China Welcomes Foreigners? This Map Suggests Otherwise

Vivian Ludford | Aug 19, 2013 9:00 am | 3 comments | 5876 reads

China has long been known as a country of red, but on this map featured in the Washington Post, the Middle Kingdom is red for a very different reason: its unreceptiveness to foreigners.

That map had us wondering: is China really that cold to non-nationals?

China has some of the highest rates of foreign tourism ever, and Beijing’s holdings are counted among the top tourist sites in the world. So you’d think a country that gets that much tourist traffic would warm up to its foreigners, right?

Perhaps not. Beijing’s tourism has already fallen 14% in the first half of this year alone (while that was mainly attributed to pollution, it makes sense that if its culture isn't welcoming to foreigners that that may have contributed too). And if last year’s crackdown on foreigners wasn’t indication enough, the new, more specific visa additions, as well as the added criminal record clearances now required for work visas, are both signs that the Chinese government is getting more serious about setting restrictions for foreigners coming to China.

But laws and restrictions are a given – this is a huge, booming country, after all, and we’d be crazy to think that any government would let foreigners in freely and unregulated. So is China hatin' or not?

Some people say that it’s not. In fact, they’d argue that China is loving, even at the expense of its own citizens. After Chinasmack posted its translation of this video enumerating the ways in which foreigners get “preferential treatment” over their national counterparts, debates erupted about whether foreigners actually have it easier in China than nationals, with plenty of mud-slinging from both sides.

Nobody ever reached a firm conclusion about what was true, but there seem to be two extremes dominating the conversation: those who think laowai have it way better than waidiren and those who think the exact opposite.

So, readers, we want to know: What have your experiences here been like? Is China the red monster Washington Post makes it out to be? Or are the people here as welcoming as the stars of that 2008 Olympic hit would have you believe? Sound off below, and we’ll probably find a much more nuanced conclusion.

Photo: bjliuwenli on Flickr

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pguindon's picture pguindon Submitted by Guest on Tue, 08/20/2013 - 17:00

I've received nothing but cold stares, snide remarks in Chinese and sarcastic attempts at shouting English words from most strangers I encounter. The only locals who are nice to laowarrr men are females, but they often ignore you the instant you tell them you are happily married. Oddly enough, I find that only elders tend to be warm and friendly in China. Young people here just tend to be bitter towards me, whether it's for my job or my 1st world passport.
After seeing the welcoming opening ceremonies of the 2008 olympics I figured that China is willing to open up and welcome others who do not look like they do. I wish I could say there's lots of love here for foreigners but I'm afraid not.

keep it 文明.

mtnerror's picture mtnerror Submitted by Guest on Mon, 08/19/2013 - 11:09

The WEF asked "the attitude of each countries' population toward foreign visitors." So basically according to this data, taken from 2011-12, Chinese polled are stating their attitude of foreigners is not so great. Probably one reason why the gov't is making it harder for those they'd rather not let in (read: criminal background). Accept decent people who respect the laws of the country which they are visiting/living -- not simply transporting their sense of "right vs. wrong" from their home country -- and people's attitudes will change for the better.

RadioDJ38's picture RadioDJ38 Submitted by Guest on Mon, 08/19/2013 - 10:57

Well....as an American expat, I have been to China 4 times and have traveled to many different cities. I lived in Nanning (Guangxi) for almost 2 years and recently moved to Beijing a couple months ago.

I can say that most of my experiences with Chinese have been very good. Also, when I came here to live back in 2011, I lost my money belt with my wallet in it at the Beijing airport, and I missed my flight to Nanning. So, not only did I lose my wallet with all my money in it (thankfully I didn't have my Passport in it at the time), I was going to be very late arriving in Nanning and I had no way of letting my wife know I would arrive at a different time (couldn't use my cell phone). I went to the police post at the airport and told them what had happened. They did everything possible to help me try to find my money belt, even checked the security cameras at the checkpoint to make sure I didn't leave it there, and when there was no sign of it, they took my information and said they would contact me if it turned up (something I didn't realistically expect to happen). When I told the police woman about not being able to call my wife in Nanning to let her know I missed the flight, she let me use HER cell phone to make the call.

So, basically my experiences with locals in China have been positive. Of course, just like in America and other countries, there are people that are less than welcoming when it comes to foreign visitors, so I am sure that foreign visitors in China will eventually have a negative experience at some point.

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