Luxury Cruise Chaos: Chinese Guests Grabbed Everything, Buffet Manager Kicked Them Out

This is the scene of Chinese aunties and uncles grabbing goods in supermarkets. I ask you, is it shocking? Look at this situation. All this fighting over buying vegetables. A plate of vegetables disappears in an instant. The power of Chinese aunties is indeed extraordinary. These Chinese aunties, or otherwise known in Chinese as Dama, are taking the world by storm. There's a video online showing a grand inaugural voyage of a five-star luxury cruise ship from an international company in Shanghai. Many Chinese tourists boarded this cruise with high expectations looking forward to basking in the charming sea views, 24/7 entertainment facilities and performances, as well as delicious cuisine from around the world. However, to their dismay, they were hit with cringeworthy spectacles from Chinese aunties and uncles. Firstly, at the Free Buffet restaurant, even before the dining time, there was a chaotic queue outside the door reminiscent of a zombie apocalypse. The small entrance was jam-packed with elderly people jostling to be first. The three or four lines of defense were breached early, leaving the staff frantically shouting nearby, Don't push, don't push, watch your safety. When it came to getting food, the elderly folks didn't understand the concept of take only what you need to avoid waste. It was a battle for who can carry the most. On the cruise, these seemingly feeble elderly suddenly became invincible warriors. Seeing a whole tray of shrimp, they were eager to scoop it all onto their plates, regardless of whether their delicate stomachs could handle it. Some witnesses even observed them eating while queuing, using their own chopsticks to directly grab food from the communal area, an utterly unappetizing sight. There were even fights in the main dining hall. If someone tried to cut in the line ahead of an auntie, she would retaliate by pouring water or milk onto their head. It was truly something to behold. They would grab too much food and then toss it away, throwing entire loaves of bread and eggs. Some aunties even walked off with whole bottles of milk, only to pour it out later when they couldn't finish it. A blogger captured the moment when the service staff on the cruise ship were clearing tables and their faces were filled with helpless expression upon seeing a large amount of wasted food. The blogger remarked that the staff were very enthusiastic on the first day, but by the third day, their attitude towards Chinese passengers had noticeably changed. Not only is the dinner table turning into a food grab-a-thon, but now there's this trend of feast takeaway before anyone's even had a bite. Imagine this, a dish barely lands on the table and someone's already swooping in with a bag they brought from home. The other guests are sitting there looking quite annoyed. I haven't even eaten. Why are you all packing the food? What is going on? This table's guests are acting quite strange. No one is eating. Everyone is packing food into takeaway bags. This lady, with a little help from her table mate, packs a whole cooked fish into her takeaway bag, casually mentioning it's for her dog at home. But everyone knows that the dog is just a scapegoat. That fish is going straight to her stomach. To prevent everyone from packing up the food as soon as the feast starts, someone in the village cleverly uses the public loudspeaker system for making the announcement. Do not pack up the food. Don't just wait with your bags ready to swoop in as soon as the dishes come out. It's not fair to others who want to eat. At a wedding in Henan, a huge pot of stewed dish was completely swiped clean within a minute. Not only are rural feasts a battleground for food, but even the free samples in supermarkets are fair game. It's just a free sample, but someone decides to swipe the whole loaf of bread, which is pushing it a bit too far. On October 1st, at the Bafangting shopping center in Xinxiang, Henan, a giant cake was laid out for a four-year anniversary celebration, inviting customers to enjoy a free taste. A lady without any utensils just shoves the cake into a plastic bag with her bare hands, causing utter chaos. The staff tries to stop it, but are no match for this auntie, who ends up covered in cream. In Shandong, a similar scene unfolded at a mall opening where old aunties swarmed the free cake, grabbing it with plastic bags, turning the scene into total mayhem. And it's not just the aunties, everyone's in on the action at another mall's store celebration, where both adults and kids are grabbing cake with their hands. Of course, the most common battlefield for China's older generation is the supermarket. Whenever there's a sale, it's their time to shine. These folks, usually slow and steady, suddenly become agile, outpacing even professional athletes, all to snag a bargain. Today, there's a huge discount on potatoes at the supermarket, and the aunties are unbeatable, grabbing everything in sight, leaving nothing for the youngsters. In one corner, a group of aunties are tangled up, fighting over who knows what. The others outside don't even know what's being fought over, but they join in anyway, just because everyone else is. Two aunties go head-to-head over a bag of discounted flour, putting their all into it. And talk about dedication. Before the fireworks are even done, two aunties are already scrambling for cardboard boxes, which can be sold for cash in China. A bit fierce, don't you think? Let the others have a chance too. Netizens commented that it's both funny and a little sad to watch. In 2021, Zhengzhou experienced flooding and a liquor store was inundated. Numerous boxes of expensive liquor were swept out of the store and looted by passers-by. The store owner knelt down, pleading desperately. Please stop taking my goods. I beg you, stop. During this year's Dragon Boat Festival in Chongqing, a community planned a rice dumpling wrapping contest. Unexpectedly, the rice for the dumplings was looted by local aunties, who packed and took it away. The staff, infuriated, ended up throwing away all the rice. But it's not just about food. Some farmers have even started openly looting crops from others' fields. In Zhoukou, Henan, Ms. Wan contracted 82 acres of land to grow a Chinese medicine herb, attractalodes. After suffering losses for three years, she finally had a bountiful harvest this year. However, her hard-earned crops were looted just as she was about to harvest them. Initially, there were stealthy attempts to dig up the herbs, so Miss Wan hired over 20 people to guard the fields. But at harvest time, about 400 to 500 people, mostly elderly, descended to loot the crops. The guards, unable to take stronger actions against the elderly, could only plead and try to block them. Their efforts, including those of Miss Wan, went unheard. A video from the scene shows a worker snatching a basket back from an old lady, who then sits on the ground pretending to be hurt. Miss Wan, sitting amidst her crops, cries in despair, unnoticed. Finally, the police arrived and managed to drive the looters away with loudspeakers, but not before they left with their baskets full. Miss Wan estimates the loss of about 10,000 kilograms of herbs, costing nearly 200,000 yuan. She lamented that she survived the natural disaster, but not the man-made one. Local village officials even tried to justify the looting, telling reporters that the people thought the harvest was over and were just picking up leftovers. In another incident on October 14th in Zhoukou, hundreds of villagers stormed a cornfield contracted by an agricultural company, looting the corn even as the police and village chief tried to stop them. Reportedly, the cornfield spanning over 330 acres was contracted by a facility. Initially, a few villagers were picking up corn left by the harvesters, which seemed normal. But suddenly, they started looting, turning the hundreds of acres of cornfield into a free-for-all. Videos show hundreds of elderly people, both men and women, even children, some with fertilizer bags, others with three-wheelers, crazily looting the corn. Shockingly, even the harvested corn stored by the owner was looted. They left with their pockets full. In addition to corn and herbs, farmers in Henan have also been looting peanuts. A peanut farmer in Zhumadian, Henan, complained that he and a friend invested millions of yuan in Suiping County to plant peanuts over hundreds of acres. Every harvest, hundreds of villagers with bags would come to loot the peanuts, causing him to lose tens of thousands of yuan annually. I've shouted myself hoarse, but they just won't leave. It's out of control. These people are relentless. If you stop them from picking, they just lie down on the ground. They're not even from nearby villages. No idea where they got the news from, but they all rushed here. Harvesting peanuts creates a lot of dust. With the machinery operating, it's hard to see people around, and it's dangerous if someone gets hurt. It's not that we don't let them pick, we just hope that they wait until we're done harvesting. But they're mostly elderly women in their 70s and 80s, and it's tough to deal with them. If you try to take the peanuts away from them, they just lie down in front of the machinery and won't move. My friend lost over 10,000 yuan because of this. The man who was being looted said he would call the police, only to be met with a brazen response from the elderly woman. She confidently said, So what if you go to the police station? It doesn't matter. I have my connections there. What can they do to me? It's no use. Chinese aunties dance wherever they go, on trains, on platforms, as long as they are breathing, the spirit of Chinese square dancing must exist. Just look at that fierce expression, quite intimidating. After China's rapid economic growth following the reform and opening up, it has taken on the stance of leading the world as a rising great power. One of the most prominent symbols of this is the rise of the Chinese aunties' buttocks. Not only have they amazed the world with their gold-buying sprees, but they have also claimed their own space through collective square dancing, showcasing the unique charm of Chinese aunties to the world. Chinese people have a habit of morning exercises, and parks of all sizes resemble playgrounds. Every morning, retired citizens kickstart their day with brief exercises, turning parks and squares into lively hubs of activity. Starting from the 1990s, due to the reform of a large number of state-owned enterprises, tens of millions of employees either retired early or became unemployed. These individuals needed inexpensive forms of entertainment, but there weren't enough public facilities available. As a result, they gathered together and danced in public plaza squares as a form of leisurely activity. In 2015, the Chinese government released 15 sets of square dance routines all at once and vigorously promoted them through CCTV. As the number of participants continues to grow, the scope and scale of square dancing have expanded. Almost every square has square dancing, and aunties and uncles forget about the loneliness after unemployment as they energetically dance. The government also regards it as a symbol of harmony. In November 2015, 18,000 aunties braved the cold drizzle in the outskirts of Beijing, dancing collective square dance to the catchy tune of Little Apple. The number of people dancing simultaneously set a Guinness World Record. After many years of development, square dancing, a popular outdoor exercise among the elderly, has become one of the primary social scenes for older people. According to statistics in China, the number of people nationwide participating in square dancing reaches as high as 100 million. Accompanied by high decibel sound systems, the dance moves of the aunties fill every square and open space, even occupying sports fields, parking lots, street sides, and roads. Square dancing is like a moving virus, anytime, anywhere. Once the aunties step into the park, they quickly gather together and start dancing. When the aunties board the train, they often start dancing in the aisles, crowding it so much that it becomes hard to pass. When the aunties are stuck in traffic on the highway, they often get out of their cars and dance together. Soon, this ubiquitous square dancing, regardless of scorching heat or bitter cold, day or night, almost reached the point of obsession, becoming a disastrous nuisance that incited widespread complaints. The most intolerable aspect of square dancing is its noise, perhaps due to age-related hearing loss or in order to showcase the beauty of the dance. The aunties often crank up the volume of the accompanying music. Even if nearby high-rise buildings close their doors and windows, the ear-piercing noise cannot be blocked. Adults are unable to rest properly, which affects their work, and children are disturbed to the point where they cannot focus on their studies, conflicts triggered by square dancing continue to escalate as a result. The dancing aunties, who are always enthusiastic, seem to consider themselves invincible and unbeatable no matter how others try to dissuade them. They cannot deter the aunties' unwavering determination to dance. The loud noise and endless dancing of the aunties not only disrupt the normal lives of residents but also anger nearby locals. They finally reach their breaking point and start to retaliate. Some residents resort to pouring water on the square dancing aunties, throwing things, or even throwing feces, but they still cannot dampen the auntie's passion for dancing. In Beijing, there is an elderly gentleman who couldn't stand a group of aunties endlessly dancing. Not only did he release three Tibetan mastiffs to charge toward them, but he also took out his double-barrel shotgun and fired into the air, hoping to drive away these dancing aunties. The man who fired the gun was arrested. He said, you can dance, just keep the noise down a bit. Why am I so angry? They leave and then another group comes. And they even do matchmaking events at night. There are also aunties who have paid the price with their lives for dancing. In May 2023, in Xiangyang, Hubei province, a group of aunties danced in the middle of the road at night. The aunties claimed that because they couldn't find a wide enough space, they had to choose the road. Cars didn't dare to hit them, right? But unfortunately, they encountered an irritable driver. The aunties were immersed in their dance in the middle of the road. Suddenly, headlights appeared not far ahead, indicating that a car was approaching. However, the aunties remained unfazed, not even turning their heads. They continued their dance. It seemed they had dealt with this passing vehicles like this before, as other vehicles would typically detour around them. This familiarity made the aunties feel invincible. However, they didn't anticipate encountering a tough opponent this time. The driver accelerated directly towards them, resulting in tragedy in an instant. Only then did the aunties realize something was wrong, as one of them was sent flying by the impact. Afterwards, the driver recalled that when he approached this section of the road, he honked the horn to warn the aunties, but they didn't react. After waiting a few minutes and reaching the limit of his patience, he finally decided to step on the gas and drive through, resulting in the tragedy. On August 9, 2023, 11 aunties persisted in dancing on the riverbed in Yulin Dam in Yan'an, Shaanxi, to showcase their elegance. Unfortunately, they were caught by a sudden flood. In just 10 seconds, all 11 aunties were washed away, resulting in the tragic incident with 7 deaths and 4 injuries. Chinese aunties not only display their power within China but also venture beyond the borders, overrunning major tourist attractions around the world. An online video shows a group of aunties visiting Red Square in Moscow. As soon as they arrived, they couldn't resist the urge and began enthusiastically twisting their hips, collectively starting a square dance. Some foreigners also joined in. However, this caused a commotion and they were eventually dispersed by local police. Back in August 2013, a local Chinese auntie dance group rehearsed square dancing in Sunset Park, Brooklyn, New York. However, people complained due to the loud music. As a result, the leader was also handcuffed and taken away by the police. There is a video showing that even the front of Louvre Museum in France has been overrun by Chinese aunties. People say that square dancing has an incredible charm. Often, a few people lead the dance, and it results in a large group of people joining in. Square dancing aunties are truly a force to be reckoned with. Why do Chinese aunties and uncles have such dancing talents? In fact, their love for dancing stems from the dance of loyalty during China's Cultural Revolution. During the era of the Cultural Revolution, launched by the Chinese Communist Party, these elderly people were once the Red Soldiers and Red Guards. At that time, under the guidance of the rebel factions, a group of female students hoped to express their admiration for Mao Zedong during their dancing. So, they introduced the dance of loyalty. The dance steps were simple and rhythmic, making it very easy to learn. Not dancing meant being disloyal to Mao Zedong, so everyone learned the dance. During that time, no matter what disagreements or conflicts there were among students, as soon as the music for the dance of loyalty started playing, Everyone immediately moved in unison, perfectly synchronized This is similar to today's square dancing among the aunties But with a different context Essentially, they all followed the rhythm set by the lead It was easy to learn and follow When dancing, they forgot all their worries Immersing themselves in joy and self-entertainment This is also why Chinese uncles and aunties can be super unreasonable Belonging to a generation that behaves arrogantly The ideology and blood of contemporary Chinese elderly still carry the toxins of the Cultural Revolution era. People often use a phrase to express this phenomenon. It's not that Chinese elders have turned bad, but that the bad people in China have grown old. The dominance of Chinese elderly isn't just evident when they're dancing. It manifests in any situation, showcasing the unique traits of Chinese aunties at all times. According to a report from Daily Headlines, in March 2018, a Chinese rich auntie traveled to Thailand. She went to a local buffet restaurant and showed a particular fondness for seafood. Upon seeing many shrimp in the restaurant, she aggressively grabbed a plate and piled it high with shrimp, pushing aside the Thai diners. After grabbing several plates of shrimp and returning to her seat to start eating, people thought she must have a big appetite to grab so many shrimp. However, they soon realized that she only took a bite of each shrimp before throwing it away. Each shrimp was wasted halfway through eating. This scene caused dissatisfaction among the restaurant staff. After several unsuccessful attempts to advise her, the restaurant owner became angry and kicked the auntie out of the restaurant, stating that they didn't want her money and asking her not to come back to eat again. Many netizens who saw this incident commented that it was truly embarrassing to have such behavior even when abroad. The term Chinese auntie originated 10 years ago from the frenzy of buying gold became famous overnight. The Wall Street Journal even coined the English word dama to describe Chinese auntie. In April 2013, as the international gold prices plummeted and Wall Street Journal financial giants were shorting, a group of Chinese housewives went against the trend and swept up hundreds of tons of gold. After the May Day holiday, even gold shops in Hong Kong were almost out of stock. The term Chinese auntie has thus become famous worldwide. In the late 1980s and early 1990s, China experienced two severe bouts of inflation, especially in 1988. There were serious bank runs and panic buying of goods across the country. The prices of certain goods skyrocketed several times or even tens of times. Comedian Jiang Kun and Tang Zhezhong depicted this seen vividly in their skit, in a hurry, performed at the 1991 Chinese New Year Gala. He said, Just as I was about to sleep at night, my neighbor, Miss R, shouted, I heard that staple foods will increase in price in a couple of days. I couldn't sleep all night. The next morning, I bought a full bathtub of vinegar, two water tanks of soy sauce, a chest full of Sichuan peppercorns, and a full quilt of yellow bean paste. Those who lived through that era were well aware that even paper money could become worthless. From this perspective, the actions of the aunties in grabbing gold were not intended to challenge financial giants or disrupt the international market. They simply wanted to meet their most basic needs for stability. As one auntie told a reporter from Xinhua News Agency, preserving value is one aspect, but more importantly, I just like the feeling of this gold and heavy stuff. The most heart-wrenching event prior to inflation was the Great Famine of the 1960s, which resulted in the loss of millions of lives. Many aunties likely carry memories of this famine from their childhood that cannot be erased. A young person who has studied economics in college may have sound reasoning to explain to their mother why it's more cost-effective to throw away leftovers using the principle of sunk costs, but they may never have experienced true hunger themselves. If someone has endured such desperate hunger, even associating hunger with death, their understanding of food goes far beyond viewing it simply as a resource. Exactly. It may seem contradictory that a dama would rush to buy gold in the morning and then diligently eat the leftovers in the afternoon. However, it's not contradictory at all. She's simply living life according to her own understanding and principles. Several decades of social changes have engraved rich rings of time on the Chinese Dama. The Chinese we perceive from these Damas is much more authentic and vivid than the China depicted in textbooks or at the Chinese New Year Gala. In Western media, Chinese Damas, or aunties, once symbolized China's national strength and were regarded by Chinese people as patriotic and proud. However, with the rise of the Dhamma square dancing, they have often displayed uncivilized behavior, and Chinese damas have now evolved into a special group that brings embarrassment to the Chinese people.