My wife is Chinese and I'm a foreigner. I've been in Shanghai for almost 10 years.
Yesterday we went to the buy presents in the "fake market" for gifts on Nanjing Rd. and Chongqing Rd. It's a 3 story building many foreigners go to to buy cheap fake goods. The seller were really aggressive physically, trying to pull me into their shop. But when my wife refused to buy from one woman, the woman started cursing her using very nasty dirty language (something about "selling her private parts").
As any husband, I cannot bear with my wife being humiliated like this, so I cursed back at the sales woman. This woman than walked up to me screaming and yelling waving her hands and smacking me in the face. When I pushed her back from me, she began yelling that I hit her. In matter of seconds a manacling crowed of around 20-30 people gathered and in a few more seconds they started beating me. There were around 5-7 guys that kicked me and punched me in the face, while others, including that woman threw plastic chairs at me.
Luckily, I managed to escape with bruises, running downstairs with my forehead bleeding (from a chair that hit me). I called the police. They sent in a couple of cops who came upstairs and the whole crowed of Chinese there were grinning and laughing the whole time, while my pregnant wife was completely hysterical trying to ask some other foreigners there to help her. The cops took us together with the woman who started the fight to the local police station and kept us there for more then 4 hours. Their "investigation" included taking testimonies from us and this woman, but there was no security camera in operation at the scene, so the police said there was no way to verify the attack. I also couldn't recognize my attackers, because these violent farmers looked all the same. It ended when the police asked both to give up claims. but it took hours of convincing, because the shameless evil sales woman was me to compensate her (!!!).
In 10 years in China, I have never seen such a case of extreme violence against me as a foreigner. Because these people kept on yelling "da lawoai" - "punch the foreigner". If I had fallen to the ground, they could have killed me right there and than, while there were no witnesses and no one to testify, because they're like corroborating with each other.
This is a rare case, but I'd like to use this opportunity to warn everyone from going to this "fake market" for shopping. It's darn right dangerous. These people that sell you stuff there are like animals. They hate you because you're a foreigner and if you don't want to buy, or haggle without buying, they'll curse you. If you can understand Chinese and you curse back, you're likely to get beaten up. And it's not like you can defend yourself, because there'll be 10 guys coming at you together with punches, kicks and blunt objects from different sides. Forget about the cops helping you also. They'll try to save their asses and save face.
The "fake market" on Nanjing Rd. and Chongqing Rd. is definitely a dangerous, hostile place for foreigners in Shanghai. Just stay away people, for your own personal safety, and boycott this rat infested hell-hole. Shame on the Shanghai government for letting such a disgrace occur in their otherwise civilized city (the cops were saying "you beat people AGAIN?")
Violence in the fake market! Foreigners beware!
really . im just near this place
Hello midway and welcome to Expat.com!
Sorry for your misfortune.
I hope that your wife and you are OK now.
Harmonie.
thats so scary...was planning to go there to pick some souvenirs...
felt very bad on reading your article! we also thought like visiting that fake market this weekend but after hearing your opinion,i was really scared.hope your wife was fine.take care.
Thanks for the support, people. Both my wife and myself are fine now.
The place is called "Taobao Cheng" in Chinese. As the name implies, you can, basically, purchase everything sold there from taobao, online, in a fraction of the price.
Wow, I wonder what their motivation was for doing that? That is crazy! Glad to know you're ok!
hi,
I am local, feel very bad to see your article, really sorry for some shameless chinese...
I will be a guide next month, and on the traning courses I was told NEVER take ANY foreigners to fake stores, not only because their poor service(or no service), but also because it's very DANGEROUS!!!! Remember they sell fake stuff, and it's against the law in China, so police will "visit" such shores some time, so just do not go there!!
midway, I'm a Chinese and I feel sorry to hear your experience. I just hope you won't generalize and condemn the whole Chinese. China is a huge place and there are varieties of different kinds of people, good and bad, ignorant and wise...
Actually this kind of experience happened to me once. on December 31th last year I accompanied a friend to a photography shop to get his girlfriend's "artistic pictures" taken from there some days earlier. The shop was really small and there were a guy who seemed like the boss and two young female employees. My friend asked for the pictures, I thought it was pretty straightforward, we get the pictures, and we leave.
But one of the female employee told my friend his girlfriend must take the pictures herself. My friend said but he had the receipt. What else does one need?! "Your girlfriend must take those pictures herself." the other repeated in the same cold and arrogant voice. My friend began to get annoyed and tried to reason with them-- but to no effect. The man also joined in and the conversation began to turn into an argument and blame.
I was kinda bored in the beginning watching them yielding and fighting, it was only after a woman from a side room came out, swearing, waving her hands vehemently, that I began to get angry. Not only did she swear, but she also literally intruded our space and knocked us with her finger. The evil woman in your story reminds me of her.
"Stay away from me." Said I, and pushed her away. And that was when the man jumped on me. "How dare you beat my wife!" Cried he. I fought back, I had to defend myself. Now the thing really became violent. We fought, items on desks fell, child cried, my nose bled, and I also gave him some punches and kicks. In the meanwhile, the woman called someone and said something like "beat them hard", seeing all this, my worthy friend, with his rationality called the police and wondered when they came.
The two girls in the shop and my friend tried to separate us, but in spite of this, we fought many bouts. The man wanted to keep us in the room until his gang came, so they can really beat us hard.
It was dramatic as we fought, the mad wife began to have a hysteria and then a fit, she seemed not able to breathe properly and have a heart attack. We stopped and someone called the 120.
The siren of 120 came, followed by the siren of the police, then the gang of 3 people came and rushed into the room, but the police drove them out, only the gang leader stayed in. I guess I'd say it was lucky for us the police came first. However bad they are, they cannot just let them beat us.
The police was in charge of the area where the shop was located. He and the shop owners were possibly acquainted. So after the physician examined the wife who was fine and charged them 120 yuan, the police told us to pay 100 or he would take us and the man to the police station. And the gang leader threatened us we must take the woman to hospital and pay a huge amount of money. Feeling unfair, and knowing I have some friends who have connection with the police, I confidently defied. Seeing this and doing some reading on us, the gang leader might decide we were not the victim type so he compromised and suggested we pay 60 yuan, the half price and settle down the thing. We also compromised.
WHAT KIND OF BUSINESS IS THAT??? We are customers and expect to be treated well, what kind of place we have run into? Unfortunately as I am aware, mob like that in China is not unabundant. The experience I told you is not the only experience of such happened to me, although the most dramatic one. midway, I want to let you know the experience happened to you was not necessarily because you were foreigner; experience like that happens to us Chinese as well. I think that is because those people have their own issues, society has its issues. Those people deserve more pity than hatred.
Anyway, wish you and your wife well, keep an open mind, and make great, worthy Chinese friends.
Obviously, I'm not holding anything Chinese people as a whole. My wife is Chinese and I will remain in China for the long term.
I just think, as the stories show, that the social problems in China are very serious. I always claimed that the worse enemies of Chinese is not the Japanese, Americans, or any other nation - It's the other Chinese. Chinese people bullying, cheating and killing other Chinese is the most serious danger facing China. The danger is from within.
I agree. Society is fucked up. The economy has developed but the culture... Sigh. BUT, I want to point out one important characteristic of the Chinese people- Every Chinese have a circle, you are either someone in the circle or not. They (we) are generally cruel to the outsiders yet ultra friendly to those who they see belong to their group.
midway wrote:Obviously, I'm not holding anything Chinese people as a whole. My wife is Chinese and I will remain in China for the long term.
I just think, as the stories show, that the social problems in China are very serious. I always claimed that the worse enemies of Chinese is not the Japanese, Americans, or any other nation - It's the other Chinese. Chinese people bullying, cheating and killing other Chinese is the most serious danger facing China. The danger is from within.
Yeah, Midway. I can't agree more with you.
1 strange thing here is that the local tends to treat foriegner better than their own compatriot, especially some of the ladies who have foriegner boyfriends.
midway wrote:In 10 years in China, I have never seen such a case of extreme violence against me as a foreigner. Because these people kept on yelling "da lawoai" - "punch the foreigner".
Since 2001, and especially since 2 or 3 years, the level of aggressiveness has risen in some cases ... Before, in the XianYang Copy Market location, I enjoyed just going there for a walk and chat with some sellers ... Nice, relaxing, good way of improving your chinese ... And if you didn't buy anything, nothing would be said or even whispered in your back ...
Since they moved to the new location, I go there ... well, nearly never .... because every time you end up being cursed by someone for not buying or just because you tried to negociate ... Never violent though, even if you can feel that they are boiling inside and you have no idea when the punch might get into your face ...
I do understand chinese quite well, and when I hear what they say sometimes about the other foreign customer in the shop ... No comment ...
The country has changed ... The culture and the soul of some (not all) chinese has changed ... Core values seem to be fading away ...
To make peace with it, i go time to time into the countrysides of Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Anhui where you are always welcome, following the chinese traditions, and I am not looked as a foreigner, but as a person from somewhere else, treated like a Shanghainese person would be ...
I used to go to this store as well but I stopped to buy fake stuff one year ago. And if I am not sure if it is fake or not, I will not buy it. Why? not because of bad behavior of seller. But I think it is better for my home economy if I buy the real stuff. Someone did developed this things one day, and he/ she should also get payed.
You get what you pay. You want service, pay for it. You want good quality, pay for it. You want that your product get developed, please also pay for it.
You buy cheaper and cheaper stuff? Don't be surprise when your sallery goes down. You get what you pay for.
But - thanks for your warning, Midway. Maybe some ppl will change through this. And if it is not the chinese seller, maybe it is the foreign costummer. Best for you.
We had the same experience this Friday the 2nd of November(2012). Very bad behavior, and I was convinced they had performed this several times before. They were such cowards, one man started the fight by hitting my husband very bad with a leather belt, then my husband hit him back, after that then several more men showed up, and I could not let them hit him all at the same time. So I did for the first time in my life participate in a fight, I pick up the leather belt, to protect my husband, hit the biggest Chinese that was starting to beat my husband. After that I was suddenly attacked by two Chinese men, (me a woman against two grown up Chineses guys, of which one was a fat big guy.) I was hit in the face by a fist, and they kicked me and through me in the flower bed.
No security or anything came to stop the fight!
We went out, then we sat down in our car, they came after us again, pulling up the door. They wanted to hit us a bit more. Around 50 people were attaching us. They even through stones inside the car to hit us, stones as big as a hand.
They rocked the car, and displaced one of the doors so it was impossible to close it. I managed to close and lock my door, but my husband and the two people in the front seat could not close their doors. I hate the copy market I will do my best to let people know about these attacks and stay away. Do not shop there!
It's very dangerous to bargin with the local Chinese people. It's better to order online. What is cheap is not good while what is good is not cheap.
Hello everybody where this horror stories done we should be avoid this place plz NAME OF CTIY
Hello guys > thank you for your contribution. Just to remind that this is an old thread. Do not hesitate to start a new topic on the forum. Thank you.
wow.. good to know.... but these things happen everywhere...
I am sorry for your experience.But you know what,never punch a woman back even you are punched by her,even she is unreasonable,at least in China.Confucius said "The only woman and the villain is also difficult to raise".
Good luck.
Yes,a little part of Chinese are not that friendly.They like to kick up a fuss with no sense.They like to see others falling on hard time.But I don't think there are no such kind of person in other countries,am I right?
You haven't see the whole China.
Right?
Can you not make a formal complaint to the government, regarding the attacks and the violence? Name the markets, perhaps to the Chinese government. this might stamp out this kind of business, as it will only damage relations between foreigners who want to make china their homes, and bring to china a quality social inclusion for the people. It`s pretty scary stuff indeed. Foreigner's who live in China are there for the culture, language and food, and experience of china. You might say money too, but I disagree, I can earn 2+ times more doing the same job in my home country.
http://www.fmprc.gov.cn/eng/wjb/
Attached at pearl city
Today i took a girlfriend to PC for a few gifts to take back home. I have lived here for seven years.
On the ground floor, second set of escalators, the lady who sells belts mostly there attacked me today, may 25, 2014 because I refused to buy a belt. I walked away, she caught my purse and pulled me back as hard as she could. I said for her not to touch me again. Once i turned o walk away again she pulled my purse and hit me in the face. My reaction of course to return the hit so I hit her and it started a real fight. Anyway, it ended with other Chinese holding the both of us but not before she hit me again while my back was turned. They took her around the corner when I tried to get to her. My friend was very scare and upset so she took me and we left. I have never come in contact with this before. I will never go to these markets again and will never take anyone nor recommend them. It is a very dangerous place to shop now days. I am sure this kind of thing has happened to other foreigners. Please be careful or just stay away would be better.
[Moderated: no copy paste on the forum pls]
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