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Q: How does your city residents generally treat foreigners?
I am curious as I hear different cities have different attitude towards foreigners.
For example, I heard that Zhengzhou generally isn't too kind to foreigners. I also used to live in a city near Shanghai called Changzhou and they weren't very nice to foreigners overall. Tianjin is pretty good for a larger city.
I am in a smaller city (Yuncheng, Shanxi) and people here are actually quite nice to foreigners. Yuncheng is a lower tier city but has things like Wal-Mart, Pizza Hut, the speed train goes through here from Beijing and luxuries that a larger city offers.
However, there are not many foreigners so you still kind of get the star treatment but it is more curiosity and admiration than anything. Locals are generally quite nice and go a bit further to be helpful to foreigners. There are jerks but generally I would say this is a foreigner friendly city, however... the level of people that speak English here is quite low.
In this city, there are foreigners from all places but because a group of South African guys came here early on they sort of tainted the reputation of black people. Drugs and sleeping with students that circulated through the city... nice guys but had a little too much fun.
How about the city where you live? What is the general attitude towards foreigners and does it change based on nationality or skin color?
6 years 4 weeks ago in Relationships - China
Suzhou... Overall people will leave you alone, with a medium level of stares. I always have the occasional 'HAAALLLLLLLOOOOO teeheehee', on a monthly basis. I remember, 2 or 3 times, I did not have the 2 rmb for the bus, only a 5 rmb or 10 rmb bank note, and a good Samaritan put me out of my trouble. When asking my way, people tend to go away from me with an embarrassed face, despite me asking in Mandarin (I'm 170cm and look really tame). In the places I go often for eating, even after 3 years, the people will look at me eating like a zoo animal and comment "ho, he took a spoon", "ho, he took some spicy sauce", "ho, he did not come with his wife", and make generic comments about Westerners. Despite me talking gently in Mandarin with them a couple of time.
I have found that the way you treat people they will reciprocate. In over five years in China I have found that being nice to the people results in their being nice to you. I always say hello in both Chinese and English as well as thank you. Smile and the whole world smiles with you!!!
I live in Guangzhou and in the building I work there are many foreigners. I think people here is kind to them and great to work with them.
I'm fortunate. I have lived in Jun Jing, Liede, and Chebei areas of GZ. Few to no foreigners during my tenure. Different styles of living, but, most everyone is friendly and allow for my negligible amount of Mandarin and Cantonese. I'm more white mime, than white monkey. Smokers in elevators and people who sit while ignoring the needs of senior citizens and I don't get along. Still see several people wielding the child squirt guns. I shop in the local produce markets and they tend to look out for me.
People have generally been nice here, but once when I lived in the North the people were ruder in ways
I live in a Tier 88 town called Shiyan in Hubei Province. People stare a little bit but generally no one has been rude or disrespectful except one young punk on a bus one time. Overall I'm treated very well. When I was living in South Korea in the early 2000's, the verbal abuse and disrespect came much more often then it does here in China. South Koreans to me seemed much more in your face then the Chinese when it came to being a foreigner in their country.
In Shanghai there is no shortage of foreigners so its kinda nice go about your daily business un-noticed (unlike when Im in my wife's home-town which is a Tier-3 city in Hubei and kids point at you in the street saying "Měiguó rén"....while Im not even from that continent ...they also dont seem too impressed if you point back saying "Rìběn rén" : )
Shanghai tend to treat people normally. You act like a tourist in a tourist spot, yeah you might pay more if you don't haggle enough. Most places now prices are set so you pay what they ask for.
Daily life you get treated like a regular person, people push you to get seats, don't look up from their phones and walk into you.
No it doesn't .skin colour does not affect the life of others
Hi, I'm Chinese and I have a few foreign friends. Here's my two cents:
As a foreigner, you will feel at ease in either mega cities or super small towns/villages. Locals from the former just don't bother, and people from the latter are just plain nice and simple.
However, in the places in-between, you might feel uneasy at times as you get judged, stared at or mistreated sometimes.
I wonder if you'll agree with me?
If unfortunately you're living in those "in-between" places, there're a number of things you can do to instantely get people to like you:
1. Speak Chinese (for obvious reason)
2. If you're a guy, hang out with local guys. I mean it's common sense, right? If you're seen hanging out with females ALL THE TIME (locals or foreigners), you come across as a little weird, don't you ^_*
3. Help the local elderly people (e.g. when they try to cross the road, or lift heavy things, or get on/off a bus). It's a good Asian tradition. Practice it and it won't go unnoticed.
Hope it helps! And enjoy your living in China.
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coineineagh:
Yeah, that can get really annoying. Reminds me a little of a Daily Show bit by Jon Stewart: "It's like walking on the streets with a six-year-old: Powice Car! Fire hydwant! Foweigner!"