I get bothered with it too. A sign of arrogant ignorance in my opinion.

If I tell a Chinese guy he's not much different than someone from Japan or South Korea, he will freak out. Double standards are acceptable here as long as they favour China.

Yep, that's annoying. Dumb as it is, I can even understand it when people lump all people from one geographic area or linguistic background together.... but all the rest of the world in one category? Really?!

I have lived in a small town in Jiangsu for more than two years. I still find it crazy that people can tell I am a foreigner just by looking at me.  Being an American I am used to seeing people of many ethnicities. I do not immediately assume someone is a foreigner just because they do not look just like me.

I honestly don't understand the problem. If you're not Chinese you are foreign, therefore a foreigner. In the UK (and other nations) there is currently heated debate about the levels of immigration and the amount of integration immigrants undertake, (or don't as the case may be), when we are talking about immigrants we call them immigrants, not Pakistani, Indian, Bangladeshi, Iraqi, Afghani ... etc as it is too cumbersome to list all the nations that the immigrants may have come from.

I understand some of you are called laowai, or waiguoren to your face, and yes I would find that annoying but in two years in Nanning I've only come across that once and that was two kids who, I'm sure, meant no offense.

I revel in the anonymity! That way, I can do something really outrageous, and when they ask, "where are you from," I just name any country. And the great thing is, nobody knows the difference!