Queueing is de rigeur in China. Some of the lower classes do push in, but there is no tolerance from legitimate people who stand in line. And anyone who actually attempts it will be quickly rerouted to the END.
The only instance I've encountered involving Chinese people pushing in was at the now defunct Chang Jiang Currency Exchange in Swanston Street, Melbourne. The lady involved was swiftly relegated to last position.
I did experience people pushing in at a convenience store at LHR and they had no concept of lines. They weren't Chinese though. They weren't English either.
A few examples of semi or fully contrary behaviour.
We visited the Terracotta Warrior Museum and Tomb of Qinshihuang today. Naturally there are lots and lots of people, primarily because it's Chinese summer holidays and said attraction is extremely popular - the fact it's mid-week and blazing hot is not putting off many. When you go into the first pit, of course everyone wants pictures. What is the SOP for getting close to the bannister edge to take a picture? There isn't one! You need to push. As soon as someone is (finally) finished taking their fill of photos (including selfies and Tiktoks/Douyins) and they yield their spot, you go for it. No one will wait, no one will acknowledge you were there first. Little kids, being nimble as they are, are frequently employed by their parents / elders to finagle spots (because of course it's not right to separate a child and their carers).
The average Caucasian (or many Chinese-background born and raised outside of China) has some advantage here as they are usually taller than the average Chinese. So you can stand back a bit further from the edge and, with an outstretched arm, often take a just as good or even superior photo.
There are electric cart stations set up to reduce walking, especially around Qinshihuang's Mausoleum complex. They feature the snaking line, but although the space is set up for a comfortable two files, don't be surprised if a third file is suddenly created and people start to fill that in (and get to the front). The staff had to frequently yell at people to fill the front cart first before the second one. This is no time to hesitate or worry about getting a good seat - just get on.
A similar exercise for the shuttle bus that runs between the Terracotta Warriors Museum and Qinshihuang's Mausoleum. It's a free service (and there are taxi drivers touting to drive people to the Mausoleum, thereby cutting the wait time for the shuttle), so naturally the queues are deep. They set up the area so that there are five queues. When the bus arrives, there are two doors. As soon as the doors open, you run and you shove. This takes some bravado to achieve if you are in a group.
We were in Yichang a couple of days ago and were checking out of our hotel (Ramada, so international chain). There was only one desk clerk. We were next when two men barged in and lined up at another spot (a bit like finding a space at a bar but the bartenders and most patrons know which order everyone arrived and will be served), yelled at the clerk they were checking out, and the clerk stopped serving the person she was currently helping and tended to the queue jumper. There was nothing to suggest the queue jumpers were elites or were entitled to do what they did, except most of us would regard that as patently unfair. My dad noticed and tried to stop the men, but he can't speak Chinese and likely would have made no difference in the end. It didn't stop him from having at the clerk for not controlling the situation appropriately (though the clerk was confused about the feedback as her English was not fluent).
People on the metro
do not know how to board and alight in an orderly manner. Boarding passengers do not allow space or time for alighting passengers to exit, despite markings on the floor. If you are alighting, if you don't push, you risk missing your stop.
Now, to be fair, some of this all sounds petty and not worth getting uptight about. There are several places even in the Western world (the "civilised" world - not really/necessarily, but it's so implied) where people also cannot board a metro/train in an orderly manner.
As for those Tiktoks where you see Chinese at a buffet racing to scoop up all the expensive seafood and proteins by the bowl/plate, rushing a supermarket to grab all the "free" items, or raiding public toilets to take all the toilet paper...... I haven't seen any of that or any resemblance of that behaviour yet.
