West Lake: Pics with my fandom merch a no-go? Seriously? 🥺
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If you look closely, you'll even see elderly men with all sorts of camera gear – those are the real locals. They hang out by West Lake all day discussing photography, you could even ask them to take a few shots for you.
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Haha, that's so true!
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Go for it! I'm from Hangzhou, and I'm at West Lake taking photos of my plush dolls all the time. Shoot with confidence!
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Nah, that won't happen... Local elderly folks will usually just ask if they can take a picture because they find your '娃' (doll/costume) cute. At least, that’s my experience when photographing dolls.
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Genuine Hangzhou locals wouldn't mock you. My grandma even said, 'Back in my day, what I wore was much more out-there than what these kids wear now!' The ones mocking you are probably older folks from your own hometowns.
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My grandma says: 'Back in our day, we were among the very first to wear qipaos. Kids these days dress much more conservatively than we did back then!'
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How am I only seeing this May Day post now? Go for it and take your photos!!! Even my grandma doesn't bat an eye.
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Hangzhou has had anime conventions since the early 2000s. I remember the earliest ones even had parade floats in front of the People's Great Hall – I think Ni Ping (or some other celebrity host, I was too young to remember clearly) even attended. That's a prime central location in Hangzhou. There's an anime convention every year, cosplayers are a common sight, and everyone got used to it ages ago. People who make such a fuss about it usually aren't locals.
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Hangzhou is genuinely very open-minded, but to be honest, I feel like it hasn't been quite as open these past couple of years as it was before the pandemic.
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What's a good comeback if you run into a situation like this?
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(In Hangzhou dialect) 'Hey old timer, what's it to ya? Buzz off!'
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Hey OP, don't pay any mind to that old lady; she's 100% an outsider. Local elderly folks are very open-minded. If you go on a weekday morning and your hands are full, they'll even offer to hold your props for you while you shoot.
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Alright, got it...
