A Chinese Reddit user in an interracial relationship asked r/China a blunt question: is traveling in China safe with a darker-skinned partner?
The poster, Heavy_Interaction302, titled the discussion “Increasing rise of racist ideology.” They wrote: “I’m aware that social media highlights the most extreme views,” but said those comments still come from “individual people with real opinions and ideologies.”
Their worry was not abstract. Heavy_Interaction302 said they had seen “an increased disgusting rise in racism towards primarily Indians and Black people,” then added: “I’m not sure if traveling with somebody who has a darker complexion to China is safe for both them and for me.”
They also said online comments about non-white interracial relationships had become ugly enough to make them question the trip. The thread then turned into a raw comment section about what visitors may actually face in China.
InsectDelicious4503 gave one of the clearest answers: “No one will physically attack you.” But they warned that people may still “make comments about you either right in front of you or behind your back.”
They also said some strangers may “take out their phones and record you without your permission.” Their travel advice was simple: forget street taxis and use Didi instead.
reading_rockhound disagreed on the taxi problem. “I’ve never had a problem with waving down a taxi due to being waiguoren,” they wrote, saying many taxis now ignore people because they already accepted a Didi order.
DownvoteIfYouWantMe said the issue should not be softened into simple xenophobia. They identified as Pakistani-American and asked why they face abuse “under the assumption that I’m Indian.”
RightReturn7065 pointed to China-India tension and said some people assume that “if you are brown” and look somewhat Indian, then you are Indian. They called that “unfortunate and sad.”
hdfire21 gave the most personal family story. They said their mixed son attended school in China and was called “Xiaolaowai” by classmates.
“That was fun,” hdfire21 wrote, adding that this was one reason the family left. They said they had lived in China for about 13 years and believed hostility toward Indians and Japanese people was especially intense.
Kyloe91 described what they called “soft” racism: “you won’t get in fights or whatever but they will not be nice.” They said they were shocked when a Chinese host in Chengdu made an ugly comment about a friend’s half-Indian baby.
Proud_Huckleberry_42, who said they are of Chinese descent, described being treated as not really Chinese because they could not speak Mandarin fluently. After telling a cab driver they spoke Cantonese but not Mandarin, the driver reportedly said: “She is not chinese!”
Other commenters pushed back against panic. werty_reboot said visitors may hear comments “to your face or behind it,” but added that violence is not really the concern.
achangb described the problem as avoidance, not confrontation. “Chinese racism manifests as avoidance,” they wrote. “They wont actively go out of their way to cause you problems.”
RightReturn7065 also said the online picture may be harsher than street reality. They said they recently saw Black, white, Indian, and other foreign visitors in China, and in big cities like Beijing “nobody really batted an eye.”
GeauxPanthers99, identifying as Asian American, said they had positive experiences in China but still believed darker-skinned foreigners can face discrimination. They argued that countries with more multiracial daily life tend to feel more welcoming to Black and Indian visitors.
The thread did not settle whether China is dangerous for mixed couples or darker-skinned travelers. It did something messier: it showed how foreigners, Chinese diaspora readers, and mixed families are trying to separate online hate from real-life risk.
Sources:
- Reddit discussion: https://www.reddit.com/r/China/comments/1uiy3ad/increasing_rise_of_racist_ideology/
- Commenters quoted or cited: Heavy_Interaction302, InsectDelicious4503, reading_rockhound, DownvoteIfYouWantMe, RightReturn7065, hdfire21, Kyloe91, Proud_Huckleberry_42, werty_reboot, achangb, GeauxPanthers99