For many dynasties the Chinese are legendary for being loud, rude and impolite in many ways. After visiting China for the first time in 2003, Alfred was never keen on ever going back. Memories of amazing sights were overwritten by spitting, smelly toilets, crazy pushy crowds and pollution. Fast forward to 2016 we came back with our then 2 year old. A LOT changed! China became much cleaner and overall, friendlier for tourists.
After Covid, the news about China (here in Australia) often carries a negative bias, exaggerated and skewed. However, our Chinese friends reassured us that reality tells a different story.
And so, this year, 2024, we decided to return to China. This time as a family of 4! Destinations like Guilin, Yangshuo, and the breathtaking Zhangjiajie—resembling the surreal landscapes of Avatar—firmly etched on our itinerary. And what better way to cap off our adventure than a trip in Shanghai Disneyland for our boys. So, this time once again, A LOT has changed in China!
Here are realities of our family travel in China in 2024:
In reality spitting in China has gotten much less frequent
“Can’t they go more than 100 meters without spitting?!”. Loudly clearing phlegm before spitting use to be a very Chinese thing.
Gone are the days of incessant hocking and expectorating in every nook and cranny. Perhaps Covid played a role in fostering better hygiene practices, but whatever the reason, the streets and tourist spots were notably cleaner, much to our relief.
In reality China got around to making good Toilets
20 years ago, many Chinese toilets = a long ditch with partitions and no doors. “Did they finish building these toilets?”. With the excessive stench you would have to take a deep breath before entering, hold your breath for 30 seconds and run out the door before you can safely breathe again!
Travelling with a young toddler who still needs help wee-ing, we certainly weren’t looking forward to putting our head low, close to the toilet bowl!
BUT nowadays toilets in China are comparable to international standard! Bigger cities will have European-style seated toilets have become the norm in major cities, while even squat toilets in smaller towns have undergone a makeover. And as for the men’s toilets, many have the closest few urinals lowered for younger boys.
In reality (for 2 weeks) no one cut us off when lining up, except…
.. at Disneyland Shanghai!
Traditionally lining up in China is a contact sport. The Chinese people are famous for cutting in lines and pushing through crowds. During this holiday we were truly impressed with how the Chinese are WAY more civilized than they use to be. My Chinese friend said “We learnt to queue up during Covid, as we had to line up for hours getting their swabs done”. Cruel, but maybe true.
Disneyland Shanghai was the only place where we were cut off. Correction, where there were 3 “attempted” cutting offs, but all skillfully blocked by a very cranky (tired and sleep deprived) Alfred. In one occasion he even pulled a grandma’s hoodie who tried to cut us off!… But seconds later he ended up apologizing. Whoops false alarm! The grandparents were trying to catch up with their grand kids a few spots in front of us. “Dui bu qi!”
In reality the Chinese people….
.. is complicated to describe! China is massive. China is almost the size of all countries in Europe combined!
It is too easy to generalize and label them all as “Chinese”. To call them all Chinese is like to calling, the Portuguese, Lithuanians, the Swedish as “Europeans” – where in reality they are all VERY different people. In reality China is a mosaic of cultures, languages, and traditions, with diversity that rivals that of an entire continent.
We find the younger Chinese to be friendlier and more in line (dare we say) with the young Koreans & Japanese. We see that it also comes down to where they are from. In general we find Chinese from bigger cities know how to behave, helpful and more considerate.
Overall – to our surprise – we find the local Chinese to be friendly and helpful throughout our 2 weeks China trip. From our guide and driver, hotel workers, waitress to shop attendants.
Old perception that the Chinese doesn’t provide friendly service seem to be in the past. Maybe the Chinese will need regional province based labelling.
The older, non city folks are usually the ones to avoid. Generally, this is the rude, screaming, spitting, littering (…list is quite long) disaster class Chinese. They usually travel on flag guided group tours, terrorizing tourist sights all over the world.
Booking.comIn reality Chinese food in China is: delicious
During our 2016 China trip we were too scared to go to a local restaurant as we can’t read the menu or speak the language.
This time though, armed with an app like Papago (yes the same translation app we used in Korea last year) and with the help of our local guides, really made food selection super easy. The variety of food we enjoyed during this trip was awesome!
From succulent pork to savoury tofu, and even delectable vegetarian fare, each dish was a gastronomic revelation. One thing we don’t like? Chicken dishes in China include a LOT of bones.
For other places we have visited, checkout our website’s travel Destinations section. We buy our travel essentials online via Ebay
To be continued…..
