cars, traffic lights or anything like that. Now almost everyone has a car and it's very industralized. But with that said, I am the first foreigner to have set foot in this city.
ScotsAlan:
But what about the migrant workers who go off to the coast to work. Surely when they go back to your city they must have loads of photos of foreigners on their phones :)
WanderingTeacher:
I don't know anything about migrant workers. No one in my city seems to leave to go work anywhere. They all live and work here either doing farming, or something else. Actually the only people here who I can say would be migrant workers, are the people who I've met who are from Dongbei. Perhaps they have seen foreigners before in Dongbei, I don't know. But they would be the exception, not the rule. I have many people here, young, old, and in between, who have said I'm the first foreigner they have ever seen, which is why I assume, along with they way everyone reacts when they see me, that very few people here have never seen a foreigner before in their lives either up close, or far away, let alone ever spoken to one.
A few days ago there was some 25 year old migrant worker just staring away. Even when I cartoonishly stared back he didnt look away. Pissed me off.
Me: What the fuck are you looking at farmer? This is Shenzhen , youve never seen a foreigner before?
Him: No ! I havent! Your my first!
Me: ....... Well ok then.
