GZ WARNING AGAIN

[Feathers268]

just read a post on 001, a girl passed her interview and got the visa, but she was robbed near the station, lost her visa parcel, and not a clue if it is possible to get the visa parcel again from GZ consular.

 

BE EXTREMEMLY CAREFUL IN GZ ESP. AFTER PASSING THE INTERVIEW, AND IT WOULD BE RECOMMENDED TO MAKE A COPY OF ALL IMPORTANT STUFFS.

 

It happened a couple times already,several months ago, a girl was stolen before the interview, all her evidence of relationship was lost, however, she was able to recover the loss by paying the thief a lot of money.(they knew it is important!!)

 

Just be careful!!!!

I'm so glad I will be there with Jen, guess I'm not going to let her out of my sight.

[boba]

Here is another artical I have found about GZ:

 

Guangzhou residents unhappy with police

Big News Network

Monday 28th March, 2005 (UPI)

 

 

Residents in the southern Chinese city of Guangzhou are dissatisfied with police work, according to a recent survey made public in Monday's China Daily.

 

A poll conducted by a local public opinion center found that only 20.8 percent of the more than 1,000 citizens questioned stated they were satisfied with the city's current efforts to fight growing street crimes.

 

Guangzhou, previously called Canton in English, has 2.6 police officers for every 1,000 residents, compared with 41.08 per 1,000 in neighboring Hong Kong.

 

The newspaper said, Official statistics indicated that less than half of the 27,000 police officers in the city go out to maintain public order, and even less patrol the street.

 

Deputies to the municipal people's congress are suggesting security authorities establish a long-term plan to maintain public order instead of sporadic crackdowns.

 

City government officials also want to see more police on the street rather than providing security for commercial activities. In 2004 Guangzhou's police bureau allocated 180,000 officers for 2,600 big events held around town.

 

Xie Fuxing, deputy director general of Guangzhou's Public Security Bureau, said police will focus on supervision of security guard services rather than do such work themselves.

[corvette]

I was born and was brought up in GZ and so far I've been living in GZ for all my life.

 

I have to say that the security in GZ now is not as pleasant as years' ago. Yet, it's not that scary. It's not necessary to be fussy.

 

Below are some actions you can take to avoid being a target:

 

1. Be Alert.

2. Keep looking around from time to time.

3. Try to avoid the crowds

4. Do not wear any "dazzling" jewellery.

5. Take a cab if you have anything expensive/important with you

6. Do not use your cellphone in the street or on the bus unless it's very urgent.

7. If possible, get a money belt

8. Do not use any handbag; get a backpack but carry it in front.

9. Be extremely careful when you see the Xinjiang ppl, most of them are pickpockets. Whenever you see them, get away from them as far as you can. They are all well trained professionals.

10. If the bus is too crowded, do not get on. Take a cab.

 

 

Non-Cantonese can easily become a target especially those at the rail station with lots of luggages. Try to travel light, and dress casually.

 

Actually most of the thieves are those who can't get employed in GZ. To make a living, they choose the illegal way. I feel upset about it, but it's a social problem and it takes lots of resources/effort to solve.

 

But I can assure you that as long as you stay alert, you will be fine.

 

BTW C4Racer, Shamian is part of GZ, and it's downtown Guangzhou.

[cosmiclobster]

Corvette: You offer very good advice!

I have been to a few countries and I felt very safe in all of China. The only thing I felt threatened about in GZ was all the horror stories I read about. Try living in LA where drive by shootings are a DAILY experience! I had a friend in NYC. We were outside Madison Square Garden waiting to go in to see Aerosmith. A girl was jumping up and down waving her ticket and singing "I'm gonna see Aerosmith, I'm gonna see Aerosmith". Sure enough, someone saw this, ran up to her, grabbed the ticket and was never seen again. My point being that if you are careless or reckless, you will likely become a victim in any big city. Use reasonable care and you should be allright.

Our worst incident after 10 days in GZ was walking along the river at night. As we passed the docks for the boats that cruise the river (where "rich" people who can afford a dinner cruise are) a 4 or 5 year old girl grabbed my SO's leg and held on for dear life. She was apparently begging for money and was extremely determined. Her mother was probably standing back in the crowd somewhere but did not come forward. I was ready to grab the brats ear and drag her away, but a native GZ friend that was with us told me to back away (to avoid an incident). After 30 seconds of screaming to this girl in Chinese, we finally broke free and we got out of quickly. It was a bit scarey and I could see how a foreigner could be set up in a situation like this. There were about a dozen people just milling about watching this unfold.

Bottom line: Be aware of your surrounding and use an extra margin of care in GZ, but if you walk around looking obviously scared, you will more likely become a target!!!

[skibum]

Yirong took the train once and flew twice. Flying is a good option as then you can take a bus or taxi to the consulate.

[Guest blsqueaky]

In the times that I have travelled to GZ, so far only two incidents, and one you just can not get away from easily, and that is the little kids on the walkways along the river. They are there, and they are going to approach, and like comsic said, all that you can do is keeping walking away. When there, I am always with the wife (well most of the time), I will go to Lucy's alone and never been bothered. The only other instance was walking back to the hotel one day. We had to young men follow us, then pass, then wait, then follow and then pass again. Right then I knew something was up, so I just grabbed the wife's hand, let her accross the stret towards the river and where many of the banks were located, and many security guards, and they did not follow. Afterwords she asked me, and I told her, yes, I knew what was up.

 

All in all, it just like Yvette said, just stay alert and watch.

[rogerluli]

A lot of really good advice in today's posts on staying safe in GZ. When my SO was mugged last month and I started the earlier GZ warning thread I felt that it did get a little out of hand with people letting paranoia run away with them. GZ is NOT the hell hole of the universe. MY SO went through the main train station dozens of times in the years she has lived there and never had any problems. But this time she had a new matched, expensive set of luggage I had bought her which probably made her a target. I think corvette's ideas are great for anyone traveling there or any of the big cities in China. I will have to ask my SO about the Xinjiang ppl, I had never heard that before. I have had the experience at the river boat cruise area with being accosted by street urchins selling roses. One little guy grabbed the back of my shirt and WOULD NOT let go. Finally a cop (real or rented I don't know) did show up and convince him I was not buying. I like GZ very much. It is endlessly fascinating to a guy who lives in a little town of 22K.

[Dan R]

Corvette's list makes real sense. So with the addition of #9 just do what we do in L.A. all the time, right?

[C4Racer]

Corvette's list makes real sense. So with the addition of #9 just do what we do in L.A. all the time, right?

Makes very good sense no matter what BIG City you are in worldwide. Especially if you are not used to your surroundings...

 

Yes, I know Shaimen Island is downtown Guangzhou. My reference was the area seems to be less frequented by people who do not have business within this area. You get to the area by bridges, so even though it's in the middle of downtown, it has a different feel to it.

[hypoclear]

The biggest problem we have had in GZ is in the shopping district and pickpockets. First time I felt a slight tug at my back, thought nothing of it as we were in a crowd. Later that night at the hotel, Bea noticed a nice clean cut in my backpack, nothing was missing.

 

a second time while in a different area.. we were looking at some stuff on the tables on the sidewalk, when we left Bea again noticed my fanny pack was unzipped, again nothing missing.

 

I do know as she pointed out how to spot them here in SZ at the bus stops. They are usually the only ones with a coat or jacket drapped over their arm on hot days. as you board the bus they come up behind you and jussle you while picking your pocket, they can alkso be on the busses and work in teams.

 

Mark

[cliff]

I HAVE GUANGZHOU!!!!!!!

[cliff]

Guangzhou is the crime city!!!

[david_dawei]

Maybe we should nickname it "Gotham City"...

[cliff]

7 years ago i almost got robbed in a hotel in Guangzhou.

 

The guy climbed into my hotel 4th level window and tried to steal or rob my stuff.

We fought and he jumped right out of 4th level window!!!

He flee away without injury!!

[lele]

I thought that GZ was not as bad as Bangkok or Ho Chi Minh City. Just be very careful of people who ride on motorcycles, the kids forced to beg on the streets (not because of them, but of their "parents" who are often there working with them and using them as distractions), and of looking well to do. Trust me in that a wealthy looking Chinese person will be a much larger target than a bu hao wen, mai yo chien, bie yao le, lao wai!

 

However, if someone does get something from you, make as much noise as you can. The only time someone got close enough to me to get something (they took my camera bag, but the camera was still in my backpack. However, I did not know.), I started to yell and scream and chased after the person. We ran through a shopping mall (in Vietnam) and onto the street. After about 2 minutes, some shopkeepers started to help me (fearing that business would be lost) and a few minutes later, people tripped the guy and he came crashing to the ground. The police then were there in all of 2 seconds (this was once everyone realized I was a foreigner).

 

In the end it was OK. They just made him say sorry to me in front of everyone, and let him go.

 

Ok, so maybe running someone down in the US is not safe, but since these places do not have guns, if you can scare them for a few seconds, they may trip, or others may help. And if nothing else, fear of the police beating on them may make them think again...at least I would hope!

 

But, it is a larger social problem, and hence I do not see it going away any time soon...and in a way, I feel sorry for many of the people forced into crime...