Bradfield Oration: Tourists have their say on Sydney’s highs and lows
TRAFFIC lights change too fast, Darling Harbour has too many stairs and beer is expensive. We check in with tourists to see how they view our city, starting with a retired Chinese couple.
NSW
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AUSTRALIA — and Sydney — have been growing on Chinese retirees Yan Suyang, 66, and Chen Zaiyi, 62, from Nanjing in China’s Jiangsu province.
Mr Yan said he was enjoying his trip even more than his first visit in 2015.
“I like it much better this time,” he said. “It’s more modern and become more convenient.”
The couple took a Mandarin-speaking tour of the Sydney Opera House and were able to witness the Sydney symphony warming up.
Just five minutes of their music inspired Mr Yan to come back and see a full concert.
“We got a free concert for a few minutes, but I want to see more,” he said.
Mr Yan, who works for an environmental protection agency in China, was shocked when he found kangaroo on the menu at Nicks Bar and Grill on King St Wharf.
“I don’t think I’ll be trying it,” he said. “I don’t think Australians should be eating such a prestigious animal.”
“Sydney is very unique,” Mr Yan said. “The air is fresh, the crowds are minimal compared to China and the Opera House is a one and only.”
He made the comparison that the water in Sydney is much cleaner and more picturesque than the Yarra River in Melbourne.
Mrs Chen said they had also liked the food in Chinatown and that “our” Chinese food is in fact more similar to Cantonese.
The husband and wife said they had found Sydney very welcoming due to all of the friendly Chinese faces in the crowd, and that if they were ever lost they could simply ask locals for help in their native tongue.
ANIMALS
Mrs Chen loved the cute koalas and was hellbent on cuddling them. Unfortunately NSW doesn’t allow koalas to be held, but perhaps her trip to Queensland, where the laws are a little looser, will allow her dream to come true.
NSW had more than 700,000 Chinese visitors last year out of the total 1.2 million who visited Australia, which made Mr Yan and Mrs Chen feel very safe while exploring the city, often approaching Chinese-Australians for assistance.
Upon arrival at the Australian Walkabout Track, the pair were delighted to see seven or eight kangaroos munching on leaves. Mr Yan overheard other Chinese people complaining about the kangaroos not jumping around like they’ve seen on television.
“They’re having lunch,” he said, laughing. “You don’t hop when you have lunch.”
BEACHES
As we headed towards the beach I felt it prudent to warn the couple about the abundance of Speedos on our beaches. It turns out they had never heard of the popular clothing item before — something I’m sure many Australian women envy them for. Luckily they were not to be confronted with them on their brief trip to Manly.
The friendly rivalry between Manly Beach and Bondi Beach was also settled by the Chinese tourists, with the declaration that Manly was in fact the superior beach, although Mr Yan admitted it could be because he’s older and needs a more peaceful setting.
“Bondi Beach met all of our expectations, but Manly is much more relaxing,” Mr Yan said.
TRAFFIC
Mr Yan was unimpressed by our peak-hour traffic jams as we sat bumper to bumper on Manly Rd headed to Kirribilli.
He informed us that in the big cities of China, in extreme cases the roads turn into carparks. “As long as the cars are moving, it’s better than home,” Mr Yan said.
The one and only grievance I could wrestle out of the happy couple was that Australian beer isn’t strong enough. “The beer is different, it’s lighter and not as alcoholic, and Australian red and white wine is very nice.”