China Ruins Tourism

As I get into this post, you’ll probably point out that other foreign countries are the same way, so let’s just get that out in the open right now and save everyone their breath. I know! I was in Mexico shortly before I left for China and found their vendors just as equally eager to exploit a tourist attraction and harass incoming gringos. The difference between Mexican vendors and Chinese vendors is that Mexican vendors tend to know a little more English than just, “Hello! Cheaper for you! Hello!”

What drives me crazy about tourism in China is that vendors not only congregate outside a tourist attraction, they plague the tourist attraction itself. Jiuzhaigou was swell and all, but I didn’t appreciate the locals asking me if I wanted to try on their Tibetan garbs for a price. Even on the Li River, small rafts would latch onto the side of our boat, and a couple of rough-looking guys would hop on board, trying to push their jade statues on us. Oh, but that’s not nearly as disruptive as the floating vendor booths on the other river ride we went on. It was supposed to be a relaxing moment, and yet they kept pestering me to buy their drinks, squirt guns, and postcards!

While I make an attempt never to reward these people for being a nuisance, Chinese tourists eat it right up. In fact, they’re part of the problem. Every attraction in China is packed with people to the point where it’s barely enjoyable. You become surrounded by these huge tour groups, whose ringleader is yelling over a megaphone, and whose members are always standing in your perfect picture or pushing you out of the way so they can take a photo of themselves with their arms spread out like a dumbass. They hit each photo opportunity as quickly as possible and run you over in the process.

I hate to be the one to say this, but Chinese tourists need to learn some manners… or at least learn how to read the signs that say “No Smoking” and “No Littering.” It’s so hard to appreciate nature when you’re sitting next to a group of middle-aged farts blowing cigarette smoke everywhere or a group of young farts eating noisily and tossing the wrappers on the ground. It wouldn’t be fair to just point the finger at the Chinese, though. Western tourists in China aren’t always on their best behavior, either. It seems like being in China gives some people an excuse to be the slob they’ve always wanted to be back home. Thanks for contributing to the problem, guys.

22 September 2009 | China | Comments | Home
tags: manners, smoking, tourism

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