Hello,

I'm an African American female who'll be studying abroad from Duke University for the fall semester at YNNU. I'm super excited about studying in China and all of the experiences that await me! In trying to prepare to leave, I've been reading several forums regarding the presence and treatment of black people in China, but I have yet to get a real local opinion of it. So, I'm interested in reading whatever insight someone in the area can provide. FYI- I was born and raised in the United States. It seems there may be differentiation between black people from Africa and African Americans. I'm also a very respectful person. With that being said, all honest opinions are welcome, but please be civil. Thanks so much, and I look forward to reading your responses!

Nice to meet you, I am a Chinese girl killed in college and now I hope to be your friend! My number is 15559710551

I'm a male Chinese. I know the average Chinese perspectives about black people.

Blacks are not warmly welcomed in China. (study the Guangzhou black immigrants case. a population about some 300, 000) The average Chinese don't know the diffrence between African Black or American black. So. your nationality does not matter. but being a female you may get a better treatment. and being an American even add the advantage. because Chinese had an extra hospitality to americans because American English seems more charming and atractive to most "educated" Chinese.

But note that the reason that Chinese don't favore balck very much is maily comes from their aesthetical biases not realy discremination. one surpporting case is Chinses women try to make them look whiter.

However. this kind of bias may be not so visible or strong. actrualy ordinary Chinese hardly had any experienct to get together with peoples from other nations. So. there might be misunderstandings/fears/biases...

I hope it won't change your furture plan. acturely its not a so terrible place. and there are also a large number Chinese had no bias to black or white. (I'm one of them.)

Hope you will be well settled in Kunming.

Hi XuQiu,

As a fellow hyphenated American, I would say John more or less got it right. However, here is the abbreviated answer:

You will not face discrimination solely based on the fact that you are Black.

You might get a few strange looks, but for the most part you will be fine. There are actually quite a bit of dark skinned foreigners here in Kunming so you wouldn't stand out too much. Any racism will most like be done behind your back and never be presented to your face. I find that most such nonsense stems from stereotypes and just plain ignorance and not from real hatred or racism. Most people you will encounter at school will actually be quite pleasant and hospitable.

Hope you will enjoy your stay here in Kunming.

Cheers~

Chinese people are in a sense racist and prejudiced, period. There is no sense in arguing that point.

The average Chinese person doesn't know anything about other cultures, so that is where a lot of the racism comes from.

China has essentially been a "closed" country for many years. China is just now opening up to other countries and cultures.

I think the 2008 Olympic Games and the World Expo in Shanghai is helping China understand the rest of the world.

XuQiu19:
When you come here, be prepared for everyone to stare at you and make comments.

Since I have been here in Kunming, I have only seen three black people.

As a matter of fact, one day when I was walking down Wenlin Jie street, I saw a black man walking down the road. I stopped to see how the Chinese people in the area would react. Everyone stared at the black man. One Chinese guy on his bike stared, made some comment, laughed and rode away.

In my opinion, it's hard enough being a white foreigner here. I couldn't imagine being a black person here.

I just don't understand why Chinese people are so prejudiced towards other cultures?

I guarantee if a Chinese person was to walk around London, New York City, Sydney, or Vancouver, no one would stare or make comments.

Finally, a intellectual perspective from gaoxing. There might be hope for you. Anyway, I would like to counter your viewpoints with some of mine in a respectable and objective manner.

I wouldn't go as far as saying that they are racist or prejudiced, but I would say that they are indeed ignorant and have not been exposed to too many "outside cultures". Racism is biased against someone solely based on their race. Chinese people for the most part are biased not because of race but because of misinformation fed to them or stereotypes associated with certain races. Subtle difference but an important one.

With regards to the biker, what exactly did he say? You believe he might have made a derogatory and racist comment, and I am not arguing he could not have, but unless you heard very succinctly what he said, you are only assuming and that would be hearsay.

And finally, the reason a Chinese person would be less likely to be stared at in the major international cities that you've mentioned is that there is a constant presence of Chinese people in those cities. People are used to it. How ever, it would be wrong to assume that minorities do that get harassed. There will always be jerks and racist roaming those streets and hence why the US enacted hate crime laws. Blacks have been present since the founding of the republic and yet they are still targeted in large cities like LA, NY, SF, DAL, BOS, etc.

The reason for the staring is that dark skinned foreigners are not common in the streets of Kunming, although more common than your personal experience would tell you. If you see a panda roaming Wenhua alley, would you casually walk by as if nothing's out of the ordinary, or would you be flipping out your camera phone and posting it on YouTube?

My point is proven by the very fact that you, as a foreigner, is some one I would assume have been accustomed to seeing African-[Insert Country Here] in the streets of your neighborhood, stopped none the less to observe this individual. Had it been an light skinned foreigner or a Caucasian, would you have stopped to observe? Is this some kind of double-standard or does that make you a racist as well?

In summary, I am not invalidating your observations of China because I do firmly believe that there ARE Chinese racist out there and that foreigners do get gawked at quite frequently, however, I do feel that you are making broad stroke arguments and making generalized assumptions. I do feel that there should be more dialogue between Chinese people and foreigners and not just dialogue between the governments. And I do encourage all of us to be patient and enlighten our friends on what our cultural values really are other than what is being spewed out by the CCP propaganda department.

Just a friendly brain dump on the issue.

Cheers~

John Xie wrote something very important, to understand this:
"But note that the reason that Chinese don't favore balck very much is maily comes from their aesthetical biases not realy discremination. one surpporting case is Chinses women try to make them look whiter."

This is an old aesthetical bias that has in times in history also been found in European countries (pre-USA time and is therefore also part of USA's culture), most notably in France with their powdered faces. The simple basis for this is social status. Its as simple as that really rich people dont have to do manual labor in the sun, but can sit inside and thus dont get a sun-tan. A sun tan / dark skin shows that you are a poor out-door laborer and thus have low social status whereas pale skin shows that you are aristocrat or at least rich and dont have to do manual labour for a living.
So this social aesthetics caused the French aristocrats to powder their faces white and sometimes still cause some women in, Korea, Japan, China to use white make-up to further accentuate their social status.

Then there is also the fact - as mentioned above - that China hasnt had much or long time historic contact with African people, so for them its a shocking blend of novelty and the ingrained esthetics that makes for the big reaction. So its not racism as such, its socio-economic tradition of aesthetics. If you look down on a dark-tanned laborer, what is this really dark skin mean? And at the same time, this African man obviously has money, so it gets rather confusing in their minds. Its a shock for them, simply.

The interesting thing in the west is that our socio-economic bias is becoming the opposite: a good tan shows that you can afford to take a vacation in the sun and dont have to work, whereas pale skin shows that you cant afford it, but must slave in the office all hours all the year round. :D

xiuqiu19
As noted - the population of blacks in china is considerably lower than other skin colors. Also only about 1/3 of Chinese are well educated with 2/3 being predominantly rural Chinese with poor quality middle school educations. Chinese love to look at anything different - be it road kill, an argument, a painting, an outdoor musician, or someone with red, black, purple, or pink skin (or hair) and will make various stylistic comments. Unlike the USA - the comments are merely personal opinions reflecting opinions regarding color, style, foreigner status, etc - whereas USA comments border more on racial hatred.

If you can thicken your skin a little, close one eye, and look the other way a little - China would love for you to share whatever your culture is and share our cultures with you.

I hope you find China and its people full of happy memories to one day bring home and share so the two countries and their respective peoples can grow closer instead of further apart. Yunnan is rich in minorities although we'd probably all look alike to most europeans (and truthfully...to me). You'll find cultures and people full of both happy and sad histories - but most with boundless hope for a better tomorrow. Just like the USA - you'll meet people who are wary of friendships and those who welcome new cultural experiences...Chinese and Americans have many many cultural similarities - only the language differs. Enjoy!

Hello Sister,
In fact the issue is not that complicated you can still have a nice life here .As long as you follow the law and regulations of China other thing so easy to overcome .I will be happy to assist you in your staying and life in Kunming just drop me a letter upon your arrival.

Hi. XuQiu19. First. You WILL be stared at just because you are black. If you have a unique hairstyle such as dreads or extensions, they will want to touch your hair. My wife is chinese and I'm an American from New York. I asked her about the 'black thing' and she said that chinese consider the white skin to be more beautiful than the black skin and that is why they spend tons of money on cosmetics for whitiing skin. A lot of the negative viewpoint comes directly from the movies from the west. The 'gangster rap' and 'thug movies', etc. Chinese people think black people are lazy (not all of course). What you have in your favor is that you are a girl/lady/woman. You will be just fine. In Kunming, the life is easygoing and Chinese people like to look and stare at things they are not familiar with. You will get use to it (more or less) as time goes on. Welcome to Kunming. It will be alright. My dream was to come to China and I have no regrets! Enjoy!