Answer to One China Travel Question
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Q: Hi. I have been 2 weeks in Yiwu and 2 weeks in Linyi now. Why evrything in Linyi are more expensive than Yiwu - such as taxi, hotel, resturant, food. I know yiwu is a much better city and it is an international city, but not Linyi which is very boring. Thanks
| | A: Linyi is one of those parts of China that not as well developed. People there tend to be poorer than those in other areas, including other parts of Shandong Province - Qingdao, Yantai and Weifang, for instance. The region is generally hilly and until most recently is isolated from the outside world. In fact, prior to 1949 Linyi was one of those areas in which Chinese Communists built a strong base with the support of poor peasants. This is one thing that people in the area are or were proud of. In the age of reform and business development, however, the region lagged behind. Anyway, the question is, if the area is poor and less developed, how come everything seems to be more expensive than, say that in cities such as Yiwu. Our guess is that it is because you're a foreigner. We doubt that locals in Linyi make more money and buy more pricy goods than Chinese in Yiwu. What's happening is that given not a whole lot foreigners show up in Linyi, the few who do are considered rich foreign devils and will be charged accordingly. As for taxis, etc., they're also for "rich" people; most locals will probably take bus or pedal their bicycles or just use their feet. Bottom line, in places like Yiwu, where there is a relatively large number of foreign visitors and like patrons, a market has developed, in which competition drove down prices of goods and services for foreigners. In a place like Linyi, just a few businesses serve foreign visitors, and they tend to keep prices high, even though the local living standard is lower than that in areas such as Yiwu. If you really find the situation irritating, you may look around to see if there are some establishments where you can get better deals; you may also look around to see if you can buy goods or services intended for the locals. We do not advise you to do the latter, however, because there may be health or safety concerns.
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