Updated on Tuesday, October 03, 2006, 00:00 IST

Beijing, Oct 03: Chinese Government has asked its tourists to behave in a "civilised" manner in tune with the communist giant's growing global stature.

Beijing launched a campaign yesterday to teach travelers how to behave while they were overseas.

The move aims to promote civilised behaviour among Chinese travelers and restore the country's image which has been tarnished by the behaviour of some Chinese tourists.

The civilisation office with the spiritual civilisation steering committee and the national tourism administration jointly issued an etiquette guide yesterday telling Chinese travelers to pay attention to daily etiquette and hygiene while abroad.

Chinese travelers are asked not to litter, not to talk loudly, to respect queuing rules, be polite in public places and observe the rule of "ladies first."

Uncivilised behaviour is becoming a real embarrassment for China. Spitting and littering top the list of uncouth behaviour among Chinese tourists, the official Xinhua news agency reported.

The office and the administration also published rules of etiquette for domestic travelers, including not smoking in no-smoking areas, not talking loudly, not trampling on grass, to always wear a shirt in public places and respecting the customs of religious and ethnic minorities.

The rude behaviour of some tourists has damaged the image of China as a civilised country and generated negative publicity overseas, the committee noted.

Last year, Chinese tourists made 31 million trips abroad and 1.2 billion trips inside the country.

The number is expected to hit 100 million overseas trips by 2020.

Bureau Report