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Q: What the hell do Chinese people do in their homes at night
So, I have recently been complaining to my landlord about the people above me. Apparently, 'they work late', and this entitles them to stomp around slam doors, drop things on the floor, and shriek at each other until 3-4am. A couple nights ago, I was at a friends house, watching tv. At about 9-10, all hell broke loose upstairs while the Chinese family banged around for an hour or two.
I understand kids running around, I understand getting dinner on the table, but I don't understand the non-stop noisemaking for hours on end. What the hell do they do? And do they grease their hands or something? Because they seem to be incapable of not dropping things at least 3-4 times a night?
9 years 35 weeks ago in Arts & Entertainment - China
Just be thankful they're not your typical members of the "Drill & Hammer of the Month Club."
I get to listen to renovations all day, every day (plus the construction going on out front and back).
Try blasting some (Italian) opera when you figure they're asleep. Make friends with their upstairs neighbors and go up for some b-ball dribbling practice.
It's why I try to find a building with a lot of mistresses...they're hardly ever home, few kids, and the places are usually new and better constructed.
RachelDiD:
Nope, they are. Everyone on the floor above me apparently believes that something in their apartment is just not quite right.
My management even harassed me for a month because I would not allow them to bring construction workers into MY home to rearrange MY pipes in order to accommodate something those jokers were doing. The management is completely useless for anything else, but apparently they can stalk me to ask when I am willing to put aside MY time so that they can break MY plumbing.
If School got you an apartment, complain to them. Tell them after 10pm any noise in apartment above should stop, or School must get you new apartment. 'add-it': to the landlord: 'I'll move out soon, if…..!'
I had similar problem in Fuk. apartment with addition to noise, residents from upper floors were throwing garbage over their balconies to my garden on the bottom floor.
I told School in Fuk., I will start playing loud music on the stairs inside the apartment building during the night, if noise above won't stop.
Now in Fuji, noise above me warrant immediate RNotice, however I must find new RPermit sponsor first.
In Fuk., I glued big sign in Chinese: 'Don't throw garbage over the balcony, please!' on the wall above my apartment's bell.
I waited for two weeks!
Then, I emptied full garbage bag in front of the entrance doors of 3 apartments above me.
Unfortunately, I had to move out of the apartment, just at the start of my little 'education' war.
RachelDiD:
I have taken to dumping toilet water on their doorstep when they are egregiously out of control. Classy? Maybe not in the West, but when in Rome...
icnif77:
I 'hate' my acts, they force me to do in China! BuTT…I was using my garden as entry and exit point out of my place. Then, I wanted to plant some (strange/cure) flowers in some 30m2 garden. Other bottom floor apartment owners all build roof over their garden, and then plant veggie and stuff????? Should I buy 'indoor growing lamp' for my salad and parsley, after I'm done with the roof? This people are 'reaching with the wrong hand to a pocket! R hand to L pocket, around the ass.'
Play porn movies at maximum volume in repeat mode when you are away.
Your neighbors will stop making noise or move out, they won't complain as sex is still a forbidden topic for most Chinese.
If constant complaining to your landlord/agency/management/school doesn't work and moving out is for whatever reason not an option get some earplugs off taobao. The sell some really nice made in the US earplugs, best earplugs I've ever tried. In my previous apartment I had to use earplugs every night. In my current apartment most nights are without but sometimes I still use them.
icnif77:
So, you sleep with music in your ears? And pay rent for that?
If you do that to me, I'd rather make YOU move out of your place!
'I have rights, if I pay (rent)!' is the title of my 'lesson'.
Burak43:
No, not earplugs as in "conect to your iPhone and listen" but earplugs as in "block out all the sound around you" ear protection I guess? I got used to sleeping with those long before I even thought about coming to China so I personally don't see the big deal.
Link to the exact type: http://detail.tmall.com/item.htm?spm=a230r.1.14.73.w51SUc&id=23797352869
icnif77:
OK, I still don't consider 'livable apartment', if I must protect my ears of the noise.
At my present place, some metal thing is banging on the metal balcony fence above me. There's nobody in the apartment. School is unable to stop the noise, despite I told them about SAFEA and 'warranted resignation'---> walk away, and keep my RP.
Does anybody understand that?
School can't go to Police or apartment building service, and open the empty apartment above me, and remove metal piece which is hanging over balcony fence.
I told them 'I think, they (School) cause that intentionally', however I don't understand the reason for 'intentionally'. I'm begging them to stop the 'noise', since I arrived a month ago.
I'm looking for new RP sponsor/School, instead 'ear plugs', but thanks for the link.
are you complaining ? 
"complaining makes us all look bad"
"you are a guest in the country"
"if you hate China so much you should leave"
"This is China" 
in Changsha I asked my Uni to move me to a block that didn't have a child that woke up at 3.00 am every morning and screamed for half an hour. They refused to believe me as the child belonged to a senior staff member. I asked to be moved to the foreign teachers block but was told there was no room, despite me knowing that was the case - I was the only female FT. So i went to a hotel for a week and gave them the bill. They moved me to another block very quickly, but still far away from the other guys. 
louischuahm:
You actually did that? I mean move to a hotel? Hoho.....good on you! Sometimes you need to take thing into your own hands if you were to get a response.
The people upstairs from us seem to have bought a treadmill. I give it a week and it will be gathering dust in the spare room.
Personally, I don't really notice the noise anymore. I am now able to watch a movie on the laptop while the MIl watches the tv, the kiddie watches teletubbies on a tablet.... all in the same room and not a headphone in sight.
DrMonkey:
When going in a housing block, my favorite game is to count the treadmills covered with a thick layer a dust, on a balcony. So I am not the only one who noticed that ^^
ScotsAlan:
Ha ha Dr M. I check to see if the balconies are all full of drying clothes. If clothes are everywhere I know it will be a vibrant noisy community.
If there are no clothes on the balcony I know to probably expect every hallway to be full of the sound of badly played pianos and violins as the tiger parents enforce their desired future upon their kids 
.
Eorthisio:
Your post reminds me of why I emptied one room in my flat and put in there a treadmill, an indoor bicycle, a bench with weights and so on... the locals who go to the gym to show face "look I am keeping fit" but sit down on the machines for 2 hours without using them, taking with their buddies or using their phone instead of working out, and refuse to move saying that they are using it.
Look at how chinese are in public. That is them at their 'best' behavior.
I am just relaxing in my bed like a lazy teddy bear with my fantasy mind.
I hardly get any noise from anywhere, except the horns from the highway but if I close the windows I can't hear anything. People in the block where I live go to bed very early, I don't know why. It's lights off at 11pm for most of them. Perhaps I'm lucky to be here.
I once had neighbors calling the police to check if I wasn't dead or just vaporized. They never heard any noise from me, so they were worried. Despite the washing machine, my daily commute, the cooking, and the happy times with the girlfriend. I don't know what people do, but they don't hear very well.
ScotsAlan:
Maybe they wanted first claim on your TV in case you had kicked the bucket .
Eorthisio:
They don't understand that civilized people can live without talking above 100dB all the time. It's no surprise that most Chinese above 30 are almost deaf and constantly ask people to repeat.
miss_selina:
Yeah, I just wanted to post the same as Eorthisio, Chinese guys never seem to understand (once they're over 25 or 30) and keep asking for repeating all the time. Maybe it's because they were all exposed to so much noise when they were younger. Strange people. :/
If you wanna piss off Chinese people with noise, do it during nap time. Erthosios suggestion with loud porn...... there must be a way of achieving the same without having to download or go to the video store (I mean, dude selling DVDs of the back of his bike.)
To find out about the local noise laws in your area is to visit sites like FindLaw. Lastly, if you have been struggling with these options, you can always take a trip to visit your local library or city/county government office. Many times, librarians, clerks, and other government officials are more than willing to help you find the laws that you are looking for. -
My roommate is a Chinese so our next door neighbor.I only moved in with this guy this semester just to improve my Chinese and I am regretting already.They all like to sing somehow and it is annoying when you hear someone singing in the bathroom while sitting.They sing too loud and sing everywhere possible.In the shower,in the kitchen in bed,in the balcony you name it! Honestly ,they are not that good at singing at all,I would rather shit in my hands and clap than to listen to my roommate singing.And to make matters worse they sing the same fucking song which I do not understand all day every day!
But Why do they sing while someone else is sleeping or trying to finish your homework?I am still clueless! Someone please help me...
sorrel:
have you never shared an apartment/house before?
On arrival, I would establish ground-rules to minimize conflict:
for example, outlining respective expectations regarding common areas, noise levels etc.
MardanAhmed:
I did but did not think we needed to have rules.There are enough rules as it is.At the time I was just happy someone was willing to share the rent.But now that I come to think of it,we may need some damn rules.I don't wanna clean the whole room on my own,and it must be nice to have good sleep once in a while.
sorrel:
even in my family home when i stay, there are common rules of responsibilities and behaviour.
they might not be written down, but when sharing with ANYONE, even a close friend, there has been at least a discussion about expectations from the other person regarding common living conditions.
have you never shared with anyone before now ??
MardanAhmed:
Well,Yes,I did.
But I always hated rules,and laws or anything like that.Because I always thought we did not need rules to restrain us and you gotta admit that some laws are just stupid and redundant.
it might be too late by now but I am starting to realize that we might need certain rules.
sorrel:
there is a bit of a difference between two adults living together and agreeing on common, mutually respecting rules about who cleans what and when, and the laws of the land that have been around for years, so i am not even going to go there. 
I don't have any problems. I live in a new apartment with a shop right beside the door and a whole load of restaurants across the street. I'm pretty much the only customer and the only person living in the village. It's nice, but it's obviously not a sustainable situation. Chinese central economic planning at its best. Then again it was the laowai Marx who taught them these silly ideas.
DrMonkey:
Central planning, or bursting real estate bubble, fuelled by a massive financial stimulus circa 2009 :p
