Beijing Ranked the World's 11th Most Unfriendly City

We're sad to see our fair city on a "world's unfriendliest cities" list, but we're glad that at least it didn't make the top 10.

The readers of Travel + Leisure decided that Beijing wasn't their happy place: "Voters seem to agree that this city had too many people to manage, regardless of the friendliness levels of its populace. Escape the crowds (and, yes, the pollution) inside one of the city’s new hotels, which continue to practice the region’s famous, anticipatory hospitality  even if locals don’t. Try the new Rosewood Beijing, fronted with cast-bronze dragon sculptures, and featuring cloisonné in the 282 loft-style guest rooms."

If that's not a sponsored or content marketing plug for Rosewood Beijing, it's certainly the strangest we've ever seen.

That criticism aside, we're in good company. Number 12 on the unfriendly list is Miami, Florida; Number 10 is Cannes, France. Moscow was considered to be least friendly. In 2014, Travel + Leisure competitor Conde Nast Traveler readers also named Beijing to its list of unfriendly cities. 

Galway, Ireland, was voted the world's friendliest city. Two other Irish cities/places, Dublin and County Cork, also appeared in the top five, at number three and four, respectively.

Here's the Top 10 Most Unfriendly:

1. Moscow, Russia
2. Atlantic City, New Jersey
3. St. Petersburg, Russia
4. Marseille, France
5. Los Angeles, California
6. New York, New York
7. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
8. Baltimore, Maryland
9. Las Vegas, Nevada
10. Cannes, France

Now for their rankings of the Friendliest:

1. Galway, Ireland
2. Charleston, South Carolina
3. Dublin, Ireland
4. Cork, Ireland
5. Siem Reap, Cambodia
6. Auckland, New Zealand
7. Melbourne, Australia
8. Sydney, Australia
9. Edinburgh, Scotland
10. Savannah, Georgia
 

More stories by this author here.

Email: stevenschwankert@thebeijinger.com
Twitter: @greatwriteshark
Weibo:​ @SinoScuba潜水

Photo: Shi Zhao/Wikipedia

Comments

New comments are displayed first.

Beijing is a very friendly city. If you need directions and find a local who speaks English, or your language, very often the person will make sure you are headed the right way or even walk with you to make sure.

Guest wrote:

Just stop spitting eerywhere then all be fine I-m so happy

Can I still jerk off in public?

Nothing human is foreign to me. A lot of you gobshites are aggravating, however.

When one travels, they naturally encounter the locals who inhabit a given area. Interaction with tourists isn't exclusive to hotels and restaurants as people from different places and different backgrounds seek out different places to spend their time. Spending a week in Beijing seeing even only the most popular tourist attractions is going to put you within sight and sound of thousands of native residents. Of these thousands, it's fair to assume the average tourist will interact with more than enough locals to make a determination as to their friendliness. It doesn't take long to see whether or not people are generally kind in a city of this size. The best places i've ever traveled were the places where the locals were the friendliest. It can literally make or break an experience abroad.

Live Free or Die

Dawleylu wrote:

The world's friendlest cities are generally determined based off the benevolence of the people.....adhering to very basic social behavior on an escalator is hardly going to bring Beijing anywhere near the top of this list. 

this list is compiled by a travel website. I think the vast majority of people ranking these cities are doing it on the basis of what they see as a tourist, which for the most part is going to be what they encounter in service businesses like hotels and restaurants as well as in public places ... not on the basic benevolence of the locals.

 

Books by current and former Beijinger staffers

http://astore.amazon.com/truerunmedia-20

The world's friendlest cities are generally determined based off the benevolence of the people.....adhering to very basic social behavior on an escalator is hardly going to bring Beijing anywhere near the top of this list.

Live Free or Die

Fix public behavior in the subways, in cars and in pedestrian areas, and Beijing will skyrocket to the friendliest list.

And don't think it's not possible -- take waiting on the right side on escalators in the subway, to allow those in a hurry to pass on the left.

Two years ago this never happened. Now I find about 80% adherence to this custom

 

Books by current and former Beijinger staffers

http://astore.amazon.com/truerunmedia-20