Etiquette manual for Chinese tourists warns against public nose-picking or soiling swimming pools
Philippe Lopez/AFP/Getty ImagesChinese tourists at a popular waterfront promenade in Hong Kong on Oct. 2, 1013. Chinese leaders fear the poor behaviour of many of the country's first-time travellers has spawned a global image problem.
SHANGHAI — China’s Communist Party tourism chiefs have told people going abroad that they must cut back on limp handshakes, public displays of nose-picking, swimming pool soiling and the discussion of pork, in a desperate attempt to improve the country’s overseas image.
The stern but ultimately unenforceable edicts appeared in a 64-page Guidebook for Civilized Tourism, which was issued on Tuesday to coincide with the start of a week-long public holiday commemorating the 1949 Communist takeover.
China’s economic boom has led to an international scramble to attract growing numbers of cash-flush tourists. The United Nations World Tourism Organization says 83 million Chinese tourists spent nearly pounds 63 billion ($105.6 billion Cdn.) overseas in 2012.
But the poor behaviour of many first-time travellers has spawned a global image problem, party leaders fear.
In May, Beijing approved legislation designed to improve the country’s “national image” and Wang Yang, a top leader, warned that vulgar and impetuous tourists had “damaged the image of Chinese people and caused vicious impact” on the country’s reputation.
The etiquette manual – which is punctuated with cartoons of naughty and apparently non-Chinese tourists – represents the most comprehensive and at times surreal in a series of recent diktats aimed at improving the “quality” of the tourists Beijing exports to the world.
The guidelines range from common sense – “do not curse locals” – to the bizarre – “[When in] Scotland, don’t buy stones as souvenirs” or “Don’t leave footprints on the lavatory seat.”
Philippe Lopez/AFP/Getty ImagesChina’s economic boom has led to an international scramble to attract growing numbers of cash-flush tourists.
Off the menu, for Chinese tourists, are strong-arming locals into taking their photograph, urinating or spitting in public pools, drying handkerchiefs on lampshades and using fingers to excavate foreign bodies from noses and mouths.
Nasal hair should be kept properly trimmed at all times, the National Tourism Administration suggests, while cutlery, pillows and aircraft life jackets should not be treated as take-away gifts.
The book also offers country-specific tips. In Spain, women should always wear earrings, while in Japan they must avoid fiddling with their hair at all costs.
Neither sex should click their fingers at Germans (“Finger clicking is for dogs”) while in France, chrysanthemums and yellow flowers must never be given to those who invite you to their homes.
AP PhotoA 3,500-year-old temple in Egypt with the words “Ding Jinhao was here” inscribed on it by a Chinese tourist.
Advice is offered on visiting Islamic countries – “Don’t talk about pork”; Thailand – “Don’t talk about the royal family. Don’t point at things with your toe”; Algeria – “When you shake hands with others, it must be firm”; India – “Don’t touch other people’s heads”; and Iran – “You must not comment on babies’ eyes.”
Hungarians, the guide points out, do not appreciate you smashing their mirrors while the British will find questions about their travel plans or stomachs utterly impertinent.
“When you greet others [in the U.K.], don’t say ’Where are you going?’ or ’Have you eaten?’ like you do back home,” the guide instructs. “It will be seen as rude.”
Even when speaking their own language, Chinese tourists must be cautious, the manual insists. “More and more foreigners can speak Chinese. Don’t comment on, belittle or even curse locals while outsiders are present.”
The new guidelines underline a growing consensus in China that while not all tourists can be sent to finishing school, something has to be done to stem a recent slew of scandals involving Chinese abroad.
In one high-profile case a Chinese teenager was excoriated by his countrymen after he was caught inscribing the words “Ding Jinhao was here” on a 3,500-year-old temple in Egypt.
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