Yuantongsi
(717 posts) •
Now I have seen it all, last night there was a white guy with a young blond girl laying guitar with a sign in Chinese asking for money for a plane ticket home. I have heard about laowai beggars in SH etc but first time in Kunming.
I hope the girl was his.
Busker, no? Was he any good? One sees them in cities in any number of countries, and from any number of countries, though I've seen very few obviously foreign buskers in Kunming.
I've seen couple white guys asking money from Chinese for taking a pictures with them. Yes, and they still did have some "customers" for that, which I couldn't believe it. Speak about begging, not sure if this is the right country or even city to do so:-) Altho Ive seen few losers in SZ, but not really begging on the street. If they play guitar and sing in Chinese, this sound like a street performance to me, which is common in europe and its not counted as a begging but actually work ( sometimes not an easy one ).
Beijing Lu in the North seem to have a few people playing at intersections and gathering large crowds like the one in front of Walmart. There was a white guy who might have thought there was potential in that and tried his luck at the Beichen subway exit, next to KFC. But no one was paying attention to him.
Saw a couple other westerners asking for money in Chengdu and Beijing. Those quickly gathered crowds.
I don't see why this is surprising though. There are white beggars everywhere in Europe.
might be them. they were headed to china.
This seems ridiculous. Were they, by chance, dirty hippie backpackers with dreadlocks? I mean, I wish them well, but it is illegal to do that: a maor violation with the PSB. Their embassy can provide emergency help.
the 2 i posted the article are refusing embassy help, and all other help that isnt money. on may 22nd they left vietnam for china.
laofengzi, then I have less compassion for them. First, the idea that a Westerner cannot find work in China is laughable. Second, if they refuse embassy help, then they actively want to be street beggars. Third, are they dirty backpackers with dredlocks, by chance?
yes they are.
Lots of local buskers on Haigeng Daba in the evenings, especially at the weekend. I wouldn't mind but some of them have the amp and speaker so loud that are distorting and you can hear them from over 300m away as they compete.
