China’s Strange Things
Yes, it is true. In China I came across with many odd things to me that worth mentioning, and I would like to share with you.
Security controls
I must admit that China is one of the safest countries I have ever been to. Its security system is wide and very strict. Apart from the cameras that are literally in every single corner of the country, there are security controls almost everywhere. Outside of each metro station there are little police stations while each time entering a metro station you need to go through airport security check. Your belongings are scanned in scanning machines and a police officer is checking you. Once, I was holding a refreshment and the police officer asked me to drink a little to ensure that it was not an explosive liquid or a dangerous substance. In Beijing there were also security controls to the streets not only for the cars but also for the pedestrians. You cannot go anywhere in China without carrying your passport as controls are extremely frequent. Apart from this your passport is your ticket to all sightseeing’s and trains. For entering in museums, trains etc you need to scan your passport to enter. Even in the metro station if you want to buy metro tickets paying by cash you need to enter your passport number to proceed with the purchase. Although I felt very safe during my stay, all this security exaggeration was a little bit tiring, but you get used to it quickly.
Public Toilets
I know that it sounds weird my need to talk about China’s public toilets, but I need to. Public Toilets were almost everywhere which is a good thing especially for people like me that need to pee every hour. In Beijing, in the traditional part of the city (among the hutongs), the public toilets were shared which is totally crazy. I will explain. There was no privacy as the toilets did not have any doors, so basically you had to pee next to other women. I was lucky enough to enter in such toilets where I was alone but the stress of another woman entering the toilet was immense. Same situation in men’s toilet too. I cannot understand the need of such toilets, but I suppose for Chinese people is something normal. The other odd thing about the toilets is the lack of paper. There was soap in all of them but toilet paper you could only locate in malls. Finally, the majority of the cafes, restaurants, bars (even the more expensive ones) did not have inside toilet. You had to go to the public one that was to the next alley, mall or hotel (so weird!)
Chinese Beggars
It is always sad to meet people in need that have to beg for money. I only came across with few beggars in Shanghai. The unbelievable to me was the fact that even the beggars in China had barcodes from the two applications widely used for payments in China (Alipay and Wechat – see Must Have applications for travelling in China), where people could scan them and give them money in this way instead of cash.
People asking for photos
One of the most amusing experiences in China was people asking to take photos with me. As most of Chinese people are not very used to seeing non-Asian tourists, they want to take a picture with you. Some of them ask for permission, others come next to you taking selfies, while others act like paparazzies taking pictures of you wherever they find you. Feeling like a celebrity was indeed very entertaining even though I have no idea where my pictures are published.
Persistent sellers
Chinese sellers are maybe the most persistent that I have ever found in my trips. It is not only the fact that they love to bargain and to sell to you everything but many of them tend to follow you when walking in big commercial streets to persuade you to go to their hidden in big buildings stores, where many fake markets are located. They are that persistent that can walk next to you trying to convince you to follow them for even kilometers. They do not accept no as an answer and can be very tiresome. If you finally follow them, they are satisfied even if you don’t buy anything from their stores. Many of the times going to their markets even for a minute was the only solution of not following you anymore.
Wedding Markets
Every Saturday noon in People’s Park at the center of Shanghai a wedding market takes place. It seems that fixed marriages are still very popular even in the modern Shanghai of year 2024. Grandfathers, grandmothers, uncles, aunts or whoever has a daughter/son/cousin/nephew/niece that wishes to get married goes to this market. Each marriage candidate has its own CV written in a piece of paper including his age, height, weight, occupation, salary, description of his/her appearance and personality. The only missing is his/her photo. All CVs are placed on the ground like products and the ones that are interested give their personal information for a meeting between the potential couple to be arranged.
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