[Wingy]

No they don't use spittoons. They use the floor, the sink, or any other surface they see. I was eating in an upscale restaurant in Nanjing and noticed a small boy (Maybe 8 or 9) rising from his table to spit in a potted plant. He happily sat back down and no notice was taken. This nasty habit is all inclusive in this society. I was walking down the street and noticed a young girl with her mother. She was cute as a button until she cleared her throat like a sailor and let fly.

I was there working on a large machine and we had to put tape around it and name it the "No Spitting Zone" to keep the mechanics from kneeling down in someones flem.

PS. Don't even ask about the restrooms....Yuck!

[Dutch Boy]

For those fellow FReepers that have been to China...

Has any of you seen the toddlers running around in the split bottom pants? I was in a dumpling shop in a non-tourist section of Shanghai. As we were eating our dumplings for lunch we saw a little boy. He was stand at the entrance of the restaurant. He squatted and took a dump right there, not more than 10 feet from where we were eating. Some woman grabbed a newspaper, picked up the turd. She then dumped water from a bucket on it and swept it out onto the sidewalk. Not a single local person in the restaurant even blinked. One of the guys I was with almost barfed.

I have seen them do in on the street, the parks and in a Chinese style mall not far from Yu Yuan Garden. I should have taken pictures be I was too stunned to get out the camera.