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Among the ancient hieroglyphics at Egypt’s Luxor Temple is altogether different kind of inscription： “Ding Jinhao was here，”etched into the surface of the 3，500-year-old stone relief in Chinese characters.
Chinese traveler Shen Yuwen， embarrassed by the apparent act of vandalism by one of his countrymen， said that he tried to wipe away the seven-character inscription with a napkin when visiting the site on May 6. He shared a photograph of the graffiti in his microblog on May 24.
Although Shen’s efforts were not able to save the surface of the stone relief， there is hope that his gesture might save face for Chinese tourists， with a little help from netizens.
In the following five days， netizens left more than 270，000 comments to Shen’s post， mostly condemning the vandalism. Some even flesh searched the vandal， identifying him as a 15-yearold middle school student in Nanjing， east China’s Jiangsu Province. Hackers mockingly defaced the website of his former primary school with a “Ding Jinhao was here” of their own.
The overwhelming outrage eventually elicited an apology from the boy’s parents. Nevertheless， the event opened discussion of the etiquette and decorum of growing numbers of Chinese tourists visiting abroad.
Bad manners
In addition to the Ding Jinhao scandal， netizens also reposted evidence of a grotto painting dating back to the Western Xia Dynasty （1038-1227） having been tagged by a tourist in 2000.
On May 27， cultural heritage authorities of Guazhou County， northwest China’s Gansu Province， made a public apology for poor management that permitted the vandalism.
The tourist， then a reporter for Hong Kongbased newspaper Wen Wei Po， scrawled the graffiti with an ink pen while his guide， a local archaeologist， wasn’t looking.
In March 2009， a retiree from Changzhou， east China’s Jiangsu Province， carved his name and hometown on a rock in Taiwan’s Yehliu Geopark， triggering intense criticism.
In February， a photo showing the Chinese characters reading “Liang Qiqi was here” carved by a tourist into a ceremonial brass receptacle at Beijing’s Palace Museum， otherwise known as the Forbidden City， also quickly went viral.
“Objectively speaking， our tourists are characteristically uncivilized. Especially， when they travel overseas， which is regarded as a new luxury they often compare with each other and want to show off，” said Liu Simin， a researcher with the Tourism Research Center under the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. Along with its rapid economic growth， China’s tourism industry is growing fast. In little more than a decade， Chinese tourists have gone from being relatively rare outside of Asia to the most important market for global tourism.
In 2012， more than 83 million Chinese tourists travelled overseas， compared to 10 million in 2000， and spending on travel abroad reached $102 billion， the highest in the world， according to the United Nations World Tourism Organization.
By 2020， about 200 million Chinese are expected to take an overseas holiday every year.
However， the booming industry has also brought about an unsightly side effect： The country’s international image is tarnished by the vulgar， impolite and undisciplined behavior of its citizens.
In March 2012， travel marketing institute Mandala Research released a report showing that the Chinese are the second worst tourists in the world following Americans.
During the Chinese Lunar New Year holiday in February， Bangkok news daily The Nation published letters from readers grumbling about Chinese tourists’ annoying behavior.
One Thai wrote， “Chinese tourists are too boisterous. They tend to drive fast on the wrong side of the road， and often go against traffic on one-way streets.”
He also mentioned that “some hotel and guesthouse operators are turning them away because they say Chinese tourists often rent a room for two， but stay in a group of four or five. They also deplore their tendencies to litter and hang their clothing on the balcony railing.”
In Hong Kong， newspapers have photographed multiple examples of uncouth behavior by visitors from the mainland， including cutting in line， smoking in non-smoking areas， spitting， walking barefoot and squatting in the middle of the sidewalk.
In mid-May， Chinese Vice Premier Wang Yang admonished the “uncivilized behavior”of some Chinese tourists， when addressing a conference on implementing the Tourism Law， which will take effect on October 1.
Their displays of lack of “quality and breeding” have “damaged the image of Chinese people，” Wang said.
Authorities should “guide tourists to conscientiously abide by public order and social ethics， respect local religious beliefs and customs， mind their speech and behavior and protect the environment，” he said.
Chen Xu， a researcher with the China Tourism Academy， said that the new law will compel Chinese people to behave properly at tourist sites. According to the law， travel agencies will be allowed to revoke their contracts with tourists who “engage in activities that violate social ethics.”
“But in the long run the key is to raise awareness of the importance of cultural relics and proper manners，” Chen said， adding that travel agencies and guides should also be responsible for educating tourists and preventing improper acts.
The National Tourism Administration issued a convention for civilized tourism conduct on May 28.
“Being a civilized tourist is the obligation of each Chinese citizen，” says the document， which identifies protection of cultural relics as an essential imperative for tourists.
Beyond refraining from defacing ancient relics， the administration reiterates a number of common sense guidelines and environmental considerations for courteous tourism.
Adapting to rules
Scholars argue that bad manners in public are due to many factors， and not just individual personality. They say society， historical circumstances and the environment must all be taken into consideration.
“People are relatively tolerant and polite in their daily lives toward acquaintances and friends， but when placed in a strange place， such as when travelling abroad， chances are that people will be more prone to anger， to be rude， aggressive or even violent，” said Han Xueqing， Director of the Department of Clinical Psychology at Beijing Tongren Hospital.
In the past few decades， blind worship of material success has also affected moral values of Chinese people and complicated their behavioral paradigms.
“It is not that the Chinese cannot behave. The society we live in， the phase of social development we are going through， and the social network we belong to all decide our behavior in public，” said Cheng Lehua， a social psychologist with the Department of Psychology at Guangzhou-based Sun Yat-sen University.
For one， people are more inclined to be rude if they feel their personal space is being violated. Moreover， when social resources are limited， and there is no actual penalty mechanism for improper behavior， it becomes a freefor-all. But identity still plays an important role， according to Cheng.
“Tourists are a good example in such extreme cases，” he said. “They are more likely to behave badly than locals. They are in a strange place and they are in a hurry to get the most out of the limited stay， while locals have more time and opportunity， relatively， to do the same.”
Researchers say that Chinese tourists face a learning curve when adopting manners and picking up hints during their travels. As they slowly get used to being affluent， and their vision broadens with more frequent travel abroad， they will feel less pressure to grab as much as they can in as short a time as possible， and they will learn to relax and behave better.
“Travelling is a learning experience for tourists. They learn how to absorb local culture and will get rid of their bad tourist behavior in the process，” said Wang Wanfei， a tourism professor at Zhejiang University.
“Over the past few decades， our society has lacked education when it comes to manners. For example， it’s common for many Chinese to speak loudly， but they learn to be quiet in public places if they feel unwelcome overseas，” said Zhang Mei， founder and CEO of WildChina， a Beijing-based travel company.
Chinese traveler Shen Yuwen， embarrassed by the apparent act of vandalism by one of his countrymen， said that he tried to wipe away the seven-character inscription with a napkin when visiting the site on May 6. He shared a photograph of the graffiti in his microblog on May 24.
Although Shen’s efforts were not able to save the surface of the stone relief， there is hope that his gesture might save face for Chinese tourists， with a little help from netizens.
In the following five days， netizens left more than 270，000 comments to Shen’s post， mostly condemning the vandalism. Some even flesh searched the vandal， identifying him as a 15-yearold middle school student in Nanjing， east China’s Jiangsu Province. Hackers mockingly defaced the website of his former primary school with a “Ding Jinhao was here” of their own.
The overwhelming outrage eventually elicited an apology from the boy’s parents. Nevertheless， the event opened discussion of the etiquette and decorum of growing numbers of Chinese tourists visiting abroad.
Bad manners
In addition to the Ding Jinhao scandal， netizens also reposted evidence of a grotto painting dating back to the Western Xia Dynasty （1038-1227） having been tagged by a tourist in 2000.
On May 27， cultural heritage authorities of Guazhou County， northwest China’s Gansu Province， made a public apology for poor management that permitted the vandalism.
The tourist， then a reporter for Hong Kongbased newspaper Wen Wei Po， scrawled the graffiti with an ink pen while his guide， a local archaeologist， wasn’t looking.
In March 2009， a retiree from Changzhou， east China’s Jiangsu Province， carved his name and hometown on a rock in Taiwan’s Yehliu Geopark， triggering intense criticism.
In February， a photo showing the Chinese characters reading “Liang Qiqi was here” carved by a tourist into a ceremonial brass receptacle at Beijing’s Palace Museum， otherwise known as the Forbidden City， also quickly went viral.
“Objectively speaking， our tourists are characteristically uncivilized. Especially， when they travel overseas， which is regarded as a new luxury they often compare with each other and want to show off，” said Liu Simin， a researcher with the Tourism Research Center under the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. Along with its rapid economic growth， China’s tourism industry is growing fast. In little more than a decade， Chinese tourists have gone from being relatively rare outside of Asia to the most important market for global tourism.
In 2012， more than 83 million Chinese tourists travelled overseas， compared to 10 million in 2000， and spending on travel abroad reached $102 billion， the highest in the world， according to the United Nations World Tourism Organization.
By 2020， about 200 million Chinese are expected to take an overseas holiday every year.
However， the booming industry has also brought about an unsightly side effect： The country’s international image is tarnished by the vulgar， impolite and undisciplined behavior of its citizens.
In March 2012， travel marketing institute Mandala Research released a report showing that the Chinese are the second worst tourists in the world following Americans.
During the Chinese Lunar New Year holiday in February， Bangkok news daily The Nation published letters from readers grumbling about Chinese tourists’ annoying behavior.
One Thai wrote， “Chinese tourists are too boisterous. They tend to drive fast on the wrong side of the road， and often go against traffic on one-way streets.”
He also mentioned that “some hotel and guesthouse operators are turning them away because they say Chinese tourists often rent a room for two， but stay in a group of four or five. They also deplore their tendencies to litter and hang their clothing on the balcony railing.”
In Hong Kong， newspapers have photographed multiple examples of uncouth behavior by visitors from the mainland， including cutting in line， smoking in non-smoking areas， spitting， walking barefoot and squatting in the middle of the sidewalk.
In mid-May， Chinese Vice Premier Wang Yang admonished the “uncivilized behavior”of some Chinese tourists， when addressing a conference on implementing the Tourism Law， which will take effect on October 1.
Their displays of lack of “quality and breeding” have “damaged the image of Chinese people，” Wang said.
Authorities should “guide tourists to conscientiously abide by public order and social ethics， respect local religious beliefs and customs， mind their speech and behavior and protect the environment，” he said.
Chen Xu， a researcher with the China Tourism Academy， said that the new law will compel Chinese people to behave properly at tourist sites. According to the law， travel agencies will be allowed to revoke their contracts with tourists who “engage in activities that violate social ethics.”
“But in the long run the key is to raise awareness of the importance of cultural relics and proper manners，” Chen said， adding that travel agencies and guides should also be responsible for educating tourists and preventing improper acts.
The National Tourism Administration issued a convention for civilized tourism conduct on May 28.
“Being a civilized tourist is the obligation of each Chinese citizen，” says the document， which identifies protection of cultural relics as an essential imperative for tourists.
Beyond refraining from defacing ancient relics， the administration reiterates a number of common sense guidelines and environmental considerations for courteous tourism.
Adapting to rules
Scholars argue that bad manners in public are due to many factors， and not just individual personality. They say society， historical circumstances and the environment must all be taken into consideration.
“People are relatively tolerant and polite in their daily lives toward acquaintances and friends， but when placed in a strange place， such as when travelling abroad， chances are that people will be more prone to anger， to be rude， aggressive or even violent，” said Han Xueqing， Director of the Department of Clinical Psychology at Beijing Tongren Hospital.
In the past few decades， blind worship of material success has also affected moral values of Chinese people and complicated their behavioral paradigms.
“It is not that the Chinese cannot behave. The society we live in， the phase of social development we are going through， and the social network we belong to all decide our behavior in public，” said Cheng Lehua， a social psychologist with the Department of Psychology at Guangzhou-based Sun Yat-sen University.
For one， people are more inclined to be rude if they feel their personal space is being violated. Moreover， when social resources are limited， and there is no actual penalty mechanism for improper behavior， it becomes a freefor-all. But identity still plays an important role， according to Cheng.
“Tourists are a good example in such extreme cases，” he said. “They are more likely to behave badly than locals. They are in a strange place and they are in a hurry to get the most out of the limited stay， while locals have more time and opportunity， relatively， to do the same.”
Researchers say that Chinese tourists face a learning curve when adopting manners and picking up hints during their travels. As they slowly get used to being affluent， and their vision broadens with more frequent travel abroad， they will feel less pressure to grab as much as they can in as short a time as possible， and they will learn to relax and behave better.
“Travelling is a learning experience for tourists. They learn how to absorb local culture and will get rid of their bad tourist behavior in the process，” said Wang Wanfei， a tourism professor at Zhejiang University.
“Over the past few decades， our society has lacked education when it comes to manners. For example， it’s common for many Chinese to speak loudly， but they learn to be quiet in public places if they feel unwelcome overseas，” said Zhang Mei， founder and CEO of WildChina， a Beijing-based travel company.