should i be worried about theft?

[moderntime]

I'm planning on bringing a laptop, my iPod, and a digital SLR camera with me when I head off to Changchun next month. I was wondering what I could do to keep myself from being a target. Do I really need to line the bottom of my backpack with tin, that sort of thing?

I would love to spend some time hanging out in cafes with my laptop; don't want to just leave the thing hidden in my room all the time because I'm afraid it'll be stolen!

I spent the last seven years in New York City and I've done quite a bit of traveling, so I'm already pretty paranoid as it is. I do worry that I will be mistaken for a Japanese tourist and thus possibly targeted--I'm Chinese but you have no idea how many times other Chinese people, both in and out of China, have asked me if I was Japanese or Korean because of the way I dress.

[George61]

OooooooH Slim. You're such a cynic.

I do worry that I will be mistaken for a Japanese tourist and thus possibly targeted-

Do what the Canadians do..sew a flag onto yourself. What flag do you wear?

[Mr Nobody]

Don't WORRY about theft, just watch your stuff and take normal precautions. Don't be paranoid, just careful.
eg don't leave your stuff unattended or unwatched. and in bus stations etc, keep your wallet in your front pockets. Basic big city stuff for anywhere (except Oz.)

I haven't ever had anything stolen. But then, maybe I have been lucky. Even when the wife lost her mobile, it was returned. I haven't heard of that.

[Raoul Duke]

I lived in Changchun for about a year. It does have some theft and a bit of common-sense caution is in order. Watch out for the tunnels that take you across the streets...they tend to be very crowded and can be hotbeds of theft.

If you see gangs of Xinjiang children around, be VERY careful!

Backpacks are prime targets for thieves here. They can easily approach you from behind, unzip pockets, pull out articles, and be gone without you ever noticing. I've heard many, many cases of this! Be especially careful if someone is walking very slowly directly in front of you, and blocking your way. They may be a partner, there to distract you and slow you down. In crowds, consider carrying your backpack rather than wearing it behind you.

Changchun does have a bit of theft. Take precautions. Worry about the schools in Changchun! Where are you headed to work there?

BTW, there's an entry on Changchun in the Cities section in the Library, if you're interested.

[roaming kiwi]

To follow up Raoooouuul there. I was in Southern Shanghai (must be read with broad southern US accent) visiting an old work place walking down a big brand-spanking new road with no one else but the other half, myself and some random kid who began to walk in my shadows. 'twas night.

All I can say is that I'm REALLY seriously pleased I did 7 years of karate - bu really, its all about how gutteral your "f...uck off" comes across. I'd been in China just over two years and this had been (and so far, only) instance of being targetted in this way. I was amazed at the blatancy rather than fearful. This kid really did try and unzip my bag - there were NO crowds so was he thinking I'd turn around gently and hand him my bag - which was incidently full of cheap guitar shaped themometres - another story...

Regarding the original question (now that'll be a first for moi), my advice (like Mr Nobody) - don't unnecessarily flash your gadgets (no that's not a euphemism). Also, if you look for trouble, generally you'll find it.

I felt uneasy walking through a place that I called home only 6 months earlier - people who give a poo, pick up on it.

It's a bugger that Xinjiang people are labelled as the theives of the country. A visit to Kashgar earlier this year didn't back that up for me.

I live with my head in the clouds.

over and out.

That's my post for the month.

(really)

[Raoul Duke]

karatekid said:

It's a bugger that Xinjiang people are labelled as the theives of the country. A visit to Kashgar earlier this year didn't back that up for me.

110% agreed. But the gangs of Xinjiang street kids ARE something to watch out for.

[Lotus Eater]

Only time I had someone (a child) target me was when I was behaving like an absolute tourist. Sitting down reading a map and not thinking about where my belongings were. Caught on before I had my camera stolen - he was making reasonable attempt to undo the zip without me noticing.

Did have my mobile stolen, but that was my fault as I put it on a table in a bar, got up and forgot it.

Don't behave like a tourist.

Cafes in China are not places to hang out unless you go to the expensive ones that charge megabucks for coffee. Boring as. In general they are noisy, lively, filled with people eating, shouting and having fun. The chairs are dodgy, the tables possibly less clean than you are used to, the floors covered in food scraps. Not a place for work or contemplation.

My Japanese friends here are usually mistaken for Chinese or Korean.

[Wolf]

When I was in China I was always aware of where others were in relation to me, and when I had any valuables that they were alwasy within my sight.

Look like you belong, and you'll probably be targeted less as a non-visible minority.

Mistaken for Japanese? Don't wear movement - constricting knee length skirts and go aroud with a vacant expression on your heavily made up face. Don't accessorize to the point of Christmas Tree. No Helly Kitty tassels on your cell phone. I don't know much about the Chinese preception of Japanese fashion, but here in Japan those are the basics. (Sigh. Have I ever grown bitter. But Japanese fashion and I do not get along. Long story for later.)

I can't tell a Chinese from Korean from Japanese from Westerner of Asain descent unless I see them walk and talk. I had a Chinese-Candaian friend in Japan my first tiem here, and I could always pick her out in a crowd because she was the only one that short to move with confidence. Usually, anyway.

Just be careful with your stuff, and don't worry much about the rest.