The one thing that always seems to shock someone when I talk about China is the day-to-day occurrences that just wouldn't happen or be accepted somewhere western. This ranges from pictures, videos, random acts and questions, all the way down to being followed and sometimes yelled at by people.
**Recently, another expat mentioned that she feels like a Zoo animal that is allowed to roam free. This is extremely accurate and does get both overwhelming and extremely frustrating from time to time. It is also more pronounced in smaller cities (1.4 million people here... hahahaha), but is just as aggressive in places like Shanghai as well.
Example: You can't sit on any grass in Shanghai apparently, because some old lady will know and tell 3 security guards to haul your ass off that pristine lushness. If you lay down... WOW! Get ready to have a guy with hose come over!
For some reason a lot of this has started to become normal to me and it is refreshing to meet someone new to China who says something like: "I can't believe someone did that" or "you really put up with that shit." The truth is, I can't really say much to tell someone off and they usually get more amusement from my protests. So when coming to China, be ready for some shockingly random shit to go down and think of what zoo animal you want to be (funny entertaining like a MONKEY or giving zero fucks like a LION).
Below is a small list of things that have happened (although not all to me):
Pictures taken in a taxi or didi (China's Uber) - only really creepy when you are locked in
Worse when you get sent a photo of you on some random Chinese persons phone
Seeing screenshots of your conversations with any Chinese person (mainly from the gym for me)
Being followed home (my entire complex knows my exact apartment)
Gym: having videos taken of you working out (I do not look attractive at the gym like some people...)
Getting asked for your WeChat constantly (by literally anyone at any time - Bathrooms are not the cute meeting place for "girl talk" like clubbing in Western places)
Children: STARING AT YOU CONSTANTLY & being sent to take pictures for their parents
Adults: Coming way close to stare at you (boundaries & personal space don't exist here)
One woman squatted in front of me and stared for 30 minutes at the bus stop.
