Guangzhou, Shenzhen both world's 'unfriendliest cities' ?

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Guangzhou, Shenzhen both world's 'unfriendliest cities' ?

(People's Daily Online) 14:01, August 13, 2013

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Guangzhou (File photo/Xinhua)

A survey by New York-based magazine Conde Nast Traveler has ranked Guangzhou and Shenzhen among the world's top 20 most unfriendly cities.

How many respondents have been to Guangzhou and Shenzhen?

Condé Nast Traveler released the lists of the friendliest and unfriendliest cities in the world recently. According to its website, a total of 46,476 respondents were surveyed.

China’s Guangzhou is considered the 11th unfriendliest city while Shenzhen is the 14th on the list.

So what were exactly asked in this not-very-scientific survey to determine these embarrassing results for Guangdong Province? The survey didn't introduce how many respondents have been to Guangzhou and Shenzhen, and how many respondents regard Guangzhou and Shenzhen as the unfriendliest cities in the world. All respondents are Americans, in other words, this list is the unfriendliest cities in American tourists' mind.

In addition, a statement on the website said "unfriendliest" is hard to define and said the criteria for unfriendliest cities could be subjective.

Two Chinese cities on the unfriendly list because they are “busy and extremely crowded”

The Condé Nast Traveler--Truth in Travel published the list of The Friendliest and Unfriendliest Cities in the World on its website despite of the absence of detailed and objective data. 20 cities, including Chinese cities Guangzhou and Shenzhen were given a subjective evaluation—unfriendly according to its data source: Condé Nast Traveler Readers' Choice Survey compiled by Irene Schneider.

Newark, New Jersey, U.S. is put on the list for negative experiences with the local crowd and one reader’s comment-- “ran into a lot of rude people there.”

Moscow, the capital of Russia made the unfriendly Top 20 because some found it an “intimidating and hostile place.” One reader called it a “rather dull place to visit” and claimed that the people are not too friendly.”

As for Guangzhou, a major city in south China, the website cites readers’ comments that “not as tourist-friendly as Beijing, Hong Kong, or Shanghai," and that may be because it's a better fit for business travelers. Readers say the “not nice” city is best for “work only” because it is “busy and extremely crowded.”

Shenzhen got 33.1 * points in the survey according to the website. Shenzhen didn't win over Condé Nast Traveler readers because it is a big business city (the Shenzhen Stock Exchange is here). Though some like the shopping and spas and the proximity to Hong Kong, others complained it was "too crowded" and "dirty," winding up at visiting "only if I have to."

*Note:：Grading is by percentages, with 100 as the maximum grade

Condé Nast Traveler Chinese version: Not aware of the unfriendly list

As the cooperative product between Conde Nast Group and Chinese Women's Magazine, the Chinese version of Condé Nast Traveler and its Chinese website cntraveler.com.cn haven’t published the unfriendly Top 20 list. The Condé Nast Traveler and website on the Chinese side told South Daily that they did not know what the data source is and how the data is compiled.

Journalists with South Daily tried to confirm data source with Condé Nast Traveler through the e-mail addressed posted on cntraveler.com. However, as of press time, South Daily did not receive any response from the site and the magazine.

Edited and translated by Wang Lili and Gao Yinan, People's Daily Online