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Q: Why do the locals make a point of spitting very loudly whenever I pass by?
OK, so I have noticed time after time, year after year, that often, when I am out walking, men wait until I get close enough, then expectorate in the grossest possible way, spit loudly and then look to see my reaction. - they actually see me approaching over 100 yards away and wait until the exact moment I am passing them, to hack, for maximum effect ! On an empty sidewalk. At night. During the day. Whenever. No one else around. Other foreigners have had the same experience. I've said it before, and I'll say it again: they know we don't like the habit of spitting; it seems a passive-aggressive way for them to let us know how they really feel about us. Anyone?
No need to take it personal. People generally spit a lot, that it haopens when passing you is just coincidence.
They want your attention, but they can't think of a better way.
Or, they don't like you.
Or, they're showing off.
God only knows, I've heard it's a pollution effect. Junk gathers in the throat they just hok it out.
ironman510:
Because we were taught how to handle spitting correctly and we're a lot more healthy
Just do the same. From 100ft you have all the time to prepare yourself for the correct sequence.
Fight fire with fire.
hunkydory13:
One of my girlfriends did just that! Right after the guy passed us and spit, she unleashed a salvo of saliva right back in his direction. The look on his face? Priceless.
I heard this guy had a habit of spitting....he'll be coming to Beijing soon. I won't be there and even if I were to go I wouldn't want to get the front row seats...
To your point that never happened to me so they're probably just targeting people. Maybe they think you were the type that wouldn't do anything about it, except to come on a site to talk about it which you did. 
TedDBayer:
But you aren't a foreigner. you are Chinese, you have a different experience.
I think it's like this - you know when you're out with your girlfriend and you see a hot girl and totally blank her. It's because you're interested (natural) but you can't let it show. Now I'm not saying guys fancy you - but you are different and they'd like to just stare at the foreigner (perhaps because they don't like foreigners but not necessarily - maybe just 'cause ya different). So they watch you out the corner of their eye (while appearing to just look straight past you) and then behave repulsively to make it clear that you're completely uninteresting and have gone unnoticed. The opposite of what's true. I don't think there's that much thought involved in the process but people often behave in that way - going out of their way to prove something isn't true precisely because it is.
This happened to me yesterday. Someone on an ebike passing by hawked a big one, the sound was not the normal spitting sound, it was drawn out and went almost a full octave. Then the spit came, right as the ebike passed me. I stared at him, like WTF, and he came to a stop and glared at me and started yelling, like, "do you have a problem with this?", only I it sounded like "hashama hargabargar" because I don't speak Chinese. Fortunately I am the type of person who can just laugh at this, so I smiled at his face and laughed uncontrolllably, and he sped off.
OP, I can recommend you not take it personally, just laugh at it as best you can.
I read that the spitting comes from an old superstition, breathe in evil spirits, must spit it out. That sounds right, the Chinese would never think that you could just breathe out the evil spirit.
I've noticed the barrage of spitting around me. I just figured that they are afraid of me.
The Chinese must be used to the air pollution, it makes my nose run constantly and I don't see that with Chinese people.
When someone hacks up a big greener near me I make a point of staring, pointing and saying disgusting as loud as possible with a sickened look on my face.
andy74rc:
Too much effort to get in exchange a cold look like you're the abnormal.
Is coincidence. You feel so disgusting about it that you pay attention to it, in my case I find it funny. When I arrived China I was just waiting for people to do it and I enjoyed looking at their faces when they do it haha.
Now I can hear it happens but not anymore as funny as before.
They just do it, that's the way things are here, perhaps it happened once or twice it was to bother u some guys playing around but in my opinion impossible it always happens on purpose.
Most young Chinese know that spitting is looked down on in most nations including those in Asia. Some do it as an act of defiance like they are trying to make a point to the passing foreigner "this is our country and we couldn't give a flying one what anybody else thinks".
Some older generation Chinese (especially males) use it as a more overt racial message. They spit on the floor when passing foreigners as a sign of disgust and resentment.
andy74rc:
And what is the purpose of spitting on the perfectly polished marble floor of the 5 star Regency hotel in Shantou while checking-in?
Kaiwen:
That is just their uncouth, neanderthal, uneducated persona shining through. One five star hotel manager in China once told me the annual bill for cleaning carpets where Chinese people had spat on them instead of walking to the toilet to do a gob. The I realized just how bad the problem is.
