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China from a foreign tourist's perspective
After living in Beijing for nearly five years, I recently welcomed some special foreign guests – my family. Their trip was a real eye-opener for me because after living in China for such a long time, there are a lot of things that I have become used to. Their trip also alerted me to the fact that the Chinese way of handling foreign tourists can often give a bad impression of China. For starters, some of the hotel staff treated my parents terribly. My parents stayed at the Howard Johnson Paragon Hotel near Beijing Station. Through their travel agent, my parents had booked a three-bed room (my sister also came to China). However, the hotel staff had yet to add the extra bed before my parents arrived. Due to tiredness after a long trip and poor communication, the bed was taken away and the three-bed room was cancelled. This meant that my sister lost her free breakfast for the following two days. I think that this problem was mostly caused by a rude and uncooperative staff member who seemed to hold a grudge against my parents for protesting about the inconvenience of having an extra bed brought to their room at 10pm at night.
 The Howard Johnson Paragon Hotel.
Another problem was the stinginess encountered by my parents at the restaurants that their tour guide took them to. Not only was some of the food terrible, but the waiting staff were very quick to take away beer and coke bottles, thus preventing my parents and sister from having a second glass. This gives a bad and false impression of China. Chinese people are actually very generous hosts, and are always willing to give as much food and drink as the guest’s stomach is able to handle.
Perhaps the biggest problem was the pushiness that my parents encountered at the Silk Market and other places that sell stuff to foreign tourists. My parents were actually surprised when I took them to Xinjiekou and they discovered that not everyone is so pushy. At the Pearl Market, I actually had to prise the hand of one shop assistant off my mother’s wrist. This kind of pushiness did not give my parents a good impression of China.
I also do not think that it is a good idea to put foreign tourists in a room full of domestic tourists to watch an acrobatic show. Yes, I know that 80 per cent of Chinese people are peasants, but for the sake of foreigners not thinking that Chinese are savages, it is probably not a good idea for domestic and foreign tourists to mix. My mum was shocked that she and my sister were forced to squeeze past the unmoved legs of Chinese tourists to get to their seats in the middle of the aisle. My parents also noticed the juvenile fascination that the domestic tourists gave the acrobatic show.
In this post, I have suggested ways of improving foreign impressions of China. That is not to suggest that these impressions are completely false. Bad service, stinginess, pushiness and lack of manners abound in China, so perhaps it is good that foreign tourists are getting these impressions. However, I would not be surprised if some sections of the Chinese population have no awareness of such impressions, and if they did, they would work quickly to make tourism better.
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Posted: 8:00 PM, 25/4/2008 in ChinaShare on Facebook |
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There are still HoJo's?
| I am surprised that there are still HoJo's around... thought they had been bought out or converted (like my old dorm at GWU). |
Posted by Demerzel at 11:43 AM, 26/4/2008 |
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Untitled Comment
| Don't think China is in the mood for any more "advice" from foreigners right now! Besides, given that foreign tourism is dwarfed by domestic business I doubt the managers of places like these hotels/venues are going to put much effort into changing practices that are firm;y entrenched and taken for granted by Chinese. |
Posted by Anonymous at 5:44 PM, 26/4/2008 |
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yup
Sadly it is often a wake up call from a foreign friend or relative that brings the last straw. For me, my mother spending two weeks in Beijing with me really was the final push.
A well travelled and intelligent person, my mother just couldn't understand what would make anyone want to live in pollution and amongst people who push, shove, grab and are generally rude and unpleasant.
Her sheer horror at the standard of driving was really a wake up call- my mother is never prone to worrying, i used to stay out all night in my teens without her batting an eyelid but she was genuinely in fear for our lives at times. Suppose i had gotten used to it.
Anyway, try a month back in the west, if you ca head back happily to China you are a stronger man than I.
PS why are you still writing this blog and not working for a newspaper- you seem to know more than anyone else writing their rubbish (Richard Spencer Aside). |
Posted by Anonymous at 12:58 PM, 28/4/2008 |
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PUT UP OR SHUT UP!!
| If China is such a horrible place, why on earth do so many foreigners from the "superior" west choose to come here in the first place? If you good people can just learn to abandon your arrogant western mindset and prejudice against us, then things will surely be much better. Otherwise will you all do us a favour by going back to where you come from and leave us in peace? As you well mannered people like to say, PUT UP OR SHUT UP!! |
Posted by Anonymous at 9:24 PM, 28/4/2008 |
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Tourist to Beijing
| As the mentioned parent in the article I would just like to say that despite the episode at the Howard Johnson my trip to Beijing was a very positive one. The actions of one over zealous unflexible employee of the hotel was just one small blot on our trip. I found Beijing very clean especially the subway. We travelled on the subway at night and we felt very safe, something I would not reccommend doing in Melbourne. The people were very happy unlike Albury where if you look the wrong way at some of our youth they are just as likely to abuse you. I was impressed with the lack of litter and graffiti. |
Posted by mum at 3:35 PM, 5/5/2008 |
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