Ethnographic Research Assignment: Norms that Govern Social Interactions

15 Field Notes: Norms that Govern Social Interactions
1. Foreigners are exempted from strictly following social norms.
2. Ni Hao (hello) must be replied with the same. When saying cheers, glass should be kept lower, if you are drinking with someone above your social rank.
3. Although highly urbanized, people still tend to speak with strangers without hesitation.
4. If you have a camera, most people like to pose for a photo, showing a victory sign.
5. People are keen to speak with foreign tourists as they are eager to test their spoken English skills.
6. Shops are mostly managed by young migrant women.
7. Relationships are easily cemented over a beer. Beer is the greatest ice-breaker in the city.
8. China is undergoing a sexual revolution; however public display of intimacy is still awkward.
9. The Chinese State although vigilant about political assertions is flexible about social freedoms.
10. Urban youngsters are so preoccupied with their smart phones even while traversing public spaces.
13. Restaurant density and diversity are very high in Beijing and food exploration has become a way of life.
14. Tradition and cosmopolitanism coexist in the city. Rural practices like bargaining still survive.
15. Smoking in busy streets is unquestioned.
The Wangfujing Snack Street
The Wangfujing Snack Street, Beijing is where I conducted my ethnographic research. I selected the street because it is one of the most vibrant spaces in Beijing. The air is filled with cosmopolitanism, regionalism and traditionalism. The cosmopolitanism of Wangfujing is derived from abundant tourists wandering around the street day and night. It is also cemented by the splendid lifestyles of highly urbanized new elites of Beijing. As a marker of One China policy, one can see eateries and restaurants from almost all the regions in China. The snack street is a miniature China, that encompasses all it food diversity. Thirdly, it is place with a huge concentration of rural migrants who still carry tradition over their shoulders, in appearance, behavior and mentality.
Smokers in the Busy Street
Walking around a busy street with a lit cigarette may be a prohibited practice in most of the world but not in Wangfujing. More than half of the people were in the street were smoking. Only a few were standing in corners and smoking, consciously trying to avoid puffing out smoke...