[Ligu]

Whenever I’m close to a foreigner’s body, I have always smelled a kind of strange odor. I want to know if you foreigners have the same feeling. What do our Chinese people smell like to you?

User Detail :  

Name : Ligu, Gender : M, Age : 30, City : Changchun, State : NA, Country : China, 

[JerryS]

I’ve noticed this, but it isn’t restricted to other ethnic groups. It has to do with the foods and toiletries people use, and related things. For example, people who smoke some brands of cigarettes have a particular odor to me; whether it’s from their bodies or clothes, I don’t know. Some ethnic groups use spices that permeate their bodies, such as garlic. If you don’t eat garlic, it will stand out to you. I’ve heard that Americans smell because they eat a lot of red meat. As a child I had relatives whose families smelled odd to me, even though ethnically we were identical. I don’t know what it was, perhaps even a particular laundry product. As an adult I eat everything and don’t seem to notice ethnic variations in odor except when some perfume or other is popular (e.g. when a lot of gay men wore Aramis).

User Detail :  

Name : JerryS, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Jewish, Age : 52, City : New Britain, State : CT, Country : United States, Education level : 4 Years of College, Social class : Upper middle class, 

[Kate26612]

I find that most younger Chinese people in North America smell just like everyone else, but older people, particularily immigrants, have an herbal odor to them. I think it’s the herbal medication and ointments they’re taking or wearing. I also find that things sent to me from Hong Kong have a strange mothball-like smell to them.

User Detail :  

Name : Kate26612, Gender : F, Race : Asian, Age : 22, City : Somewhere, State : NA, Country : Canada, Occupation : Student, Social class : Upper middle class, 

[Jane]

I am Chinese American, and when I went to Chinathe first time, I noticed a certain smell that Chinese people have. I don’t know how to describe it, but I just wanted to say that the smell may be particular to people living in a certain geographical area, and not particular to ethnic groups. I mean, I smelled Chinese people in China, but did not notice any odors from the American students in my group.

User Detail :  

Name : Jane, Gender : F, Race : Asian, Age : 26, City : Jersey City, State : NJ, Country : United States, Occupation : student, 

[Jennifer30888]

I think it depends on the diet. I sometimes have noticed a smell coming from people in Hong Kong or China which I think comes from eating lots of green vegetables (bok choy, choy sum) It’s similar to the smell I notice around myself after eating asparagus.

User Detail :  

Name : Jennifer30888, Gender : F, Age : 30, City : Lahti, State : NA, Country : Finland, 

[Jennie31023]

From my own experiences, Chinese people don´t have any particular smell or odor. Lots of other races do, though.

User Detail :  

Name : Jennie31023, Gender : F, City : Helsinki, State : NA, Country : Finland, 

[Dave]

bad… really bad, chinese food smell and bad breath as well

User Detail :  

Name : Dave, City : Champaign, State : IL, Country : United States, 

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