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Q: How long will it be before foreigners stop being a novelty?
Now that i've got a kid I ask myself questions like this, not that I expect him to be 'accepted' as such, just that it would be nice if people stopped making a fuss about him looking Chinese or foreign or trying to take his f*****g picture. What i'm hoping for is a time when he can walk down the street and just be another face. What do you reckon? This life? The next? Ever?
I think, you should have more patience. Chinese are on their way to the Mars. 
CARLGODWIN1983:
The Moon. Get your acts right. ;) It's been in the news here. No doubt the Chinese have been wanking over themselves that they managed to get to the moon umpteen years after others.
The thing is, the Chinese are so stupid. hey think they can extract minerals from it.
DrMonkey:
@carlgodwin1983
Apparently, not only the Chinese have "stupid" ideas like mining deep space
http://www.space.com/19368-asteroid-mining-deep-space-industries.html
I think in the case of that , China has a long way to go.
First of all, China is not a immigrant country.
Secondly, because we r Socialist Country , different from most western countries , so that really restrict foreigners to come to China.
Lastly, don't forget , From the history perspective, China is always a single race country.
so Chinese r obviously not prepared to c so many different races with different colours. Its not our fault
DrMonkey:
Hum... China not being a migrant country (yet ?), yup. Back in the 80's almost no people ever saw a non-Chinese. The net trend is that there are much more Chinese are going out of China than foreigner going in, mid-term to long-term. This alone makes for a valid argument.
However
* China *was* socialist, but now it's socialist only by name. Almost no healthcare, high school fees, almost no help for the jobless, etc... I can name quite a few "capitalist" countries that have more socialist policies than China have ;)
* Being socialist have nothing to do with the whole "stare and giggle at foreigners". Vietnam is also a "socialist by name" country, such kind of behavior exists as a much, much lower scale.
* "It's not our fault" No no no no. Some people like you are very aware of the problem and acknowledge it. But the word is not spread and thus, things change at a snail pace, if it changes at all. Saying to everybody who can possibly hear "Hey, guys, it's obnoxious. You would like people do this to you when you visit abroad ?"
Paulberger:
100% agree with DrMonkey. would like to add that china is not a "one race country" as well.
TMaster:
Here is a nice overview of all the BS they are taught at school.
I live in the same area for 2 years and half. I buy my breakfast always at the same few shops. The regular locals still call me "laowai", nothing more. Despite knowing my nationality and a few details about my biography after chatting a bit with me. Despite that we can communicate in Mandarin. Despite asking my name a few times, which I gave them with some adaption to make it easy to pronounce. They won't even call me "The French guy" or by some nickname. The Great Wall is the one stuck in their minds >_<
Nessquick:
Same here :( even worse, if the same person ask you same questions over years ...
Things are what they seem to be, and not what they actually are, remember. You have a white face then you are the foreigner, you have an asian face then you are a Chinese. Have an asian face with a US/EU passport ? Then you're an "oversea Chinese", and not seriously a citizen of another country.
Since the government is trying very very hard to cut its people as much as they can from the west, either spiritually or physically, I don't see any change in minds anytime soon.
(Do not underestimate how much efforts they put into that purpose, including slowing the internet down, restricting drastically the movies and series on TV, hunting down streaming sites on the Internet, and generaly speaking discouraging any attempt of any nature to promote real cultural exchanges with anything that's foreign, except when it includes a number of mandatory pre-approved clichés and therefore is intellectually harmless or when it is admitted how great China is.)
Don't forget in China, being "open" does not mean trying to enlarge your world by accepting new ideas, it means being OK for random sex.
I am not sure foreigners are a novelty as much as the picture of the enemy/a source of envy.
The CCP needs people to have a clear "them vs. us" picture to help draw attention away from their own falures. As long as you have government sponsored xenophobia.
I think; all Asian countries gives extra respect to foreigners. It is in blood and culture.
Only thing I feel bad about this is that few foreigners take undue advantage (All the Time) of this politeness.
DrMonkey:
I feel so much politeness while riding my bike, avoiding people going counter-way, spitting around, etc. Or when a guy shout "HHHAAAAAALLLLLLOOOO" at me and his mates giggle (he won't do that if alone). Or when a guy loudly make obnoxious comments about me, assuming I don't understand Mandarin. Or loudly comment about my wife morality.
Vyborg:
I think you are Chinese and have never been abroad. I think what Chinese people mistake for respect towards foreigners is their own feeling of inferiority. I think this is in their culture and not 'in their blood', whatever that may mean. I think other Asian countries display other attitudes towards foreigners than China. I think Chinese people are not even capable of treating their neighbors with respect. I think Chinese people are not even capable of treating their own country with respect. I think Chinese people are not even capable of wanting to be treated respectfully themselves. Maybe that is where it all begins. I think I'm not going to give you a 'thumb-down' because I like other people to read your post.
Mateusz:
Them uppity foreigners, walking around not understanding their racial inferiority. We totally need to better know our place.
