In China, people were always willing to help despite the language barrier. Sometimes people started talking to us but of course, we could not get a word... that's when a translator had to be used (google translate or the Chinese version working well too).
The Chinese LOVE children, they always want to get a glimpse of them. Children are everywhere, playing in parks in the evening, watching/helping their parents in their shops during the day, or held in baby carriers by their grandmas. Besides, it's very frequent for 3 generations to live under the same roof in China so grand-parents and grand-children hang out a lot together.
There are things that we got used to in China, some will be missed, some won't 😉:
👉 being photographed with or without our consent (especially the girls)
👉 being touched by strangers (for the girls), which made them afraid of strangers (we're still working on that 2 weeks after leaving China)
👉 squat toilets, throwing toilet paper in the trash and BYO toilet paper and soap
👉 spitting (even inside buildings and on carpets)
👉 2-wheelers honking to pass (not in Kunming nor in Guangzhou though) but it's nothing in comparison with Vietnam
👉 feeling yelled at when asking a question to a passer-by
👉 cheap bus rides (2-5 yuans) and surprisingly expensive tea (280 yuans in some places)
👉 security checks (including bag scan) in metro and train stations
There were some WTF moments too...
Although not 100% clear, we get the message: Gents, please aim at the target!
In different restaurants, please behave!
Some things got lost in translation
Can't remember the context but not involving mammary decoration that's for sure 😃. This shows google translate limitations in Mandarin.
The Chinese love tee-shirts with English or French words/sentences. Most of the time, these are a series of words, not making a whole lot of sense (like on the picture below).
We even saw a big Chinese guy, older, very manly, with a tee-shirt saying 'I love my boyfriend'... did he know? ☺️
Unexpected encounters on the streets of Kunming and Chengdu:
In China, potty-training consists into wearing open pants at the back. Toddlers can relieve themselves whenever they feel the need, being on the street, in a trash can or in a toilet. We get used to seeing these rounded buns walking around, like below getting off the train.
This closes the chapter of our journey in China. Soon we will provide more details on Hong Kong and Vietnam.
Coralie
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