Zoo Station

Something weird happened in China that I presume is not about to happen to me elsewhere. Normally, when I am with a Caucasian and beggars approach us, it's always the Caucasian that gets harassed. This is as true in India as in most other countries in the world, developing and developed. In China however, the roles were reversed. No matter how many white folks or Chinese I was with, the beggars always asked *me* for money. Pointedly so. I had white guys in expensive suits with me, and I was still the one approached. I could be wearing sandals or fancy shoes, and it would still be me. This is weird because it seems inexplicable. I don't think there are that many Indians visiting China and I don't think Indian visitors have suddenly become generous to beggars in China. I thought for a while it might be the male-female differential, but no, it didn't matter even when white guys were around. So, what could be the reason that the beggars would choose to come to a brownie, and a brownie from a country that has half the per-capita GDP of China? I have no idea. I am not a sociologist, so I will not even go there, but it is something that I found extremely intriguing no matter where I was in China. If any of you Indian readers have had similar experiences in China, I would like to know. Of course, do include the bizarre hypotheses as well :)