Mainland Chinese tourists in Hong Kong

[Paradox]

Well, I just got back from Hong Kong and it was interesting to see what some of our mainland Chinese brothers and sisters were up to these days. It's like seeing an extended asian episode of the Beverly Hillbillies. Some of the mainland Chinese are pretty rich even by U.S. standards but they act like country bumpkins :biggrin: . Some of the antics observed were humorous to say the least.

I went to Disneyland HK with my girlfriend and witnessed the following:

A "little emperor" screaming at the top of his lungs for his dad in a sweltering line waiting for the philharmonic doors to open.

Various Chinese "grannies" coughing up lung butter.

A full on husband/wife screaming match in the main street USA souveneir shop.

Generally rude and crass behavior ie..talking loudly in restaurants, blocking doorways, etc.

A bunch of them with expressions like :confused: when the lesser known disney characters were on (hunchback, tarzan, etc..)

Just day to day shopping in Hong Kong there were quite a few memorable incidences too such as..

On the ride to Ocean Park the mainland tourists disregarding the "no eating" rule on the bus and gobbling entire meals. Had a little girl hork up some nasty phlegm into a napkin her mother was holding.

Inappropriate bargaining :biggrin: :wink:. Standing and arguing with the helpless clerk for 30 minutes over a fairly trivial difference in price.

Ignoring obvious signs such as "no flash pictures" at aquarium fish and line cutting.



Heh, i'm not prejudiced against mainlanders..honest. They just have some quirks that need to be ironed out. It's great fun to do some Chinese tourist observation sometimes. :wink:

[SunWuKong]

to be honest, a lot of local HKers are guilty of most of what you mentioned. except most HKers know where haggling is appropriate and where it is not.

[AngryABCGirl]

A lot of the reason why HK-ers hate the behavior of Mainland tourists (hating Mainlanders for being Mainlanders ends up on a different ballpark I think) is mostly because of their low-class type behavior. I see a lot of the aforementioned behavior done by country bumpkins in Taiwan too when they visit Taipei and it pisses everyone off. I haven't seen this happen much yet with the Mainland tourists I see in Taiwan, but they can't walk around freely and are basically always supervised.

The fact is many Mainlanders live or lived in very different and much more ghetto for the lack of a better word than conditions compared to most HK-ers, especially when the Mainlanders go around nice shopping areas it becomes really apparent how different they are from the local residents. I've seen new immigrants from the Mainland do the same thing in the US all the time. One thing that sets Mainlanders apart though is that I get a sense of entitlement mixed with new money insecurity from them sometimes though that doesn't please people.

That being said, some HK-ers are downright mean to Mainlanders without provocation as well unless they're trying to sell them something. There's a huge difference in treatment I get when I speak English and the service given Mainlanders. I've also been taken for a Mainlander a few times when I go to small local restaurants or areas out of the way from touristy areas, cause you know I see tons of people lining up and waiting and it must be good, and order in Mandarin or point to the menu or at things because I don't know how to say it in Cantonese and people suddenly become not so friendly. It doesn't happen that much because I'm so overly polite they figure I'm not from the Mainland. In any case though I learned to wear clothing by local brands that prominently display the word TAIPEI so I get better service when I speak Mandarin. Go figure.

[BaiSanghei]

What is "uncouth" is a relative standard - different cultures, different judgements. Mainland China is a chaotic place with a lot of people, where it's push or be pushed, and most behavioral rules are more earnest suggestions than anything. Hong Kong is such an odd mix of British orderliness and Cantonese energy, it is difficult for outsiders of any background to navigate it well. I mean,what the heck is a Shroff?

My friends who live in Hong Kong say the people there maintain a very us-them mentality, even towards the overseas Cantonese and/or those who try to learn the language. And it seems like foreigners who live in Hong Kong rarely try to learn Cantonese, and are discouraged from doing so - "it's too hard" - which strikes me as a deliberate promotion of separateness. I don't know whether that is a British legacy, or some inherent clannishness of the Cantonese. Either way, it certainly contrasts with the welcoming warmth of Mainland society, where subsuming and absorbing barbarians has a long tradtion.

Meanwhile, the Hongkies and the Taiwanese themselves act very uncouth when traveling in the Mainland. Superior, entitled and oblivious, and easy to spot even if you don't hear them first. I like the Japanese tourists the best, they usually look simultaneously horrified and thrilled by all the casual disorder.

[CBC guy]

What is "uncouth" is a relative standard - different cultures, different judgements. Mainland China is a chaotic place with a lot of people, where it's push or be pushed, and most behavioral rules are more earnest suggestions than anything. Hong Kong is such an odd mix of British orderliness and Cantonese energy, it is difficult for outsiders of any background to navigate it well. I mean,what the heck is a Shroff?

My friends who live in Hong Kong say the people there maintain a very us-them mentality, even towards the overseas Cantonese and/or those who try to learn the language. And it seems like foreigners who live in Hong Kong rarely try to learn Cantonese, and are discouraged from doing so - "it's too hard" - which strikes me as a deliberate promotion of separateness. I don't know whether that is a British legacy, or some inherent clannishness of the Cantonese. Either way, it certainly contrasts with the welcoming warmth of Mainland society, where subsuming and absorbing barbarians has a long tradtion.

Meanwhile, the Hongkies and the Taiwanese themselves act very uncouth when traveling in the Mainland. Superior, entitled and oblivious, and easy to spot even if you don't hear them first. I like the Japanese tourists the best, they usually look simultaneously horrified and thrilled by all the casual disorder.

I would be a bit worried if I was a Japanese living in Mainland China to be honest...

But I've been to both places, and I do find Mainlanders more welcoming of outsiders than HKers. HKers probably more world-weary, they've seen th foreigners, while in the PRC its still "exotic" to see foreigners.

Cantonese can be somewhat clannish though, I agree.

[SunWuKong]

one of my father's friends is a taxi driver, and one time he had a mainlander customer that insisted on paying him with RMB. the mainlander was getting all pissed off that he wouldn't take RMB, saying that HK is part of China now and he should be able to pay with RMB. then he threatened to report my father's friend to some government office.

[Paradox]

one of my father's friends is a taxi driver, and one time he had a mainlander customer that insisted on paying him with RMB. the mainlander was getting all pissed off that he wouldn't take RMB, saying that HK is part of China now and he should be able to pay with RMB. then he threatened to report my father's friend to some government office.
Well to be fair there are places in Hong Kong that do accept RMB as payment. Several places in airport and there are a few restaurants i've run across that state it as a policy. I'm a little surprised taxi drivers and such haven't capitalized on it. They can offer a surcharge on the exchange rate and make a little more money.

[BaiSanghei]

I've never tried to use RMB in HK, although given the current exchange rate it would behoove them to accept it. Since returning, I keep accidentally pulling out HKD coins instead of RMB, and get WTF?!s for it. Must...clean...out...wallet. So, it goes both ways there too.

On the other hand, Macau takes everything - HKD, RMB - without blinking, and prices are sometimes also listed in USD. I wonder what would happen if one tried to use something really random?