We are in Kunming for a couple of weeks every few months. My little kids are so very blonde with big blue eyes and even with hats on they stand out. They are constantly being photographed, stared at and grabbed. I know no one is trying to be rude and they are always happy and just curious of my children but the touching and grabbing is really starting to scare my kids. My daughter was picked Up from by my side today by strangers and she was really stressed.

just wondering if anyone can give me some advice, tips or a phrase in local language to help us. I don't want to be rude to anyone, I already feel rude enough not speaking the language (I'm gonna have to work on that).

get loud and aggressive extremely quickly in front of as many people as possible, that'll scare others off who might be thinking its okay to pick up a stranger's child

How old are your children?

远一点。我孩子有埃博拉

Yuan Yi Dian. Wo Hai Zi You Ai Bo La

Keep your distance. My kid has Ebola.

Scream that, no one will touch your kid. You'll be lucky if they even come close.

Have u tried explaining to ur kids y people are doing that? That it is quite normal here. That might help them understand.

If they still dont like it then u could teach them "wo bu yao" which means I don't want (that).
Good luck!

Have them were sunglasses, a hat and a face mask. That should cover most of their faces. Tell them they have fevers and the flu or cold.

I've dealt with this exact thing for several years now. In Kunming I have found people to be less intrusive than other cities. But still, there are people who insist on touching them, taking pictures and generally staring. I've talked to my kids about tolerance because the people are like that in China and they don't mean any harm, they are curious as I'm sure you know. I usually just move on if people get too touchy as I don't want to seem rude.

Honestly, it's never been so bad that my kids were in danger or anything serious so we just try to put up with it.

I think anything you say will be thought of as rude. I just can't think of anything to say that would be right. What do you want to say? Someone here could probably translate it.

Thank you all for the laughs. I have explained the reason to my kids but they are only 2 and 4 so they really can't understand it when it's contact right in their face. I must admit I did do the loud crazy mumma thing today when they picked up my daughter. I have always been very polite til then. They are always well meaning so I don't want to say anything harsh. Time to learn some phrases!

i would not worry about being rude. most chinese know it is rude and if you would pick up their kids they would probably call the cops or ask you money for ibjuring their kid.

actually in chinese culture you shouldn't hug or touch (even your own) at a certain age.

and i don' t want to alarm you but kids getting grabbed and abducted here all the time. so in that particular case, being nice may not be best, especially to people not understanding nice, in the first place.

we have a hunxue kid and i don't let strangers grab her, ever. disregarding where they are from.