In China, you never forget what you are. Walking the streets, I was a presence that could not be ignored. Faces turned, fingers pointed, voices called out in gleeful recognition. “Hello! Laowai!”
A common experience to all obviously (non-Asian) foreigners visiting China in those days. An amazing difference today, that practice of calling out the different has *almost* disappeared. Visit an interior 4th tier or lower town and it can still happen.
Maybe my experience was a bit different, being in the industrial zones. The catcalls were not all uniformly innocent or friendly. Genuine and feigned politeness can look the same. I know to many, I was a corporate raider, exploiting low costs, long hours, bad working and living conditions. Just the same as those of the past. If all sides can see the situation from that perspective, all sides begin to live down to the lowest expectations.
It’s a really important point, Paul - the context changes everything. Teaching in a college felt very different, I imagine, from being linked to industry or business zones, where the history and power dynamics are much more charged. You’re right: surface politeness can hide a lot, and sometimes what seems like curiosity is really something else.
I recognise this story so well! In Zhujiang New Town where I live no-one notices or comments, but you don't have to go too far into the more down to earth neighbourhoods in Liwan or Yuexiu to come across it, mostly from older folks or kids. I'm about as white as it's possibly to get and I have ginger hair so I really stand out. I've had little kids, and the occasional older lady touch my bare skin - maybe to see if it rubs off! And I've had more than one little kid who wanted to touch my hair. Then the are the surreptitious photographs, particularly in the Metro. I don't know enough Chinese to banter with the locals, but a smile and a wave always works. I've never encountered any of it as aggressive or hostile - as you say, it's just curiosity, particularly when I'm wandering through neighborhood where expats generally don't go.
It’s fascinating how much appearance affects the experience. I stood out too, but not in quite the same way as my fair-haired, pale-skinned colleagues, who got far more stares and touches. That curiosity you describe feels so familiar though - especially in those older neighbourhoods.
Great post, as usual! Thanks! It reminded me of a similar event that happened to me five decades ago, while teaching English in a tiny, remote village in the Andes Mountains. The people were taught to call all foreigners "Meester" (Mr.). Despite my being female, the villagers would shout out, "Alloo Meester," at me from windows, or at the market, or any other place where I went. At least my students learned the distinction of Meester and Messus.
A beautiful parallel! That mix of hospitality and assumption seems to cross cultures and decades. Funny how we remember the way we were called - not just by name, but by category.
Reminds me of all the “Hey gringo!”s I got when living in Colombia. Like you, I eventually grew to recognize it as innocent, if not a bit indelicate, curiosity. And sometimes, yes, it’s fun to flip the script on them and see what happens! Taxi drivers especially got a kick out of me rattling of local idioms.
Yes, exactly! It’s that same cocktail of curiosity and clumsiness, isn’t it? Once you stop taking it personally, it becomes this strange kind of invitation. Love that you threw local idioms back at taxi drivers - bet you got some great reactions!
Absolutely loved this, Bill. Your account makes mine feel positively sedate! Cabbage trucks, bicycle diplomacy, and mucous-dust roads - what a vivid, visceral slice of that era. I think you’re right: some things just shift slowly over time, no matter how many conversations we try to have along the way.
It's interesting how dramatically this changed from the 2000-2010 range (when I think you were there?) to the 2010-2020ish range (when I was there). The incident you describe so well happened to me once, but not more than that (granted, I was a tourist when I was in the mainland). Ironically, it happened in Nanjing, and I think I just happened to stumble upon a rural family that was also a tourist.
I remember a hotel that couldn't take foreigners and they didn't really know what to do with me, but that was more a bureaucratic stumbling block than the exoticism.
I would hear stories, though, of foreigners being treated like exciting new topics of interest, but by the time I arrived, it was mostly relegated to stories.
That’s really interesting, Kevin - sounds like you caught the tail end of it. By the time I left, things were already shifting, especially in the larger cities. The novelty factor definitely fades once exposure increases. Makes me wonder what those same streets are like now.
it used to frustrate me, then i came to the same realization. it continues to frustrate me, lol. i can understand why, but i really don’t want the attention or the occasional borderline harassment.
A common experience to all obviously (non-Asian) foreigners visiting China in those days. An amazing difference today, that practice of calling out the different has *almost* disappeared. Visit an interior 4th tier or lower town and it can still happen.
Maybe my experience was a bit different, being in the industrial zones. The catcalls were not all uniformly innocent or friendly. Genuine and feigned politeness can look the same. I know to many, I was a corporate raider, exploiting low costs, long hours, bad working and living conditions. Just the same as those of the past. If all sides can see the situation from that perspective, all sides begin to live down to the lowest expectations.
It’s a really important point, Paul - the context changes everything. Teaching in a college felt very different, I imagine, from being linked to industry or business zones, where the history and power dynamics are much more charged. You’re right: surface politeness can hide a lot, and sometimes what seems like curiosity is really something else.
I recognise this story so well! In Zhujiang New Town where I live no-one notices or comments, but you don't have to go too far into the more down to earth neighbourhoods in Liwan or Yuexiu to come across it, mostly from older folks or kids. I'm about as white as it's possibly to get and I have ginger hair so I really stand out. I've had little kids, and the occasional older lady touch my bare skin - maybe to see if it rubs off! And I've had more than one little kid who wanted to touch my hair. Then the are the surreptitious photographs, particularly in the Metro. I don't know enough Chinese to banter with the locals, but a smile and a wave always works. I've never encountered any of it as aggressive or hostile - as you say, it's just curiosity, particularly when I'm wandering through neighborhood where expats generally don't go.
It’s fascinating how much appearance affects the experience. I stood out too, but not in quite the same way as my fair-haired, pale-skinned colleagues, who got far more stares and touches. That curiosity you describe feels so familiar though - especially in those older neighbourhoods.
Great post, as usual! Thanks! It reminded me of a similar event that happened to me five decades ago, while teaching English in a tiny, remote village in the Andes Mountains. The people were taught to call all foreigners "Meester" (Mr.). Despite my being female, the villagers would shout out, "Alloo Meester," at me from windows, or at the market, or any other place where I went. At least my students learned the distinction of Meester and Messus.
A beautiful parallel! That mix of hospitality and assumption seems to cross cultures and decades. Funny how we remember the way we were called - not just by name, but by category.
Reminds me of all the “Hey gringo!”s I got when living in Colombia. Like you, I eventually grew to recognize it as innocent, if not a bit indelicate, curiosity. And sometimes, yes, it’s fun to flip the script on them and see what happens! Taxi drivers especially got a kick out of me rattling of local idioms.
Yes, exactly! It’s that same cocktail of curiosity and clumsiness, isn’t it? Once you stop taking it personally, it becomes this strange kind of invitation. Love that you threw local idioms back at taxi drivers - bet you got some great reactions!
So funny!
My experience was in 1988, and the actions I took were based on a different situation.
https://open.substack.com/pub/bill575555/p/those-who-go-to-town-on-cabbage-trucks?r=50tspg&utm_medium=ios
Absolutely loved this, Bill. Your account makes mine feel positively sedate! Cabbage trucks, bicycle diplomacy, and mucous-dust roads - what a vivid, visceral slice of that era. I think you’re right: some things just shift slowly over time, no matter how many conversations we try to have along the way.
It's interesting how dramatically this changed from the 2000-2010 range (when I think you were there?) to the 2010-2020ish range (when I was there). The incident you describe so well happened to me once, but not more than that (granted, I was a tourist when I was in the mainland). Ironically, it happened in Nanjing, and I think I just happened to stumble upon a rural family that was also a tourist.
I remember a hotel that couldn't take foreigners and they didn't really know what to do with me, but that was more a bureaucratic stumbling block than the exoticism.
I would hear stories, though, of foreigners being treated like exciting new topics of interest, but by the time I arrived, it was mostly relegated to stories.
That’s really interesting, Kevin - sounds like you caught the tail end of it. By the time I left, things were already shifting, especially in the larger cities. The novelty factor definitely fades once exposure increases. Makes me wonder what those same streets are like now.
This essay paints a picture of what it's like being a foreigner in China so well!
Appreciate that, Jenny. It’s such a strange tension - you’re the outsider, but also sometimes the centre of attention.
it used to frustrate me, then i came to the same realization. it continues to frustrate me, lol. i can understand why, but i really don’t want the attention or the occasional borderline harassment.
You made me smile