Liu Shinan

Dose of civilization needed

By Liu Shinan (China Daily)
Updated: 2005-10-12 05:46

Despite pressure on the public transport system and overcrowding at tourist attractions, we Chinese still enjoyed a week of National Day holiday tourism.

Hordes of travellers in chic dresses holding dinky digital cameras are a sign of growing material wealth. But media reports during Golden Week serve as a poignant reminder that we lack a different sort of wealth - spiritual wealth, or civilization.

Xinhua News Agency published a photograph of Tian'anmen Square littered with paper and other pieces of rubbish. I would use the word "appalling" to describe my impression, because Xinhua said the picture was taken when the crowds dispersed after watching the raising of the national flag. The disgusting scene took place in Tian'anmen Square - the centre of the capital of our beloved motherland!

Rampant littering was also reported at other tourist sites during the week.

An even more appalling report emerged the day after National Day. A group of tourists from the Republic of Korea picked up rubbish left by Chinese tourists at Nanshan Park in Urumqi, capital of the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region.

I felt humiliated at the news. I do not mean the Koreans humiliated us. We humiliated ourselves. A netizen said: "It's like we invited some guests to our home and they cleaned the house for us."

We have more and more tourists going to other countries. How do they behave in foreign lands? Unfortunately, they carry with them the same uncivilized manners they show domestically.

In March this year, I went to Australia. At Sydney airport, I found a long queue of passengers waiting to pass through customs but saw a group of Chinese thronging around the entrance, making the waiting line swell out of shape. Many new arrivals - sadly, all Chinese - came to join the crowd at the front disregarding the waiting line.

Seeing the situation, Australian customs officers opened another entrance and told Western passengers to queue there. Again I felt insulted, but I knew it was we Chinese who insulted ourselves.

The number of Chinese tourists travelling to other countries has been rising dramatically in recent years. Statistics detailing the number of outbound tourists in the past week is not yet available but it will be huge, for the number has been growing at an average annual rate of 20 per cent over the past 10 years, according to official statistics. Last year, 28.85 million Chinese tourists travelled to foreign countries - a rise of 43 per cent over the previous year.

Although it is a small number compared to China's population, the absolute number is still huge. Chinese tourists love shopping. Last year, they spent 127 million pounds (US$227 million) in Britain. According to a survey, Chinese tourists spend an average US$987 each when they go abroad - the highest rate in the world.

That explains why so many countries endeavour to be included on the list of China's approved destinations. There are already 76 countries and regions on the list and the number is expected to reach 100 by the end of this year.

It is really embarrassing for a Chinese to see a notice in a toilet in Australia (and in some other Western countries) written only in Chinese that reads: "Please flush after using." There are other similar signs of warning written only in Chinese, for example: "Please don't talk loudly" in hotel lobbies and restaurants.

To be fair, I have to admit that Chinese tourists in foreign countries have abandoned some of their bad habits, such as spitting, littering and crossing streets at will. But there is other behaviour that causes foreigners to look shocked that we may not even notice. Talking loudly in public places, for instance, may not be seen as a serious faux pas. But Westerners would think it rude and a breach of public peace.

Respect for privacy is another problem. In a busy airport toilet, for example, Chinese tend to stand immediately in front of each booth instead of waiting at the entrance.

This may be the result of differences in culture. I do not mean to determine whether the Eastern or Western culture is more advanced in general. I have found that Westerners also commit public offences. Pavements in Sydney are heavily stained with chewing gum residue.

But we Chinese must cast off our bad habits that cause inconvenience to other people or infringe upon their privacy. We need to learn something from other cultures, in terms of ethics, moral standards and social responsibility.

(China Daily 10/12/2005 page4)