Connecting China - Chinese should smile more - Lillian Li



Lillian Li just returned to Shanghai from a business trip in Dalian, and enjoyed the change very much. “Dalian is very clean and beautiful,” she says. “Life over there is so different. The sea around the city is really a wonderful thing.”
Although it was a business trip, Lillian used it also to look around. “It is not so crowded as in Shanghai, especially during my daily trip to work by subway. It will drive me mad, someday, why are there so many people in Shanghai?” That is one of the reasons why Shanghainese like to travel so much, to avoid the crowds.
Just like Bonbon, Lillian does not want to travel during the upcoming holidays, because so many other people will be on the road. “Last year after SARS I went on a holiday in Sichuan; that was beautiful, because nobody else dared to travel then.”
Chinese do not have a good name as tourists, she knows. Lillian Li: “Many foreigners dislike Chinese tourists. We do not have the same smile like the English have. I felt very comfortable when I was on my holiday in the UK, everybody smiles at your, although it might not have a real meaning. Chinese people are very friendly, but they keep it inside. We are not so outward-going and try to hide ourselves. I think we should be more open and smile more."