Chinese New Year is not very Chinese in China

in #blog7 years ago (edited)

And we're back! For those who don't know, this week has been Chinese New Year so I've been spending a bit more time with friends who otherwise would be at work every day.


2018, the year of the Dog

CNY is a time for the biggest human migration in the history of humanity with almost 400 million chinese people leaving the cities back to their hometowns, countless others going abroad and an unknown number of rural folk moving into the cities for vacation.

This is a time I find kind of interesting. Going into the subway for example, something that is a few minutes' walk from my apartment and practically a daily aspect of my life, is something astonishingly futuristic and new for the country folk visiting after saving up for 20 years. Seriously, I've seen numerous citizens amazed by the escalators, confusingly jumping onto it and then laughing with giddy excitement to their family.

The less interesting part is the sharp increase of people defecating in the metro or on the streets... to them it's kinda normal. When you gotta go, you gotta go!

The streets are typically filled with louder, more cheerful individuals in the main central city areas - tourists - but the numbers on the whole are generally smaller, the roads emptier (far from empty). It's a miniature transformation of the city of Shanghai.

On the 16th, the actual day of CNY, silence was at its maximum. You'd expect a mass of fireworks and celebrations - and this used to be the case. I remember not being able to sleep well because right outside my bedroom window at the crack of dawn, fire crackers would be going off, and all down the streets you'd here individual fireworks.

That was until the actual New Year of 2014 when a giant human stampede happened by the riverside where the iconic city skyline was showing off, crushing and stomping 36 people to death and injuring 50 more. Ahh, China.


Many deaths took place here

Since then, the streets are lined with an infinite number of police cars and riot vans with more of them slowly patrolling even the most residential of apartment blocks. The sky is lined with red-blue flashes of silence as everybody sits at home to 'spend time with their family', which I think translates as 'watches people enjoy Chinese New Year on TV'.

I found this the biggest of disappointments, though not at all surprising. Shanghai authorities have a long term habit of revoking all aspects of fun and entertainment; street performances, bars and clubs, tv shows, you name it. If it's a little bit too enjoyable, it's ban-able.

Cracking down is something of a hobby for them. Not a week goes by when you hear of a crackdown of drugs, or immigrants, of expats, of foreign businesses, of cheese, of VPNs, of CryptoCurrency, of nightlife, etc etc. To me this makes Shanghai one of the most boring megacities on earth.

If you go to Seoul, South Korea, where I lived from 2010-2012, you will find them celebrating Chinese New Year to a beautiful extent, as well as buddha's birthday, Spring festival and more. The streets were filled with parades; glowing lanterns, giant fire breathing dragon models surrounded by percussive performances and dancers. You could stand in one place for hours watching them travel past you without seeing an end. I'm not exaggerating here. My friends and I actually gave up out of exhaustion trying to see the end of one such performance.




Stages for musical and dance talent performances were all over the city, rivers filled with glowing lanterns and boats, the streets covered with decorations and street performers. It was beautiful everywhere you went.

Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam also makes effort, with every road in the city covered with lights reminiscent of Christmas in the west. Crowds would gather in infinite numbers to see a fireworks display and everybody would generally be having fun.

Here? It's almost as if everybody is under curfew; almost no sign that Chinese New Year ever happened, other than perhaps some red themed dog-related decorations in shopping malls. It's pretty sad to say that the countries surrounding China seem to be more Chinese than China. The spirit feels very much lost here in Shanghai if nowhere else.

So for me, I sat at home, playing Monster Hunter with friends or hopping round to play board games or watch 'Your Name' or whatever. It's been nice for sure, just not very celebratory.

For the Chinese among us, it's even worse. You see, vacations aren't very real for most Chinese citizens. They're more like a re-shuffling of schedules. If there's a 3 day public holiday, you have to work 3 Saturdays, or a couple of weekends to make up for it. If it's a week holiday, well, you just have to work your arse off practically non stop for a while. For many, holidays don't really exist; it's an illusion to keep them docile.

Could I have gone abroad, a trip to Thailand perhaps? Not really. With the migration of 1.4 billion people going on, flights, trains, pogo sticks and whatever else have been book months in advance, full to the brim. If you think it's a good idea to travel by car, well, be prepared for a 10 day traffic jam:

If I did manage to swipe a ticket, I'd be going to what would basically be an extension of China; hundreds of thousands of Chinese in noisy group tours ruining every public space there is.

In fact, Chinese have such a bad reputation worldwide, some countries have banned some of them or at least provided heavy restrictions; those with a lot of money in their accounts may go because if you're rich, you're well-behaved. At least that's the thought.

Switzerland has even introduced a Chinese-only train, and banned them from regular trains because they're too loud and too rude for Swiss folk. In Thailand, Chinese were caught peeing into sacred rivers and fighting, in Egypt they were found carving graffiti into 3,500 year old temples. In Vietnam, they were found eating endangered and protected sealife. Even North Korea isn't safe, with tourists throwing candy at their kids and picking them up without permission and generally breaking every rule in the book; loud, rude, spitting and so on.

Numerous airlines have had Chinese citizens breaking out into fights, stealing cutlery, getting wasted and dangerous, even shitting on the aisle of the plane.

If you think this is racist perception, think again. Naturally, these individuals do not represent every Chinese person, but the rest of the country are left to feel shame and humiliation, as expressed often online, especially when Chinese tourists still in China are found taking selfies with a slowly dying dolphin.

Many Chinese make effort to express their frustration; their reputation as an individual is increasingly being lowered by other peoples' actions. Feel free to enjoy this amazing video of a Chinese lady complaining about Chinese tourists ruining it for everybody else in Thailand:

Back in the homeland, the government is not unaware of this either. An entire rule book has been published that tourists have to sit through before going abroad, with golden rules such as:

DO NOT

  • Call Africans "Negroes" or "black"
  • Touch antiques or draw graffiti on heritage structures
  • Eat a whole piece of bread in one mouthful or slurp noodles noisily inside an aircraft
  • Expose the chest or back, or look dirty in public areas
  • Touch people's belongings in Nepal with the foot

Embassies release similar rules, like these from the Chinese embassy in Singapore:

DO NOT

  • Take the life vests and blankets off the plane.
  • Take the ashtray or bath towels from guest rooms.
  • Use towels or bed sheets to wipe your shoes.
  • Evade bus fare.
  • Bring durian (a fruit known for its strong odor) on public transportation.

Tour guides that have individuals break these and many other rules built to respect local culture and generally be respectable will be fined up to $50,000, so there's plenty of incentive to behave.

Since these rules have come out, one Chinese shouted about a bomb in his luggage 'out of boredom'. At least two others flicked coins into the jets of their planes for 'good luck', and other tourists were founding exercising, naked on public beaches.

I've had some personal experiences too, with one distinct memory of a Chinese woman sticking her smelly, bare foot through the crack of the seat on the plane onto the arm of my chair. Well at least she was well rested! I've also personally witnessed the aforementioned defecation routines in the subway 3 times, so generally this holiday is best spent indoors, I say.

It will continue until 21st or 22nd, but I will make my presence more known here on steemit, having exhausted my supply of energy dedicated to sitting around doing nothing. I may or may not reignite WHAT I LEARNT THIS WEEK today but failing that; tomorrow.

For anybody else out there enjoying the rest of CNY; be respectful but more importantly, educate your fellow countryfolk how to behave! (STEEM could do with a similar kind of rule book, come to think of it).

Thanks for reading!

Sort:  

Sounds like you wouldn't want to be a tour guide! Very interesting!

I have been a tour guide here several times... It's painful to visit the same places over and over, and those places aren't great to begin with...!

Year of the Dog!! So basically it is my year! :) I was born a dog, according to the chinese calendar. - 2018 gonna be awesome! :D

Ohh my Bad, but rabbits are so important (easter!!) and also tasty. 🤗😋

I'm a pathetic little rabbit =( and the worst astrology sign, gemini =(

I really enjoyed reading about life in China. It seems very different. One day I'd like to visit. But as an artist, not sure how welcome I'd be lol

Artists are welcome! Just as long as you adhere to the Chinese Communist Party's vision! That means no fancy architects (recently, cool looking buildings have been banned for being too outlandish in style), no political agenda and no western values!

The statement of State Council is

Bizarre architecture that is not economical, functional, aesthetically pleasing or environmentally friendly will be forbidden Source

Which is not very clear. Because "aesthetically pleasing" could be anything. Bizarre could also be "aesthetically pleasing". So in China legislation does not really mean a thing you usually just have to wait and see what happens :P

They would like Ayn Rand. Or at least her architectural side! :P

“The creator serves nothing and no one. He lives for himself.” —Howard Roark

Yeah that sounds like China :P

I wish a very happy new year to our lovely chinese friends.

Hello @mobbs

This is yet another interesting piece on one of the world's major countries. Your historical account of Chinese new year is succinct too. However, it is quite sad that a festival that's widely cerebrated by neighboring countries is not as widely celebrated within China —Shanghai precisely. What a government... How repressive.

I've had some personal experiences too, with one distinct memory of a Chinese woman sticking her smelly, bare foot through the crack of the seat on the plane onto the arm of my chair. Well at least she was well rested! I've also personally witnessed the aforementioned defecation routines in the subway 3 times, so generally this holiday is best spent indoors...

Your concluding views on the whole thing got me laughing...

@eurogee of @euronation & The Host, Show Us Your Witnesses Weekly Contest

it is quite sad that a festival that's widely cerebrated by neighboring countries is not as widely celebrated within China

Yes, really disappointing. You can go out into the countryside but then it's just small villages of families just kind of sitting around in small gatherings or simply spend the time at home. There's nowhere I've found yet that has anything paprticularly fun looking - compared to anywhere else anyway. Glad you enjoyed the read!

@mobbs i never knew this also happen in china, i thought it happen only in some part of africa the woman from that youtube video is really boiling while speaking her whole mind out.
Good to know you are able to hang around with your friends.

China is in a unique position. For one, the sheer numbers of people mean that their influence is scattered everywhere more so than any other country on earth, but also their middle class society is growing so rapidly that the once poor rural folk are being boosted into a position in life they've had no experience living, which is why we see such heinous actions so often. I'm sure these mannerisms are all over the place, but they tend to stay in their own country for the most part!

All is well
just that all human cannot behave the same way.

My last CNY here in china!! If you ever get a chance do visit Hangzhou in one of the coming years if you're still around. It's actually very calm and peaceful. I wouldn't really expect shanghai to quiet down as much as hangzhou. Given how popular Hangzhou is becoming, this city might start getting pretty busy during the hols too, but till that happens, amazing place to be at man. A lot of nice places to just go out and chill if the weather is nice :)

It's funny, I've been here for so long and never went to Hangzhou or Suzhou, the two places in these parts that people say are lovely. There's a couple of reasons. One is because the tourism boards keep touting 'the venice of China' - clearly they haven't been to venice. Another is that my friends who go there simply say 'eh, it's as dreary and polluted as anywhere else' which makes me fear disappointment...

So perhaps when the weather is nicer and things are timed right I could take a trip there ^__^ You're gonna miss the place, even if you loathe it!

the venice of China

Not exactly hangzhou....a couple hours by bus at a place called wuzhen. It's okay, been there twice. Probably nothing too special.

as dreary and polluted as anywhere else

Can't deny that...been pretty bad recently. But on a good day hangzhou is the place I'd be at over anywhere else. Unfortunately those good days are getting more and more scarce. Wasn't so bad when I first came here 5 years back!!

Not visiting suzhou is gonna be a regret for the rest of my life.....wish I had done it when I had the time :(

Just curious which countries have banned all chinese because of their bad reputation?

Nobody has banned all Chinese - too much money in them for that. But many individuals are banned who don't pass certain requirements; Thailand has been known to stop them at the gates and send them back, as has South Korea, usually for things like their low credit rating or their low 'citizen score' - a dystopian system in China in which every action you make - paying bills, ordering taxis, topping up your phone, saying things on the internet - affects your overall score. Typically it's the Chinese government that ban the people from using trains and planes if their score gets too low, but its not unheard of for customs in other countries to get a hold of the information and act accordingly. Perhaps 'rejected' would have been a better word in this case!

but you said

some countries have banned them

Maybe change it? If you mean a country has rejected a or a couple of Chinese persons then it is not a usefull statement. Since other countries also reject individuals which do not satisfy specific requirements.

The citizen score it is a pilot. How do foreign customs obtain credit ratings of Chinese nationals? Source? Could you also maybe give a source about Chinese being stopped by Thai/Korean customs in relation to the Citizen score?

(Btw pages in Chinese are also fine for me :P )

Also note that the not respecting any fish and aquatic mammal thing is a really big thing in Asia. Dolphins are just seen as food. Same for whale. It is a bit different from the western world. Maybe it is a nice idea to write a piece about the underlying history?

Btw I am not trying to be mean I just like things to be correct.

But I didn't say 'Some countries have banned all of them'. But yeah for clarity's sake I shall edit accordingly

isn't there a distinction between refusing entry and banning? Because what you are saying sounds like refusing entry.

I still don't understand this sentence

...have banned some of them or at least provided heavy restrictions

don't you want to say.

... refused certain Chinese nationals entry because they didn't satisfy (heavy) restrictions

Eh, I think it gets the point across sufficiently. Good thing this comment chain is here

And how about those sources :P

The 'links' are fine, for a blog, which is what this is

Hah, I'll have to ask my buddy in China how much this experience correllates with his, that sounds pretty bland for a holiday.

Go for it! I hear good things about many of the southern most cities, but things seem to get lamer the more north/west you go...

To me this makes Shanghai one of the most boring megacities on earth.

To me it means very easy to impress women! Booking a ticket as we speak.

10 day traffic jam

Nevermind.


Never knew the Chinese could be such louts. I wonder if the crackdowns cause it, or are there because of it.

Good post btw, the unexpected info adds realism and it's fun and makes us experience it more.


P.S.
How will the year of the dog affect rats riding bulls' backs?

How will the year of the dog affect rats riding bulls' backs?

Well, the rat won't get all the glory for cheating for one year, but I think after the pig year, the rat comes next, so expect 2020 to be one of the most arrogant years this century.

As for the loutishness, well, I wrote about this once long ago. One theory goes that during the Mao era, scholars and civility was cracked down on; mao hated people who could potentially question him or make him look dumb, so scholars were hunted and killed. To hide from this people grew to learn the plebian ways, by spitting around authorities, generally being rude and uncivilised - kept them alive.

No idea how much truth is to that story but given that I can't walk down the street for more than a few feet without somebody spitting at my feet, I like to think it's true purely so I don't consider them to be... cough

Coin Marketplace

STEEM 0.17
TRX 0.15
JST 0.028
BTC 62205.55
ETH 2397.85
USDT 1.00
SBD 2.50