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Five ways Wal-mart in China is way different (and way more intense) than at home
Faced with errands for unrelated items – body lotion, slippers, yogurt – I decided that today I needed some one-stop shopping. Visiting individual shops and bargaining down the price of each item would take me an afternoon.
The "supercenter" was pointed out to me earlier in the week by a local who, when I asked him about a sign reading "Kundu Night Market," told me that the Wal-mart was the new market, and that Kundu was now just bars and discos. "But watch out for pickpockets at Wal-mart," he added.
I didn't feel good about it (though I joked to myself about "shopping locally" -- hey, everything was made in China, right?), but I knew I couldn't handle running around town in the cold, bargaining for a bottle of inexpensive lotion and pair of $1.25 slippers.
What ensued was an overstimulating experience that was probably far worse than bargaining away a chilly afternoon. Following are five observations I made on the differences between Wal-mart in China and the U.S., though I'm sure there are many more.
1. Food products. Of course the food is different; that's a given. But it's the piles of small fish (sardines? krill? I wish I knew) with blank eyes staring up at the ceiling, and sausages hanging in the open air next to what appears to be the leg of some four-legged animal that make me do a double-take. Nothing is packaged and there is a thick smell of raw meat and fish. It's not at all like the sanitary, scent-free shopping experience of home. 2. Salespeople. It seemed as though there were nearly as many staff as there were shoppers. Employees reorganized clothing bins and swept the floor. But most present were the staff who hovered at every stack of shampoo or home appliance display, handing out samples, yelling out prices, and demonstrating the fabulous capabilities of vacuum cleaners. These folks almost gave the store a market feel: individuals hawking different goods. I wondered if they worked on commission.
3. The crowds. I'm a person who craves stimulation, and even I was over-stimulated to the point of biting my lip to keep from screaming. The crowds on a Wednesday afternoon at Wal-mart were worse than any day-after-Thanksgiving-Christmas-shopping rush imaginable. I felt like a football player dodging other players on the field as I shopped, occasionally getting rammed into. Standing in "line" at the registers took more patience than surely even Buddha had cultivated. Shoppers banged me in the back of my knees with their baskets, pressed against me, shoved in front of me, and made me sweat.
4. Personal body space. In China the concept of a "personal bubble" is considerably smaller than mine, and this lack of space seems to be translated into shopping areas. The aisles are narrow, and shelves are crammed with products. Even the ceilings in the three-story building were low, pushing the illusion of air to breathe into the minuses. 5. No shopping bags. I doubt it's because Wal-mart is super eco-conscious, but I noticed right before it was finally my turn at the register that the tidy plastic-bagging system usually in place was absent; customers brought their own bags. I quickly snatched a bright red reusable bag for around $.50, which had Wal-mart's name in bold letters printed across it.
Filed under: Asia, North America, China, United States
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
admin Nov 21st 2009 6:56AM
Nah, its always spring in Kunming
Puma Nov 21st 2009 6:43PM
If you do not live for long periods in China, this can be a true experience. If you live in China, you are used to sales clerks being over zelous in their attempts to assist with your purchase. USA Wal-Mart could take a small lesson from the Chinese. I, on several occassions been almost run down by children on skate-boards inside the local Wal-Mart store. Where was the parents or clerks?... Of course, the reporter did not mention the lack of children in the shopping areas, or the increased parental control of Chinese children. I have the advantage of having lived in and out of China for over 10 years. China is not a place for spoiled Western Tourists.
Peter Nov 28th 2009 6:43PM
It must be great for the Chinese shopping at a Wal-Mart. Sorta like being German and going to the Mercedes dealership, seeing the national might of your country laid out in front of you.
Sino-shopper Nov 21st 2009 8:36AM
The biggest difference I saw in a Chinese Wal-Mart was the age of the employees. I know some of the kids working there couldn't have been 16.
Johnie Nov 21st 2009 8:43AM
RE: No shopping bag
According to many news articles back in January, China has banned stores from giving away plastic shopping bags. Customers are encouraged to bring their own cloth bags
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/09/world/asia/09iht-plastic.1.9097939.html
john Nov 21st 2009 5:53PM
Kind of funny when you think about it. No shopping bags but dump millions of tons of heavy metals in the water.
Mark Nov 21st 2009 8:52AM
Welcome to China. Every place I shopped was similar to your experience, Wal-mart or not. It's just the cultural differences. Judging by the number of people that were there, it sounds to me like it's a pretty popular place. I applaud Wal-mart for being a power house on the international scale as well.
LOL WeiGuoRen Nov 21st 2009 9:00AM
Haha sounds like someone hasnt been in China very long! Any big supermarket (Walmart, Tesco, etc) or even outdoor market for that matter is like this. A word of advice, don't buy any of the freshly baked breads, cookies, cakes that they bring out in big crates. At the Tesco in Shenyang where I live cakes routinely fall off of the crate as they bring them out right onto the floor where the open-area meat/butcher section is. Employees don't even hesitate to pick them up and put them right back on top of the pile.
Ben Nov 21st 2009 9:34AM
You can get plastic bags, they'll just cost you about one fen($0.014). They are really nice and sturdy though, in a land of garbage trash bags.
Randy Nov 21st 2009 2:21PM
does that mean most all products there are made in USA??? Ha ha ha ha !!!
Bob Nov 21st 2009 2:49PM
The biggest difference I noticed was way fewer fat and or obese people. Everyone and their brother did not have a donut, bagel or big mac smashed into their mouths like here in the midwest USA
sadiemae1214 Nov 21st 2009 3:25PM
You have to remember that the primary source of food in Asian countries is whole grains, rice, vegetables and fish and there's nothing fattening about that.
Bob Nov 21st 2009 4:15PM
Good point!
FIWIKI Nov 21st 2009 5:55PM
.....Plus everyone walks or bicycles everywhere........oh yeah, and smoke like chimneys
Mindy Nov 21st 2009 6:25PM
Except now that McDonalds, KFC and Pizza Hut are appearing with greater frequency all over China, the obesity rate, especially in young people, has seen a sharp increase. Ick! Was in a WalMart in Guangxi province a couple of years ago, and found it horribly depressing that yet another corporate behemoth was taking over. I LOVE the markets in China, crowds and all, and I imagine WallyWorld will eat those up just as they've eaten up mom-and-pop businesses all over small-town America. Sad.
Annabelle Nov 21st 2009 4:17PM
Your Walmart China shopping doesn't surprise me. You don't have to leave the U.S. to find a tremendous culture difference in our two peoples. Our family recently spent what should have been a wonderful weekend at Warner Springs Ranch Resort in San Diego County. A fairly large contingent of Chinese families were also present that weekend. At the end of our 2 hour drive to the Ranch, finding a restroom was a necessity. A nice one was located just off the sign-in lobby. I made first use of it, locking the door, while my husband stood just outside waiting his turn. As I opened the door and stood back for him to enter, a non-English speaking Chinese man pushed through the door ahead of my husband. We just stood there speechless as he not only didn't bother to wait until I had left the room, nor did he attempt to close the door, he just headed straight for the single toilet in the nice, well-appointed room, and proceeded to urinate. My husband and I just looked at each other and got out of there! When he exited, we were of course still there awaiting my husband's chance to use the facility. I really chewed the guy out about being so rude, which is when I learned English was not a second language for him. At breakfast one morning, we were pushed aside by the group as they wanted specific tables by the golf-course windows. Then, to cap off our visit, many were enjoying the hot springs pools with their children, but it sickened us when one man coughed up a lugie and spit it out on the floor of the open shower area. Apparently, sanitation, privacy and polite manners just do not enter into their picture of daily life.
Mindy Nov 21st 2009 6:45PM
Sounds unpleasant, Annabelle, but these are cultural differences, not intentional rudeness. It takes awhile to get used to the pushing and crowding, but that is simply the way it is done in China. Trying to get on a bus, everyone just mashes toward the door - if you're not used to it you feel completely violated and claustrophobic! Our western sensibilities get all bent out of shape and we get defensive because we perceive malicious intent where there is none.
Many of our behaviors baffle them, though, too. They don't understand why we allow our babies to be outside uncovered. They don't understand why we allow our babies to suck their thumbs. Many are horrified by, say, grown women in shorts - even long ones. I've seen many Americans in China having hissy fits because they can't find a restaurant that serves "western" food, they can't find a western toilet, the hotel only has twin beds, or whatever - and not showing any respect at all for the fact that THEY are the visitors in someone else's culture. If the man who ran into the bathroom was middle-aged or older, he was simply following his own customs - and standing in line is simply not customary in China. When you gotta go, you gotta go! Seemed rude, yes, but to his way of thinking, it was not. Urinating in the lobby, however, would have been. One would wish that anyone who travels to foreign country would try to learn the intricacies of the culture in order to NOT be rude, but an awfully lot of people would rather expect the world to change for them.
As for the spitting, that is also very "normal" in China. To us, it is disgusting, yes. I agree. But to them, it is healthier than swallowing it. It's just . . . normal. One of the governmental mandates in Beijing before the Olympics was trying to stop the spitting - I have no idea if it was met with success or not. I've seen enough good ol' Americans do it on the streets here that I also know it is NOT exclusive to China!
ben Nov 22nd 2009 6:36AM
Love your observations! Spot on, have you been to china before? I live here now and deal with this on a daily basis, but I love the Chinese people anyway. Here I witnesses very similar things from foreigners.
Yes they smoke here in your face, lugie sounds follow you where ever you go (make sure you take off your shoes when you come into my house!). Personal space doesn't exist, and people are everywhere. I was surprised by the writers description of Wal-mart as it was obvious that she has not be in china more than 1 month. As it seems you would have experienced this as soon as you step out your door into the real world in china.
The down side here is I saw many foreigners do similar things to what you experienced but in ways that are offensive to the locals. I recall during the Olympics that there were many visitors from France, US and Australia. I can't tell you how many times I saw them push the locals out of the way to get to the front of the line. The yell at the counter because they don't speak french, English or other languages besides Mandarin. Then they proceed to throw their trash on the ground in front of the trash cans (well the Chinese do the same). Then it's the looks (their noses high in the air showing their disdain for the locals). While bargaining in the markets being very rude to shop keepers, (which at times I understand as the markets are very crowded and stressful).
So It does go both ways.
nestmission Nov 21st 2009 4:32PM
My husband and I were going to Taiwan to see my daughter and her family....what an experience ! It was so bad getting of the plane, we just sat and were the last ones off. We could not stand the pushing and shoving. When we talked to one of the lead missionaries that has been there for 30 years, he said this is just the way they are. They don't mean to be rude, and it is not for them, but they expect to be pushed. I can't handle that. Then we went to the night market with our daughter, and for an American it is discusing. There are meats hanfing all around, flies all over the meat, and the smells are really bad. Does my daughter buy from the night markets...yes...she is a missionary, and if she cannot eat what they eat..most of the time, the Chinese will feel she thinks she is above them. They even cook fish that has not been guted.Yes, even though it is illegal, some old people were even selling dogs to eat.Every country is different. I am sure other countries think we do discusting things!
John Nov 21st 2009 5:48PM
The biggest difference I saw shopping at Wal-mart in China was now hold on to your hats ,the people were Chinese not Somali like here.