Safety in China

Ｉｔ＇ｓ　ｎｏｔ　ｓａｆｅ　ｆｏｒ　ｌｏｃａｌ　ｐｅｏｐｌｅ，　ｂｕｔ　ｉｔ　ｉｓ　ｃｏｍｐａｒａｔｉｖｅｌｙ　ｓａｆｅ　ｆｏｒ　ｆｏｒｅｉｇｎ　ｆｒｉｅｎｄｓ　ｉｎ　Ｃｈｉｎａ．　

Hi Christine,

I live just out side of Leshan City which is within Sichuan province, central China.
I have been living here for over 9 years now.

BUT!!! I have lived throughout Asian countries, and even African nations, and China to me is one of the safest places on earth. As long as your not inclined to walk the streets in the early hours of the morning alone and half intoxicated, wearing sleazy clothes, you will be just fine.

China is the ONLY nation that love all foreigners that I have had privilege to know. You cannot say that for most of this world countries that is the truth.

If you are happy and friendly, you will get the same back plus more off the Chinese, they are a very curious nation though, so please do not be embarrassed to be stared at very often and sometimes being touched, as they love to touch foreigners skin and hair.

If you live within the coastal cities, you will also see many other foreigners, so you will not feel out of place.

So to re-cap on your initial questions:
1: Do you feel safe in China? 100%
2: How would you define the level of safety in the country? 100% but pls be special careful crossing main roads especially out of the cities, as a zebra crossing here is just pretty white lines on the road and traffic lights and one way systems is pretty lights and signs. lol....
3: Can you walk safely during the day and at night without any fear? As said, behave yourself always and walk with pride, you will see whole families out all night eating dancing playing in most places.
4: Do you think there is a high rate of criminality, social problems or tensions? Their are criminals in every country along with local social problems and tensions, but here you will see with crime especially, IT IS CONTROLLED RIGHT AWAY and punishment is done very very swiftly indeed. With social problems it is mainly in doors, and kept between families and sorted out by themselves, tension wise, China is a very laid back nation.

Hope my pennies worth helps.

We lived in Beijing for a year and a half, and I felt safe there. My teen-aged boys would sometimes come home really late from parties or hanging out with their friends,  and they felt totally safe taking the taxi, subway or walking.
We had a neighbor who told me that she felt safer in Beijing than in the States. And I agree with her. Probably because there are no guns owned by the citizens, unlike in the US.
I could walk at night alone, and not fear for my safety. Plus there are always people walking in Beijing, even at 2am.

Living there in Beijing and before at Qingdao.
I am in China since more than 15 years.
Married with a chinese lady
Not any security problem.
Male and young female can safely walk in beijing during the evening...during the night, however be careful!

Much safer than euriopean cities like Paris, Marseille,, and so on!

see you...

I fully endorse intimedics comments.
Brit Expat in Shanghai suburb China since 2003

i have been living in china for 12 years already, absolutely never faced a security problem here,even go out alone in late nights feel secured.

first trip to China was in 1983...ha ha that's before many of you were even borne...i have lived in large cities... and in small rural villages.....never have i felt unsafe.......Ive walked the streets day and night..and always felt comfortable.....yes the people have changed.... and perhaps not as humble as they were ... sometimes arrogant..but never violent.......most times helpful.... and forever inquisitive ...the kids in Rural areas are beautiful.... those in the city..ha ha the young boys ...well they are all just so spoiled ...

from experiences living in china for over 10 years, if you have  a legal issue the police will not help you, not to the extent that our police do in the usa,they will not give you a police report nor investigate a crime if your a foreigner, our us embassy will not help you in china they will direct you to a lawyer. if your are a so called foreigner i urge  you to stay away from the police, they will never protect a foreigner.

as long as you stay out of trouble

I've been in China for almost fourteen years and compared to walking around larger cities in Western countries, I feel perfectly safe here. But then again... I'm a woman standing over six foot so I am given a lot of space at night time.

To answer the questions:
How would you define the level of safety in the country? For the most part, at about 80%. I feel safe walking around at various times of the day... But I fear those on bicycles and motorcycles as they are crazy. And the drivers. I know Chinese people value life, but the way they drive and bike it really seems like they don't. i feel safe and secure in my home, my neighbors and all those that live around me look out for me as well. But, I do agree with an above poster about the police not helping you if you need assistance or are reporting a crime. Usually, you get laughed at.

Can you walk safely during the day and at night without any fear? Yes. Other than those people on the roads!

Do you think there is a high rate of criminality, social problems or tensions? Oh most certainly. This country is humming! While living in Baotou, I discovered some friends at the police station joking about how Baotou was the rape country of the country. My former students at various schools said that if a student was raped and was brave enough to report it, schools offered them free post grad education and a guarantee pass if they stay quiet. I've seen motorists pay off police in an accident then drive away even though the accident was their fault. I've taught doctors who tell me that they don't tell their patients they are dying because they are afraid they'll spend their money doing the things they want to do instead of giving it to their family when they pass. You basically have an entire country that is afraid of its government, don't trust their own government, don't trust the police, doctors or anyone in a position of authority. Of course there is tension and there will be much more to come. And this will show itself through crimes of varying degrees. I don't think crime really on the rise, I just think more people are reporting what is going on hoping for something to be done.

Share with us your insight on safety in China and in the city you live in. The joke my students and I share is that if you have enough money, you can commit any crime you wan for all you do is pay off the victims family and everyone is happy. It's sad really. Here in Liaoning, I feel a little bit more cautious of the police as there have been a few foreigners accused of espionage. But it really doesn't bother me all that much. I'm a pretty boring person! And love the country I have chosen to live in.

I lived in Yangshuo from 2010 to 2013. I exercised caution with my personal belongings such as the way I carried my handbag. Thats the same behavior I have in any crowded place anywhere around the world.

Because many places are very crowded, especially bus stations, there is little personal space so I always kept my
personal belongings close to me.

Twice in almost 4 years I felt uncomfortable re personal safety. The first time was in Shanghai at a large undercover market where I didn't see another foreigner. My daughter and I were being followed and we got out of that area in haste. The second time I was walking during the day in Yangshuo and a crazy man hit me on my shoulder ( with a microphone) He wasn't a reporter. I just kept walking but picked up speed.

I often walked a dimly lit street on my way home and usually there were a few people walking the same street. Chinese people eat out a lot and so there are usually pedestrians around but I would not want to walk on my own after say 9.00 pm.

When my daughter and I visited Suzhou we had been to a restaurant one night and got a taxi back to our hotel but actually the taxi driver didn't take us to our hotel. He dropped us off on a main street and we had to find our way down narrow dark lane-ways. It was a scary experience because we didn't really know our way. Dogs were howling, it was so dark and no-one was around. Finally after what seemed like, well, ages a woman on a bicycle, who spoke English pointed us in the direction of our hotel. We felt so relieved.

One day I witnessed a cyclist knocked to the ground by a car. The car didn't stop. The watermelon seller sitting within an meter of the fallen cyclist didn't blink an eyelid. I was shocked that no Chinese person went to help the young foreigner girl. I quickly left the shop I was in to help but 2 American girls got to the victim faster than myself.

I heard about a mature aged overweight foreign lady who fell over in the street and a Chinese woman went up to her and said she should be more careful.(instead of helping the lady to get to her feet) So, my impression is, take care of yourself because I think Chinese people dont want to get involved in helping.I'll stand corrected on this. I know there are always the exceptions.

Oh, and if your washing falls from a bamboo pole (your washing line) and you live in a high rise...dont expect you will find your dropped item of clothing on the ground when you go to check. Also if you have a bicycle make sure its got a lock on it. Lots of bicycles get stolen.

Overall though I felt safe in China and found the local people to be very friendly. Just keep your wits about you as you would anywhere where there are crowds and or poverty.

I'm living here for 4 years now, and I feel very safe. I can walk at any time on any street without any concerns.
I feel safer here in Xiamen, than I did in Geneva or Vienna.

Quite Simply; Yes. Never felt safer in my life.

I lived for 1.5 years in what is considered the poorest and most dangerous neighborhood of Shenzhen (I beg to differ but anyway). I've been out late and alone in the back streets and alleys of my neighborhood. I never so once felt threatened, not even by the packs of wild dogs that ruled them.

In the major city centers of Shenzhen, regardless of the hour I never felt endangered at all either.

Note: The potential for pick pockets and petty thievery is global and though it has never happened to me or the people I know (knock on wood). However those same Chinese friends fell prey to phone scams by street vendors. I was once hustled for 200rmb by a parking attendant who decided to put a "Denver Boot" on my car because I parked for free near the entrance. Not a big deal.

Expat in China since 2009

Kris N

U can practically sleep on the streets drunk and no one will touch you 

Ive always felt quite safe as an expat in Shanghai.  The greatest risks seem to be pick pockets and scams.  Physical safety isn't anything I've been too concerned about.  Obviously a person will use common sense regarding how much information you give total strangers about your living situation, whether you live alone, what your habits are etc.  but I routinely ride the metro late into the night and have no hesitation to walk home alone from a station when I do.  As far as personal physical safety goes, I feel at least as safe, if not more so, in China as I do in my home town in the U.S.