Strangers taking photos of my child

[nicolejoy]

When we were at Disney two weeks ago, we were eating lunch and some mainlanders who moved their chairs around so they could stare at my daughter (and when I mean stare, they were watching her unashamedly for about five minutes!) - and then when they wanted a better view, they actually grabbed her stroller to move it so they could see her better!! I was thinking "Have you ever heard about personal space?" - but I know the culture is so different there... I try not to be too uptight about it because I know they mean no harm by it, and they're not harming anyone. But at Disney the other week, I was really starting to get annoyed by all the attention!!

 

[Newbie_hk]

Thanks everyone for the advice. I like the idea of letting your own child decide for herself what she makes of the situation. I must say that on day 2 at Disney, the situation certainly lent itself to a free for all photo op when my daughter decided to dance on Main Street while waiting for the parade to start. She was oblivious to the waiting crowds, dancing to the music and made herself such a prime target for photo ops. At that point, my husband & I just shrugged our shoulders and let her enjoy the moment much to the amusement of the crowd. It was indeed a case of choosing your own battles. I was so preoccupied with what to do with the happy snappers that my husband then reminded me that WE should be getting a video of our own daughter to capture this spontaneous moment. I should've said, not to worry as I'll just ask the dozen or so onlookers for their videos too!

Naive question: how do you know they're mainlanders? Do we dare go down that path?
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[carang]

after you've been here for a while, you just know.

they have a different:
1) style of dress
2) manners
3)mannerisms
4) language (sounds completely different to cantonese)
5) the men all carry man-bags
6) the women are generally, way "over-dressed" for what they are doing... i mean, who wears stillettos and hot pants (with tights underneath) to ocean park?
7) they often carry all of their own snacks (unless they get stopped at the gates of the parks)
8) they take pictures of the weirdest things
9) they spit anywhere and everywhere
10) they smoke cheap cigs like chimneys
11) they often squat while waiting for someone
12) they ALWAYS push and shove to be first in line or to get the 1/4 inch closer to the front than you
13) have no sense of privacy

a lot of it comes from the fact that they are so densely populated etc.

i hope i haven't offended anyone. for most of the above, i don't have a problem.... the only points that really bug me are the pushing and shoving and the spitting/smoking.

 

[jvn]

8) they take pictures of the weirdest things

I've had surreal moments where I've wanted to take pictures of the people taking pictures (I don't though because it's not culturally me ;-)

I think style of dress is a big one, it applies to lots of nationalities - for some countries it's fairly easy to tell where people are from from the style and brands of clothes they are wearing, especially if they're in large similarly dressed groups. Socks and sandals anyone?

 

[carang]

they have the thinnest nylon socks for men in the mainland... that is one that i always notice... along with the taking a photo while squating at the side of the road, and spitting with a cheap cig hanging out of the mouth

 

[taysty]

Though my boss is from mainland too I wanna add to what cara said. Thinnest nylon socks and mostly pointed leather shoes.
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[kiwiinoz]

I find I also have to tell them to stop touching. We have the same problem with photos, especially with people wanting to photograph and touch our daughter's brown hair (she is 1/2 chinese). In Disneyland it is particularly bad, but also in TST.. and well... as others have said - basically all the tourist attractions in HK. Although we have also had people try and 'slip' photos in Sydney, Australia a couple of times. Whilst mainlanders are the most obsessed, they aren't the only culture who do this.
However, like others, I ask my daughter if she will let them take a photo, and depending on her response they may or may not be allowed to. It can sometimes be amusing the lengths they will try to take to get a picture when she says no... but most of the time we find people respect that no means no.
We have had mob-like touching of my daughter while waiting in line for rides at Disneyland and Ocean Park (even worse!) where myself and my helper have had to act as human shields to stop people (especially the older chinese ladies) from stroking and pulling my daughter's hair. It isn't very nice and hard to get them to understand that their attention - whilst obvious fascination - is unwanted.
Unfortunately though, it is part of life and you just have to work out what you are comfortable with allowing and accepting.

 

[thanka2]

Naive question: how do you know they're mainlanders? Do we dare go down that path?

Easy. They way they dress and accessorize, their body language and the volume of their voices are the most obvious signs. Also, the fact that you're at Disneyland says a lot--that's a huge destination for Mainland tourists. Also, they may be speaking Mandarin--so if you combine all of these together it's easy to tell. Once you've been to Mainland China a few times and traveled around you'll for sure know.

Some accessories Mainlanders like:

-Lots of rhinestones (on everything)--especially in hair clips for women
-Permed hair--and not just for the old ladies
-Dyed hair--a lot of really bad dye-jobs--in the most unnatural looking tones--for women
-Belts--the men like to show a little "bling" on their belts with some brand (Gucci etc.) or a knock-off
-Oversized suits--the men often wear suits or blazers and they are not well-fitted (most HK men have a sense of how a suit should fit)
-A kaleidoscope of colors--this also happens a lot in HK but Mainlanders take it to the extreme
-Bright pink lipstick for the women
-Pointy black shoes with a buckle for the men
-Outrageous shoes (often with rhinestones or some sort of fur bobble on them) for the women

 

[carang]

the suits that look like they were made for the lead singer from TALKING HEADS (anyone remember that band?).... also, poorly stitched... can see the stitches in the material... actually, generally the suit jackets/blazer just look cheap.

 

[Newbie_hk]

This could be a business opportunity. Perhaps I should make a t-shirt written in Mandarin "my child is not a Disney character, no photos please" They might start taking photos of my tshirt but I'm happy to take a bullet for my daughter
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