Job Discussion Forums

[Linz]

As I've mentioned before, I'm moving to Guangdong in a few weeks and I'm just wondering what the pick-pocketing, theft situation is. Does anyone know or has anyone experienced anything like this?? I've heard stuff like that can be pretty bad over there, but a lot of it is just speculation coming from people who have never been to china before Any advice????

[Roger]

I have spent most of my career years in Guangdong, and I do think it's pretty bad on this front!
My first job was with a school on Guangzhou's outskirts; the buses there would be jam-packed with undocumented migrants. Some of them were in packs of five or ten, and these would usually work the buses.
Typically, if a victim was being muged, no one around that person would make any eye contact with the people involved in the mugging; not a whisper would be heard.
The victim herself or himself would passively submit to this treatment!

I lost 300 kuai on one of my first days there, and I knew the second when it was happening that a pick-pocket was pulling my wallet ouf ot my trousers' pocket. I couldn't do a thing because I was boading the bus with two heavy bags.
I learnt from this incident:
- Never put your valuables in your RIGHT-HAND pocket!
- Avoid handling valuables in plain view of passengers!
- Keep them under your clothes!
- Put valuables such as cameras, walkmans etc. in sturdy bags, and
keep those on your knees if you are seated, or between your legs
when standing; even so don't assume they are safe!

The situation is actually worsening at great strides! You can see ever more "beggars" anywhere now, owing to the publicity the murder of a migrant student had received at the hands of fellow inmates in a detention centre. Some of these beggars are organised in groups that may surround you with one holding out a bowl in front of you while a child will pick your pocket!

A place particularly bad is SHENZHEN. This is a notoriously under-policed place that suffers under recruiting problems for their police forces. A district that's got a bad reputation is DONGMEN, which is north of Shennan Donglu in downtown.
Even near the train station it's weird and dangerous!

And in FOSHAN and GuANGZHOU, beware of motorcycle riders - some are thieves!

[struelle]

[whitjohn]

Pay heed to the above advice! And don't be too upset when it happens to you...and it will! If you are coming from the USA bring TWO quality combination locks (such as Master) because you will most likely want a bicycle and bike theft is an artform. If you have space/weight also bring a braided steel cable with steel ferrels to protect your bike.
Welcome to China

[Linz]

thanx for the advice So do you guys think it would be safe/a good idea to carry a purse around? Or will it get snatched from me?

[shenyanggerry]

I met people who'd been pickpocked in China. I've also met the same in Canada. Theft knows no national boundaries. Take reasonable precautions and you will LIKELY be OK.

[kimo]

Another tactic that thieves use is to pick your bag while you are walking or riding your bike - YES, while you are riding your bike. A guy running behind me attempted it once, and I saw it again the other day here in Beijing. They get you as you are starting to move out. They have it down to an art form apparently.

A policeman on a show on Beijing TV said to just assume that anyone and everyone is a potential thief. Sad but necessary if you want to keep your valuables.

[batman]

ive heard so many stories about theft in china, bikes, money...i know half a dozen girls that have had money taken from purses while on buses. on and on...but its never happened to me in three years, and my secret is to carry large amounts of money and pull it out often to count it. some little chinese guy would have to be pretty low on the gene pool to think he could steal from me. i keep waiting for it to happen to me so i can dispense some justice....but in vain i fear. i guess im too scary looking. i did go the the zoo in chengdu once, and had more fun watching the theives than the animals. they were so obvious...small groups of young men, watching the people watching the animals...they saw i was onto them, and quietly moved off. i was several such groups, so going to the zoo to steal from others must be popular in chengdu.

...the rain on my chest is a baptism!

[MyTurnNow]

You should be OK with a purse if you're careful, same as anywhere else. Carry it by the bag, not the straps. Be mindful of it...don't set it down unattended and always hold it tightly in your kung fu grip.

You are a female person, right?

I've heard particularly bad reports about Shenzhen, as Roger indicates. The rest of China, thankfully, doesn't tend to be this bad.

MT

[Linz]

haha....yes I am a female! Thanx for the heads up....I'll take all of your advice with me!

[Roger]

Bicycle theft specials:
Most bikers own their vehicle for a very short time, really! Chinese have the bizarre habit of parking their bicycles in their flats!

Recently, I visited a Western friend in a Guangdong city, and as we approached his home in a multi-storey low-rise he noticed his bike was parked right there.
He told me it had been stolen six weeks earlier, and he didn't care about it any longer.
OF course, it was not standing outside his home because the thief wanted to return it to its rightful owner; apparently, the thief didn't recognise the bike when he or she stole it from a parking lot elsewhere.

[noodles]

Theft in Shenzhen is quite bad. I remember when i first arrived here, taking my first bus trip on my own into town, i was shocked by the obviousness of these pickpockets. Whilst i was waiting at the bus stop i watched a group of guys going around sliding their hands into peoples pockets whilst their victims were oblivious to it.
This was a good lesson for me, it made me realise i had to be careful. And that is baically the moral of this story, i have not been robbed, because i am careful.
You shouldn't spend time worrying about it too much, just go about your business with a little bit of care. Like you should in most big cities around the world.
The advice of carrying your money in different places is always good, that way if you do get robbed it wont be all you have.

Shenzhen also suffers a lot from people whizzing past on motorbikes and swiping your bag, so a firm grip is essential. Although the local government is banning motorbikes from next year to try to stop this.

[Kurochan]

I don't want to tempt fate or anything, but I've been in SZ for more than three years, and I haven't been robbed yet! One person tried it in Carrefour, but I realized in time.

Here are some tips:

Purses are okay, but make sure they have substantial straps that can't be broken with a tug. I've always carried ones with a long strap that would go on my left shoulder while the bag is on my right hip. That way it looks hard to pull off. Just like in the US, thieves here go for easy marks. Also, adjustable straps are good -- mine is just the right length so my hand rests on it when I walk naturally. Make sure the purse is made of strong material, so it can't be cut open easily. Make sure your purse zips or snaps securely at the top, and isn't easily (or quietly) opened by passersby. Carry bus money in as easily accessible changepurse, while your "real" money is concealed in an inside compartment.

Here are a few common scams -- somebody gets on a bus and starts arguing with the conductor, or other passenger. While everybody's attention is captured, the person's partner robs the onlookers. Another is the ever-popular "spilled milkshake" trick. This is especially common in Hong Kong. One person spills something all over you, and while he is apologizing and batting at the stain, somebody else picks your pocket.

Another thing to do is to ask the locals where the bad spots are. For example, I don't know of anybody being pickpocketed by the bus stop at my school's west gate, whereas tons of kids have had cell phones stolen at the Shenda Lukou stop near the north gate.

I'd also guess that the more you stand out, the more trouble you'll have. Like, if you're small and dark-haired, you won't get as much attention from beggars and pickpockets as large, blond people (or even as much as Hong Kongers in fancy designer clothes). I think that's one of the reasons I've been pretty lucky.

[Wolf]

There was one time I had to carry a rather large amount of cash from my home to the central branch of the Bank of China. I wrapped it in a plastic bag and put it in my shoe. The tellers and the guards were rather impressed with that one.

I know several Chinese women who keep money in rather strategic locations. Locations where you'd be charged with a lot more than pocket picking if you tried to take it.

When I do go out, I never take anything more than I need. And on buses, etc, I try to be mindful of other people around me. So far so good.

[Lanza-Armonia]

A few things to comment on this one. Firstly a person story in Hong Kong and then a story I've heard

1)

I was signing into the Chung King Mansions, a shitty li'l guest house thing in Kowloon, HK. I was doing all the red tape stuff; the teller asked for the 130HKD, reached in my bad, which was no more than 2 inches away from my foot and some b't'd took my wallet. Gone. That was 2000RMB and 500HKD in there. Stupid for me to carry that around, I know but I have my reasons for doing it.

2)

When getting onto a bus, especially big drop-off points in Guangzhou/Shanghai/Beijing, there maybe a large group of people. And If anyone uses these buses, you wil know that the Chinese people (bless 'um) are not curtious to others' personal space. These theives abuse this and crowd a the bus line when getting onto a bus. They take a wallet and pass it to another person and another person. Maybe upto 6 people in this little group of theirs and they rarely get caught because it's the only thing that the Chinese have planned without flaw

Sorry about that bag explanation, but the booze is catching up with me.

LA