When I first knew I was going to China for a 7-days jaunt, I had expected to be greeted by a sophisticated, cosmopolitan city that the world has paint a prettified portrait of, one that will surpass our Western counterparts fifty years down the road. I got that. I saw the deliciously beautiful skyline, accentuated by the sparkling lights of the skyscrapers. But, at the same time, I witnessed a rude awakening of sorts - the atrociously bad mannerisms of the Chinese people.
Out of all the China people that I had met or come into contact with, sadly and very surprisingly, only 1% left me with a good impression. The majority were brusque, rude, impolite, ill-mannered and downright archaic.
Before the trip to China, I thought Singaporeans were a rude bunch of people, and I thought it was rightly so that we came out among the last in Reader's Digest courtesy test. After my trip, I think that Singaporeans are a bunch of well-mannered and polite people.
Think I’m biased against the Chinese in China? Here are some real-life experiences that I encountered over there:
--SHOPPING--
Venue: Popular Shopping District
The salespeople there butcher their customers mercilessly. Apart from quoting both suspecting and unsuspecting (mostly Westerners) customers exorbitant prices (a pair of Nike imitation shoes going for 1,000RMB can actually be slashed down to 190RMB if you are those kind that are good at bargaining), SOME WON'T LET YOU LEAVE THEIR SHOPS UNTIL THEY CLOSE A SALE!
Example:
Me: (walks into shop innocently, asks for the price of a pair of jeans (450RMB = 90SGD), finds it too expensive, begins bargaining like crazy, which turns out unsuccessful, and starts to walk away) Too expensive. (waves hand) Cannot. (walks out of store)
Salesgirl: (grabs my arm and drags me back into the store) No, not expensive, look at the material, it's very good!
Me: (WHAT THE!!!) No, thanks, too expensive. (walks out of the store)
Salesgirl: (pulls me back into the store again) How much you want?
Me: 150RMB.
Salesgirl: No, cannot! Look at the material, it's different, very good quality. Many foreigners pay this much for it!
Me: Okay, I'll look around first. I will come back again later. (Walks out of store)
Salesgirl: (walks out, grabs my arm and drags me back into the store) NO! YOU DON'T LOOK AROUND! (gives me a calculator) Give me your best price! Don't play around, give me a serious price.
Me: (takes calculator and keys in 150)
Salesgirl: (looks at the calculator, then looks at me as though I’m responsible for the death of her favourite pet dog) No, cannot! This jeans is very good material, look at it, it's different from other jeans!
Me: Okay, I'll think about it first. (Walks out of store)
Salesgirl: (grabs my arm) NO! YOU DON'T THINK ABOUT IT FIRST! Give me your best price.
Me: 150RMB.
Salesgirl: No, cannot! 350RMB okay? This is my best price! Because you are student, I sell you cheap.
Me: Okay, I go and look for my father first, I will come back again later.
Salesgirl: NO! YOU DON'T LOOK FOR YOUR FATHER! Give me your best price, really!
Dad walks in, and I can't describe the relief I felt after having experienced GREAT difficulty at leaving this particular shop.
Salesgirl: (to Dad) This jeans original price is 450, but your daughter bargain with me, so I give you 150, okay?
Dad: 150?!! NO, cannot, too expensive!
Salesgirl: But, you daughter said 150 already!
Dad: No, I won't pay so much for a pair of jeans. (walks out of store)
Salesgirl: (grabs Dad's arm and pulls him back) NO! This is not expensive! This is good material!
Dad: No, no. The things in China shouldn't be so expensive.
2nd salesgirl: (looks offended) Don't say like that, can? China not all the things is cheap okay? China also has good stuff.
Dad: No, it's too expensive, I won't pay. (walks 500000m away from store)
Salesgirl: (chases 500000m after my Dad, grabs hold of his arm forcefully and drags him all the way back to the shop [No, I’m not kidding, the salesgirl actually did this]) NO! YOU DON'T GO AWAY! (gives him calculator) OK, give me your best price.
Finally, due to my father’s rigid stand, the salesgirl relented and we got the pair of jeans for 110RMB. The salesgirl looked like she was going to cry when we left the store.
This scenario took place in almost all the shops that we went to.
Another shop-owner told us to buy the handbag now for 150RMB or forget about it. When we decided to forget about it, and walked out of the store, she told us in a menacing tone that, "IF YOU COME BACK AGAIN, I'M NOT GOING TO SELL YOU ANY OF MY STUFF!" Another scolded us 'SHEN JIN BING!" (Chinese for crazy) and looked at us as though we killed her entire family when we walked out of her store without making any purchase.
How the simple buying of goods can result in countless altercations is beyond my comprehension.
I've spent years in Singapore, and have never encountered any salesgirl culpable of sputtering an avalanche of vulgarities the customers' way when they refuse to buy something. I spent seven days in China and witnessed such horrible altercations taking place everywhere I went.
--SHOPPING--
Venue: Supermart
When you are blocking a European's way, and he or she wants to get across, what do they say?
Excuse me.
When you are blocking a Singaporean's way, and he or she wants to get across, what do they say?
Excuse me.
When you are blocking a Chinese's way, and he or she wants to get across, what do they say?
Nothing. They ram their supermarket trolleys into your backside, and when you look back irritatingly, they return it with a smug look and carry on their way in their uglified Hello Kitty or Doraemon PJs, their ugly exteriors exacerbated by their even uglier mannerisms.
And, for god’s sakes, Singaporeans are being criticized for their far-too-casual or slipshod dressing! Hello!! At least we (excluding children) don’t walk around in supermarkets with our Ninja Turtles printed pyjamas! It’s such an ugly sight! I think the trademark Singaporean’s white tee and black short shorts go far more easy on the eye.
--EATING--
Venue: Some restaurant in Shanghai
Non-smokers would probably appreciate the non-smoking regulations that the Singapore government has imposed. Everywhere you go in China, people smoke. Both indoors and outdoors. In your faces.
The China people speak with harsh voices, you would think they were engaged in an argument, even though they are only having a normal conversation. They shout, speak in high octaves, and have no consideration for the next person.
While we were having our lunch at this restaurant in Shanghai, this guy came over to our table and helped himself to our tea. He did not ask for permission, all he did was INFORMED us that he was going to take our tea, before whisking away with the teapot that belonged to our table under our shocked, gaped mouths.
Again. Culture shock.
I know in some countries, such behaviour is acceptable. They interpret it as some sort of friendly gesture, whereas in other cultures, this is deemed as rude, impolite and totally unacceptable. Some cultures dictate that you can walk straight into your friend’s home and help yourselves to the drinks in the refrigerator. It sure seems like China is one of them.
--WORST PLACE TO BE IN CHINA--
Venue: Toilets
It is the toilets where the behaviours of China people rears its ugly head. I don’t know about the male loos, but the female loos smell like..well, loos.
The China woman has no qualms about leaving the toilet door wide open while they squat over the commodes relieving their bladders. The idea of door locks are a foreign concept to them, and they ensure that their private businesses are kept strictly public.
This came as another culture shock to me, I’ve never seen a girl more than the age of two peeing in public. Or, any girl, in fact.
Here, the more rural or touristy the places are, or the more elderly women are present, the more you witness such retrogressive behaviour: of women urinating with their doors wide open.
Furthermore, sanitary napkins are left out in the open with uncovered wastepaper dustbins. This unhygienic act means that the toilets smell doubly horrible.
I thought all these were bad enough, until I went to Shanghai Pudong International Airport, where travellers "can head to the city on a futuristic magnetic levitation train capable of more than 200mph" and deemed as "Asia's Wall Street".
I made a trip to the toilet, where upon entering a cubicle was halted by the cleaning lady. Very politely, she told me that she wanted to clean the toilet first before I entered. I said OK, surprised by her good manners and good service standards.
I watched her as she started mopping the floor next to the commode. Next to it, was an open-air dustbin filled to the brim with used sanitary napkins and blood-stained tissue papers.
Suddenly, the woman lifted up her wet mop, placed it atop the dustbin and proceeded to flatten all of its bloody contents.
When she was finally done with it, she continued using the same wet mop to clean the floor. I swear I could see bloody trails all over the floor of the toilet cubicle.
I thought that was the
worst possible thing I could ever witness taking place in a toilet. Until I was washing my hands. Sensing that something was amiss, I looked up. And, from the reflection of the mirror, I saw a well-groomed China woman with her pants down, her underwear exposed and her pubic hair in full public view.
I thought that was the
worst worst possible thing I could ever witness taking place in a toilet. Until I saw her adjusting the sanitary napkin she was wearing.
--BEST THING ABOUT CHINA--
Venue: Eateries, Restaurants
Fortunately, there’s still something salvageable about China. And, that is the service standards in the eatery industry. In eateries and restaurants around China, high service standards were widespread and prevalent.
After each meal, you have waitresses coming up to you to enquire about your overall satisfaction of the meal. Once, after a horribly unpalatable meal, a waitress came up to our table and asked how the food was. Mum said it was ‘not bad’ even though it sucked. Finally, tired of the hypocrisy, when another waitress came up to us and asked for our comments on the food, I told her that the food tasted horrible, and was met by ringing silence. I don’t think they are hot on hearing the truth.
Afternote
Yes, no doubt China is a big metropolis and is slowly opening up as a force to be reckoned, but it will take more effort and time developing its people than the country itself. Alas, the true albatross of the country is the people themselves, and even if the Westerners look up to China's economical success, its people will forever be looked down upon.
The antediluvian mindsets and ad nauseam behaviours of the Chinese is nothing to be proud about, and everything to be shameful of. The stereotype of China man spitting on the streets is very much evident. I even saw a man blowing his nose and flinging his mucus onto the streets. Bless thy poor soul of the unlucky person who steps on it.
Furthermore, the people there are clueless to the words, ‘Sorry’ and ‘Excuse me’! If you are blocking them, they use their hands to shove you away. If you are moving too slowly, they push you aside so that they can get ahead. If you are just standing around in a clothings outlet, and something falls off the shelves that you are not responsible for, the China bitch will head over to inform you not-so-nicely that, “Be careful of what you are standing next to. If you are not careful and step on other people’s clothings, it wouldn’t be very nice!”
Once, I was standing next to a group of friends. Suddenly, one of their other friends came over to join them, and this particular girl was so happy that she began hugging her friend…and stamping all over my toes with her shoes! I was yelping in pain, and yet she continued stamping her heels all over my thinly-clad feet. Since the entire area was jammed with crowds, I couldn’t move away, and she continued her feet stomping. I was screaming in pain, and she just continued laughing with her friends.
Another time, a woman’s chair was pulled too far back, leaving little leg space for the person behind. But, she just continued ignoring the person’s requests to move forward. Thinking that she might not have heard clearly, I tapped her on the shoulders and asked her to please move her chair forward. She turned, stared at me for a total of ten seconds, and then continued with her own stuff. This proves that even if you speak very nicely to them, they will just ignore you.
Mind you, these are not solitary cases due to selfish individuals, but a widespread phenomenon.
Also, the places that I witnessed all this happening is not in some rural village or ulu place, but Shanghai, the apple-core of China, and also Beijing, which is hosting the Olympics 2008.
I understand that the main reason why the West managed to flourish into this gloriously rich country was in part, thanks to the help of the herds of Chinese scientists, who uncontented with the economic prospects of China, flew over to the West in the early centuries.
Last I heard, China was bludgeoning into the world’s capital city, about to supplant the weakening force of the West. But, why is the media only paying attention to the straggling force and the vast economic potential that China is evolving into, and ignoring the retrogressive behaviours of its people?
Isn’t the progress of the people in the country as important as that of the country itself? What is the use of having a beautiful city, with great mercantile prospects, state-of-the-art skyscrapers, and delicious skylines, when the person who bumps into you accidentally on the street just gives you a scowl and walks away?
Everywhere in the media is about how the Orient country is slowly opening up, how the government has been harvesting a great deal of effort, time and money into leavening the education level of its people, how awe-inspiring buildings and constructions so gargantuan in size are mushrooming up all over the city, how the Westerners have no choice but to respect the China people and start learning Chinese.
But, try asking any salesgirl in China that you would like to have a closer look at whatever it is that the store is selling, and then walking off without making any purchase.
Chances are, her whole face will turn black and she will look at you as though you've just burned her house down.
And, that is, if you are lucky.
The other day, I was walking around in Plaza Singapura when a man carrying a toddler accidentally bumped into me, and quickly said, 'Sorry!'
For some strange reason, I felt elated.
