Topic: news Sticky Expat Etiquette: Dealing with Other Foreigners in China

Disappearing into the Chinese of course isn't possible as Chinese often react to you, especially the further you move away from the large cities.
For me I agree with the article that interacting with " ghosts" does dilute my cultural experience,However it goes without saying that you are highly visible to the Chinese and "ghosts" alike.
I'm afraid I tend to be a " look " down and straight ahead "ghost" for the reason above and the second , to avoid embarrassment on the " other side"who for similar reasons want to avoid me.
My experience however is 95% of other ghosts didn't " interact with me" which I found " interesting" and the way I preferred it.
My Chinese wife and I played a game of " spot the ghost" and for me , "avoid the ghost", and if I came close enough check out their nationality. My wife also commented on their " appearance" , whereas If he had a partner i was treading on thin ice if I ' assessed" his partner be she chinese or " european". White women with chinese men are a rarity.
Having a chinese wife is like gold dust, although it doesn't help my mandarin. We were always willing to help any" ghost" if they had a question etc, but I was surprised that only one ever did.
I was fascinated as to how other" ghosts" found their way around and rarely saw one ' lost', a situation we [ that is my wife mainly] would have been only too happy to help.
Of course I avoided group tours like the plague. Also if I saw a restaurant with "ghosts" we " moved on"
In the regional centres we hardly saw any "ghosts" so we were actively starred at. by 95% of the locals. The odd Ni Hao often disarmed the locals, brought surprise and laughter, and a ticking off from my wife, which i ignored.
A fascinating place is the Shenzhen suburb of Shekou," Ghost City". I was there for 10 days, which was far too long, my wife was "hanging out" for decent chinese food. 2 bars there were almost exclusively european, with many acting like China was in a parallel universe. It seemed like most were working in well paid jobs which was reflected in the high prices for food in mainly european restaurants. I was asked to join a club which didn't seem "open " to chinese.
I feel that there is no etiquette. You have to deal with situations as they arise. Dont be unecessarily unfriendly[ return a smile with a smile, a hello with the same] Help people if they need it, but perhaps accept that presumably" ghosts" are in China to interact with Chinese not other ghosts.
P.S. I keep getting so called 'replies " to comments I haven't written in my emails. Please check to see you have the right David and the right email address. eChinacities wont/ can't correct this situation