Spitting on the floor

[bhchao]

How acceptable is spitting in public in China? Clearing one's throat loudly and then spitting phlegm on the ground is quite disgusting, and it seems to be an acceptable norm of behavior in China. Also how prevalent is this in different Chinese cities?

My cousin just got back from Hong Kong and Shanghai, and she saw people spitting everywhere in Shanghai. She mentioned that people are not allowed to spit in Hong Kong, otherwise a $3000 fine will be imposed.

Looks like Singapore, Hong Kong, and Japan are societies where spitting in public is not an acceptable norm of behavior.

People in China may have reasons to spit in public, because they probably think swallowing phlegm is disgusting. But still public spitting is something that should be controlled in China.

[wushijiao]

I think there is very little public spitting in Shanghai, actually. They have anti-spitting propaganda everywhere, which is working. It mainly happens it more rural areas and places where your phlem turns black because of the pollution.

[SassybutSweet]

People spit alot over here in the U.S too it's so nasty!!! Guys also do it to impress girls, I've seen it!!!! thats a practice that should be outlawed everywhere!!!

[Quest]

and gums.....

[skylee]

Well I saw people spit in Japan too. One unlucky morning on my way to Shinjuku Station I saw three men spit. Then another spat to the platform gap when the train was in station (I must have been really impressed to remember them so clearly).

The fine in HK does help keep the place clean IMHO.

[PollyWaffle]

cancer boy who lives next door hocks phlegm for an hour at a time... & at any time... 2am for instance...

people do it everywhere in tianjin... there are giant green eggs on the street you can barely jump over... gos forbid you fell in...

i notice that, like smoking, young people are not the culprits, it is the old dudes (& wimmin)

i must admit, they are strange things coming out of my nose since i have lived here...

[keith]

They spit everywhere in England too...

[kaylene]

hopefully spitting will slowly go out of fashion as people realise the associated health risks. spitting was much more common in the uk and rest of europe (think of all the old spittoons) until they realised the link between that and TB.

what amazes me is how hard people strain to work up something to spit...all those foul noises that go towards producing a glob of phlegm. that straining can not be good for your throat.

[liuzhou]

Last year, at the height of the SARS epidemic, I was visiting a college which I sometimes do some work for. The students were locked in for about six weeks.

Anyway, after my meeting, we had the obligatory banquet. While we were eating the college leaders were proudly telling me all the protective measures they had devised and adopted. (All of which they had been ordered to do by Beijing.)

I mentioned that I thought that banning spitting would be a good idea and that I had seen five or six people spit in the hour I had been on their premises.

"Yes, it's hard to control the students' behaviour," I was told.

"Er, no! Everyone I saw spitting was a teacher or other staff!"

But they agreed that my suggestion was a good one.

We finished lunch and strolled out of the restaurant. Every one of the school leaders I was with immediately started growling, choking and wheezing and deposited large globs of disgusting phlegm on the ground.

"What were we just saying?" I asked.

They were completely unaware of what they had done.

[liuzhou]

[kaylene]

when i first saw that 2nd sign (in the metro) i thought it was a picture warning you not to stick your head in front of the train or it would get knocked off...it looks to me like the person's head is disconnected from their body.

[pazu]

I want to know this, I know people spit everywhere in the world, but Chinese is the champion, if you see a guy spitting in England, you can say this is an individual behaviour, but in Chinese it's already a national sport, a phenomenon.

Not in Saigon (air pollution is also a problem there), not in New Delhi... but in the whole China...

hmmm,,, what's wrong?

[Quest]

perhaps it used to be a status symbol. The wealthy and the powerful spat loud and clear in the streets to show their presence.

[Guest Yau]

spitting in china is quite ridicious. They spit everything on the floor, either in private or public place. In kunming and beijing and hainan and hangzhou and shengzhen, it's the same. SICK!

[MarkFail]

tbh, i dont think this is a big problem in england, my chinese friend is from beijing and says he sees is alot more often there and has only seen it once in the UK.

But its ually among younger people rather than older, i dont think i have ever seen an elderly man spit in public.

Not unless hes got a fly in his throat!

[keith]

Last year, at the height of the SARS epidemic, I was visiting a college which I sometimes do some work for. The students were locked in for about six weeks.

Anyway, after my meeting, we had the obligatory banquet. While we were eating the college leaders were proudly telling me all the protective measures they had devised and adopted. (All of which they had been ordered to do by Beijing.)

I mentioned that I thought that banning spitting would be a good idea and that I had seen five or six people spit in the hour I had been on their premises.

"Yes, it's hard to control the students' behaviour," I was told.

"Er, no! Everyone I saw spitting was a teacher or other staff!"

But they agreed that my suggestion was a good one.

We finished lunch and strolled out of the restaurant. Every one of the school leaders I was with immediately started growling, choking and wheezing and deposited large globs of disgusting phlegm on the ground.

"What were we just saying?" I asked.

They were completely unaware of what they had done.

LOL That was hilarious!!

[Bamboozle]

As a Chinese, for me spitting on the floor is total unacceptable. Many people do that coz they were not educated (and they don't know or care if this is going to bring inconvenience to others ), or they were raised up in a family where this behavior did trigger spanking.