Beijing: Eight Olympic ‘Don’t Asks’ of Travelers

Travel Blog  •  Eva Holland  •  07.24.08 | 3:19 PM ET

imageThe latest target in China’s pre-Olympic tidying? Small talk. Concerned that inquiries about income, religion or age—routine in China, but taboo in much of the West—might offend visitors, a district Propaganda Department in Beijing has put up posters advising locals about what not to ask.

From the list: “Don’t ask about income or expenses, don’t ask about age, don’t ask about love life or marriage, don’t ask about health, don’t ask about someone’s home or address, don’t ask about personal experience, don’t ask about religious beliefs or political views, don’t ask what someone does.”

This level of intervention seems like overkill to me; no one’s Beijing visit is going to be spoiled by a shopkeeper asking them where they live. But at the same time, since I’ll be visiting Beijing next month as a solo female traveler, I wouldn’t mind if the posters cut down on the number of times I get asked where my boyfriend/husband/father is.

Photo by d’n'c via Flickr (Creative Commons)

Tags: Asia, China

Eva Holland is co-editor of World Hum. She is a former associate editor at Up Here and Up Here Business magazines, and a contributor to Vela. She's based in Canada's Yukon territory.


3 Comments for Beijing: Eight Olympic ‘Don’t Asks’ of Travelers

Claudine 07.25.08 | 12:19 AM ET

hahaha!  Too true.. they love asking about your work/income/age/love life.  Just go with the flow and enjoy..

Kelsey 07.25.08 | 12:58 PM ET

Don’t ask about life?!  What else is there to talk about?

Julia 07.25.08 | 3:03 PM ET

Food, Kelsey, food. The Chinese never exhaust the subject.

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