Illustration: Liu Rui/GT

Two weeks ago, 27 pieces of exquisite painted porcelain from Wuxi, Jiangsu Province, were exhibited in the Museum of Contemporary Arts in Sydney. On the opening night, a young Chinese MC, in a crisply ironed suit, told his Western guests in Mandarin that Chinese made an impression on Australians by buying farms, real estates, but please do not forget "we" also have a long history and a beautiful culture.

I wonder how long it's been since the image of uncouth Chinese nouveau riche has erased "Chinese dumplings" and "terracotta warriors" from Australians' collective memory and established the new image of Chinese with money. Is it because the way new Chinese immigrants show off their wealth, or because the Australian government is more interested in what is in the new arrivals' pockets than checking on where the money came from?

Rich Chinese frequently make headlines in Australia. I seldom paid attention to it until I saw the news about how buyers from the Chinese mainland, who spent 26.3 million Australian dollars ($18.87 million) on a new mansion, intend to raze it and build a bigger house.

I was surprised to see the Chinese media reported on this news with a positive tone. It surely encourages supposed patriotism and makes more Chinese people worship the power of money. I believe if it was allowed, some Chinese rich would not hesitate to buy a government building and refurbish it into a Chinese pavilion.

Last year, there was a hot debate on whether Chinese buyers have increased housing prices in Australia. One time, an Australian friend joked with me and said, "Do you know I cannot afford to buy a house in my country, because your people raised the price of real estate?" Although I borrowed the opinion of the Australian economist James Laurenceson to explain that it was not Chinese but the market itself, my friend still believed Chinese are the reason he cannot afford a house in Sydney.

Like him, many Australians are worried about Chinese investment, and see new generation of Chinese as disrupting their life and infringing upon their interests.

Chinatown was not built in a day. The early generations of Chinese immigrants gained their social status through hard work. Even then though, the second generation of Chinese told me employers preferred Australians even if Chinese are equally capable to do a job. Therefore, they have to be better. This is why many Chinese parents in Australia press their kids to do well in exams and Chinese make up a disproportionate number of students in elite schools.

I often go to a café which is run by a Shanghainese couple. The female half of the couple likes to share their life story with me. They both graduated from Fudan University and used to work as engineers. They immigrated to Australia in the 1980s and strived for recognition as Australians. Back when they were young, Chinese overseas students enjoyed the reputation of being industrious.

However, the reputation has been gradually changed by the new generation from Chinese mainland. An Indian friend told me not many students like to work with the Chinese overseas students in his class, because Chinese students do not make efforts to speak English and did not contribute to group work. He was also surprised to see his Chinese classmates spend freely on clothes and travel.

Thanks to the great leap of China's economy, more and more Chinese can afford to travel, work and get an education overseas. I see more and more well-educated young Chinese entrepreneurs speaking fluent English, and confidently talk about their business ideas in Australian media.

Meanwhile, I also see how behavior such as shouting at flight attendants, buying up milk powder products, and paying people to sit exams affects how the world perceives China.

Chinese President Xi Jinping once urged Chinese tourists to eat fewer instant noodles and more local seafood while traveling overseas. Manners are no small thing when you are abroad as it shows whether people are willing to respect local culture.

Chinese people still tend to be reserved, and not too open to other cultures. Meanwhile, people traveling abroad don't learn to be civilized automatically, how they behave is an extension of what they do at home.

When China and Chinese people interact more frequently with outside world, the difference in cultures emerges sharply - and it doesn't reflect well on us if we don't learn how to treat others with respect.

The author worked for the Guardian Beijing office as a researcher and news assistant and is currently studying for a Master of Arts in Journalism in University of Technology, Sydney. huang.cecily@gmail.com