We probably have some tendencies to stereotype people and certain industries. As a rule I can tell you that the people of China are very nice, friendly, warm, helpful, and accepting. There have been VERY few times I have been told no when I asked if I could take a picture of something or someone in China, but this occasion was the exception. I was told no.
As you can see in the picture below, this street vendor wanted to keep his secret recipe to himself, so he told me no photographs of his work. What he is making is something similar to what people in the States think of as an English Muffin.
This gentleman was in a VERY large city in China, so maybe that’s why he wasn’t as friendly as other people I have encountered. The gentleman in the next picture is also a vendor, and he had no problem at all with allowing me to photograph him and his work. Conversely, he was in a smaller city, so maybe that made a difference.
As you can tell, he is a butcher and a sausage maker. Interestingly, not too far from his city is a larger city that once had many Germans living there. Now that area is known for having good sausage and beer!
The vendors are almost always super friendly and interesting to interact with when you have time. Many of the vendors will give you a free sample, so I really like going to see the dried fruit vendors!