Hutong Street

Notice the streets are free from trash, however, they are not free from spit. People spit everywhere in China...on the streets and inside buildings. What a gross habit. In preparation for the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, the Chinese has issued a new code of conduct for its citizens: no slurping of soup, no trying to push to the front of lines (another rude and common practice) and, most of all, absolutely no spitting.

Millions of brochures are being sent out to persuade individuals that spitting is unhygienic, paper sanitary bags with the Chinese symbol for "mucus" are being distributed on public transport for people to spit into and anyone found spitting onto the sidewalk will have to either clean up the mess or cough up an on-the-spot fine of 50 yuan, the equivalent of about €5. I saw none of this happening. In fact, soldiers and police just sat around and watched while people spit. No wonder SARS was such a big issue in China.