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Q: Why doesn't China have phone books and Yellow Pages?
(A Silva-type question, yes, I know.)
When I arrived here 5 years ago, I expected, upon booking and buying a home landline from the phone company. that I'd get a phone book (thick, no doubt) and maybe even a Yellow Pages listing fixed commercial and governmental landlines in the city. When I asked the phone installer about said print matter, I got a blank look and a grunt in response as he exited the front door of my apartment.
Now, I realize that most people use mobile phones, changing their numbers frequently, so mobiles would be hard to keep track of in print form. And due to the enormity of city populations, phone books may be out of the question as they would probably be too heavy to carry or hold.
But New York City with a population of over 8 million people seems to manage. Manhattan has its own phone book as does each of the other four boroughs in the city.
So, what is it? Have the Chinese telecos decided against phone books yet offer online alternatives? If so, where are the electronic versions?
Morning musings over a cup of coffee...
As you point out, a phone book of China would be a pretty massive publishing project.
People don't need to look up numbers though. It is very rare that you will call "random plumber" to ask for a price for something. You always call your trusted friend/family member, ask for references, maybe have them contact their guy etc. You would never trust a guy you found in a phonebook not to rip you off. The lack o trust means no need for phonebooks.
90% of the population have the same 100 family names. People might Wing the Wong number.
Red_Fox:
Despite the political incorrectness and insensitivity of your reply, I am LMAO. (Apologies to the Wang family.)
Beijing has a yellow pages! I saw it when I stayed in a hostel there.
Well you can refer to the public service line 114 to get the phone number you want.
Most people have mobile phones. At home we don't have directories for mobile phones either. The only place that I've seen land lines are businesses and the pay phones I see look like they are 50 years old.
At home I can never get through to big companies, especially services. I get directed to another country for call center or end up in a never ending menu because no one answers phones anymore.
If China had proper phone books, everyone would be on the phone even more. The entire country would come to a stand still. Anytime I get a QQ request, that person is at work.
