Chinese tourists are preparing to again massively pour into Russia

After the opening of borders in China, an increase in Chinese tourist flow to Russia, and above all, to Moscow and St. Petersburg, is expected. Before the start of the pandemic in 2020, St. Petersburg was a leader among the places that Chinese citizens aspired to visit, they have an amazing craving for St. Petersburg. Sinologist guide Anastasia Liu and other experts on China told MK about the peculiarities of working with Chinese tourists, their addictions, and also about what prevents them from coming to Russia en masse so far.

China has lifted three years of coronavirus restrictions for both entering and leaving the country. It is not surprising that for three years the people of China have missed traveling, and Russia expects a powerful tourist flow from this friendly country.

Muscovite Anastasia Liu is an economist, educator, teacher of Chinese, who works a lot with tourists from China in Moscow, St. Petersburg and the Moscow region. She graduated from the Diplomatic Academy under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation, and her husband is a Chinese citizen.

– Tourists from China really like our temples, churches, for example, they like Sergiev Posad, and they are also big fans of the architecture of St. Petersburg. By the way, after each excursion they go to an amber shop there, because in China it is believed that amber has healing properties.

– What else are you interested in?

They really like Russian food. My groups and I always go to a Russian-style restaurant at the end of each excursion. In general, the Chinese have a cult of food, food comes first! If you ask a Chinese what he saw in the city, he will first say what he ate there. And even if the city was beautiful, and the food seemed tasteless to him, then the whole impression of this place will be spoiled.

At the same time, the Chinese believe that you need to eat only those foods that are good for health or that give strength. That is, they approach this process very carefully.

The Chinese are fond of our artists. Wealthy travelers buy paintings depicting Russian nature, it is desirable that it be summer, there are a lot of trees or a lot of space – a view of the field, water … Whoever has money goes to the Bolshoi Theater, to the most expensive Moscow restaurant …

I would say that the Chinese are very demanding tourists, they want “everything at once and now.” If they have planned some attractions for themselves, and we don’t fit in on time, then they will still force the guide to go there, even despite being tired. They are also always very scrupulous about purchases, they choose everything for a long time. I remember there was a tourist with whom we spent two hours choosing a watch for him on the Arbat …

At the same time, the Chinese always look a little restless on excursions, they worry that if they fight off their group, they will get lost, no one will find them, no one will help … Mostly older people travel. This people has such a philosophy that they work hard all their lives, buy everything they need – for themselves, children, grandchildren, and when they retire, they can already afford to travel. And usually it starts with their internal travels in China.

In general, the Chinese adore Russia – first of all, we are talking about the older generation. Chinese grandparents remember Soviet times, that friendship between China and the USSR, they feel some special connection between our countries.

– Do the Chinese expect to return to Russian cities for excursions?

– Yes, of course, they are waiting. Now they have announced the opening of borders, but, in fact, many still do not have the opportunity to come to us. Someone has an expired passport, because new ones were not issued during the pandemic. It is for this reason that his parents cannot yet come to my husband and me from China. Therefore, Chinese citizens are in a hurry to get themselves passports. And they also love Baikal very much, they like our snows… they adore Murmansk, they go there to watch the northern lights, ride dogs, etc. Sometimes someone even goes there by car, I know a Chinese woman who independently went by car with her husband from Moscow to Murmansk. And recently, hunting has become especially popular with the Chinese in Russia, for example, on Lake Baikal.

“They love Russia very much,” Natalya Gataullina, an associate professor at the National Research University Higher School of Economics St. Petersburg, who has worked in China for seven years, shared with MK. – When the Chinese found out that I was from St. Petersburg, they always asked me a lot of questions and hurried to tell me that one or another of their relatives had been to St. Petersburg or Moscow …

To be honest, I am offended that some Russians perceive the return of Chinese tourists negatively. They believe that the Chinese, who usually travel in large groups, are noisy, speak loudly, and our compatriots react emotionally to a disturbance. But after all, guests, especially in a large company, gathered on a good occasion, are often noisy!

I think that the return of Chinese tourists to Russia, and in particular to my hometown of St. Petersburg, is a blessing, because contacts are being established between the two countries, and now this is especially important. But, it seems to me, these should not only be excursions around St. Petersburg, but I would like there to be more various joint cultural events, including those with the participation of young people and students.