– QUOTED –

BEIJING (Reuters) - Some Chinese tourists have been warned that while spitting, slurping food and jumping queues may merely disgust people at home, they are sometimes not tolerated abroad, Xinhua news agency said on Friday.

The increasing number of Chinese tourists travelling abroad may be a huge new source of income to destination countries, but that won’t prevent complaints against individuals from reflecting badly on all of China, Xinhua said.

“The media in Singapore reports that hotel staff are upset with Chinese tourists spitting in their rooms and smoking in bed,” it said.

“…Singapore airline companies also criticised Chinese tourists for talking loudly and being very rude. Even Hong Kong newspapers have pointed out that some mainlanders lack manners and social graces.”

Beijing residents said last year spitting in public was what they could not stand most about living in the Chinese capital, followed close behind by dog owners who fail to clean up after their pets.

Beijing has launched a campaign to make its citizens more “civil” in the run-up to hosting the 2008 Olympics. Games organisers have repeatedly said the city needs to teach its people to stand in line, stop spitting and littering and generally be better mannered.

Past efforts to stamp out the spitting habit, like a 2003 campaign to help curb the spread of SARS, have not been very effective, partly because many people believe clearing the lungs and firing away is good for your health.

– –

Popularity: 10% [?]

Had my lunch at a Vietnamese Restaurant yesterday above XuJiaHui subway. The food sucks! The curry that I’ve order are not fresh at all and ‘taste’ overnight! We ordered some Vietnamese grill chicken wings but ends up fried chicken wings. After I went home, I fall sick. I consider how bad it was based on how many washroom trips I make, and a slight fever as well. My friend had the same problem as me, kind of food poisoning. I will NEVER … and EVER… dine in that restaurant again!

Shanghai is dirty. I can’t imagine how dirty the restaurants kitchen are in this entire city. Since the mainland Chinese here love to split, especially when they are sick or have lots of phlegm. In addition, for some reason they don’t seem to think that having a cold counts as being sick. Therefore they take no precautions to protect others when they have a cold. People tend to sneeze… and sneeze, and sneeze… inside subways! These scenario have all been very annoying and certainly raised my frustration levels at times…. People eat from the same plate as others with their diseased chopsticks, shack hands, etc….All of this happens with no increase in their hygiene habits, such as hand washing. SO, you will never know what happen in the KITCHEN !

Popularity: 8% [?]

I mentioned in my old blog how some shop assistants have trouble even with basic arithmetic, the most extreme case being a CRC supermarket in Shanghai where the total was RMB95, I gave her a 100 note and she took a calculator out to determine how much change to give me back. Well, it happened again last week. I was at a cafe and we ordered a couple of drinks. The total was 3.30 and we gave a 10 note. The guy looked dazed and confused and eventually got the calculator out before hesitantly handing over some change, still unsure if it was correct. Today, I shopped at a hypermarket for my grocerries. The total was 196.40. I gave her 200.50. She look very confuse and stunned for a while, gave me back my 50 cents, and a 3.6 change!

Popularity: 8% [?]