Stop eating noodles and don't litter: Xi Jinping urges China's tourists abroad to clean up their act
President jokes on official trip to the Maldives that mainlanders should set good example abroad by not littering or damaging environment
President Xi Jinping has chided Chinese tourists, saying that they should behave themselves better when travelling abroad.
Xi's light-hearted comments came during an official visit this week to the Maldives in the Indian Ocean, a popular holiday destination for Chinese travellers.
"Do not litter water bottles everywhere. Do not damage coral reefs. Eat less instant noodles and more local seafood," the China News Service quoted Xi as saying on Monday night.
Some Chinese tourists have been heavily criticised in recent years for misbehaving while travelling abroad, including being noisy, jumping queues and damaging cultural relics.
A former employee at a five-star hotel in the Maldives revealed online in March last year that the hotel had stopped the supply of hot water to rooms to prevent Chinese guests preparing instant noodles.
He said the hotel's general manager even joked that "CN", an abbreviation for China, meant "cup noodles" because many Chinese tourists stayed up in their room eating the cheap food to save money.
Xi met embassy staff and representatives of Chinese companies in the Maldives and said Chinese citizens made about 100 million trips overseas a year. Chinese travellers are expected to make about 400,000 trips to the Maldives this year.
