In discussions about whether traveling in China is safe, the opinions of foreign tourists sharing their travel experiences on platforms like YouTube are inconsistent: some say China is very safe, while others think it is not safe enough. In this article, I would like to share my observations on China’s safety situation as a foreigner who has lived in China for 12 years and traveled frequently.
Of course, there are some standards for measuring whether a country is safe, but our perception of a country’s safety largely depends on the amount of information we have about that country. Many Chinese friends who want to travel to Turkey have asked me if Turkey is safe because the conflicts in the Middle East they see in the news have left them with the impression that Turkey is not safe. I told them that Turkey is one of the countries that receive the most foreign tourists in the world and has important safety guarantee mechanisms. In recent years, the number of Chinese tourists going to Turkey has steadily increased, and the prejudice against Turkey’s safety has also decreased.
This situation is not limited to Turkey. No one wants to go to a place where they might encounter trouble. One reason why Chinese people are so concerned about safety is that they live in a very safe environment in their own country. In China, an elderly woman can go to the park to exercise in the early morning without worrying about safety. A young girl can leave a bar late at night, call a taxi with a mobile phone app, and go home alone without worry. Similarly, young women can choose their clothes casually. Chinese people traveling by high-speed rail or plane do not worry about accidents because China’s civil aviation safety record is very high.
So, if I had to choose one word to describe China, I might choose “safe.” In China, safety is the prerequisite for everything. Whether starting work or going on a trip, Chinese people will say “pay attention to safety.” Safety is one of the important indicators of China’s governance style. The fundamental goal of the Chinese government is to develop China and bring prosperity, and one of the basic components of China’s development is safety. Chinese leaders often say that safety is the foundation of development.
So how should we understand the concept of “safety”?
When we think of “security” in English, the first things that come to mind are police measures and pressure and control on ordinary people. Therefore, “security” may have a negative connotation in many Western societies. It seems to be regarded as a reduction in personal freedom, and behind it is the conflict between personal freedom and public safety.
But I don’t think these two are opposites. We don’t have to sacrifice personal freedom for the public good, nor do we have to suspend personal freedom to ensure the public good. In fact, without public order, personal freedom cannot be guaranteed. Remember at the beginning of the epidemic, some people refused to wear masks, thinking that it violated personal freedom. But when everyone is spreading the virus everywhere because they don’t wear masks, obviously personal freedom is out of the question.
It is in China that I understand the necessity of the public good for expressing personal freedom. In China, one of the best examples of balancing public interests and personal freedom is the license plate restriction policy in the capital Beijing. According to the last digit of the car license plate, cars cannot be on the road on one day of the week, which can well alleviate traffic congestion. I hope to see this rule implemented in Istanbul, but this is unlikely to happen because if the local government proposes such a measure, it may be accused of hindering personal travel freedom. As a result, for the sake of “personal freedom,” traffic in Istanbul has become a “public misery”…
When we understand “security” in English as “safety,” it is closer to the meaning of the Chinese word “安全 (safety).” In China, safety is not only a police measure but also a social harmony mechanism and even a social contract. For the healthy operation of social, economic, and political life, the streets must be safe, the markets must be safe, the environment must be safe, and transportation must be safe.
During my years in China, I have also benefited from this safe environment. I always appreciate the serious attitude of subway station and airport staff towards safety instructions. Whenever there is sidewalk construction or building construction, I can see detailed arrangements for the safety of the surrounding environment. In many countries, local government construction work may pose a threat to the safety of the surrounding environment. But in China, safety is indeed the top consideration for everything.
Western media has recently been deliberately reporting on China’s safety situation. Similarly, the media used to compare the ubiquitous surveillance cameras in Chinese cities to “Big Brother.” In the West, surveillance cameras are regarded as an infringement on freedom, just like the discussion about wearing masks during the epidemic. When an ordinary American sees a surveillance camera, they may think “someone is watching me.” But when we see that the detection rate of current homicide cases in China has reached 99.94%, I think everyone knows how this sense of security is obtained.
This does not mean that there are no accidents in China. It is impossible to completely eliminate accidents. Accidents always occur for various reasons, but the important thing is to learn from these accidents and take necessary measures to prepare for the future. The Chinese government may be the most proactive government in the world in anticipating and dealing with safety risks. In recent years, due to serious accidents and fires caused by the explosion of electric motorcycle batteries, the Chinese government has made various regulations on the charging locations of these batteries. In the community where I live in Beijing, the most common safety instructions are about electric vehicle batteries.
I also want to share a memory related to the sense of security in China here. Last year, I parked my car in the opposite direction of the community exit. Soon after, the community security guard came to my door and told me that I should not park my car in the opposite direction. At first, I thought this was meddling. I currently live in a community in Ankara. Here, no one cares about which direction the car is parked. In a row of cars, some have the front facing in and some have the front facing out. Later, the security guard calmly explained that it is more appropriate for all vehicles to face the exit door so that they can evacuate quickly in case of a fire. I must admit that I felt a little embarrassed at that moment.
During my time living in China, the only time I felt unsafe was when I was going home from Sanlitun, Beijing in 2011. A taxi driver tried to give me counterfeit money as change. But generally speaking, I communicate well with Beijing taxi drivers and have improved my Chinese through them.
In addition, thanks to mobile phone ride-hailing apps, there is no need to communicate with the driver about payment or routes. The app can take care of these for you. Many apps have English versions, and you can communicate with the driver in English. With your permission, voice recordings can be made during the ride. In this regard, I can say that China is the most convenient and safest country in the world for ride-hailing. In addition, through mobile phone apps, you can see the pick-up and drop-off locations on the map, and taxi drivers have no chance to take you on a detour. (As a small criticism, I think commercial taxis in Beijing need to be a bit cleaner. Sometimes I see that the inside of taxis is very dirty and full of cigarette smoke.)
For foreign tourists, another important safety factor is being able to walk comfortably on the street. As mentioned at the beginning of the article, recently there have been some news of attacks on American and Japanese tourists in Chinese cities, giving people the impression that going to China is not safe. I believe these are accidental events. In the 12 years I have lived in China, I have neither witnessed nor experienced such an event. Remember at the beginning of the epidemic, due to the misinformation of the Trump administration, there were often attacks on Chinese and Asians in the United States, but in China there are no systematic attacks on specific races.
In addition, I find that Chinese people do not act more deliberately or indifferently when dealing with people from countries with historical entanglements with them. You can understand this when you talk to Japanese citizens living in China. Among foreign restaurants in China, Japanese restaurants are the most. Chinese people do not hide their love for Japanese food and do not have a racist attitude towards Japanese people living in China.
So when I see the debate about whether China is a safe place, I am surprised because I am not sure if there is a place safer than China in the world. In fact, I remember that sometimes I feel uncomfortable with this “excessive safety.” For example, when driving in Beijing, sometimes I want to park my car on the side of the road for a short time and quickly go to the market to buy something. But in Beijing, you can’t do this because traffic in Beijing operates like a machine. After moving to Turkey, I can now turn on the hazard lights and park my car anywhere, but when everyone does this, traffic becomes unmanageable and inconvenient for others.
After leaving China, what I miss most is that life proceeds according to a specific plan and rules that apply to everyone. I suggest that foreign friends traveling to China should first understand China’s rules. As long as you follow the Chinese way of life, you will have a peaceful and comfortable time.