‘I had always thought Canberra was safe, with not much violence, until I experienced this myself.’

A Chinese woman has been left bloodied and hospitalised after she was allegedly racially abused before being assaulted in Australia’s capital.

The 27-year-old, who asked to be identified only as KK Zhang, was walking with a friend when she was allegedly repeatedly punched in the head on Macdermott Place in Canberra’s Belconnen about 5.45pm on Thursday.

Police said the alleged offender — a woman not known to the pair — produced a knife and made threats before fleeing the scene in a dark grey Ford Falcon sedan.

Zhang was taken to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries after being left “covered in blood”, but told 7NEWS.com.au the ordeal had left her “terrified” and deeply shaken.

“I had always thought Canberra was safe, with not much violence, until I experienced this myself,” the bookkeeper said.

She claimed the confrontation began after a teenage girl and a young boy — believed to be the woman’s children — directed racist abuse at her, including using a slur mocking Chinese speech.

Zhang said she confronted the children and began recording the interaction before the woman allegedly approached from behind and grabbed her phone, sparking a physical altercation.

“She was punching me, and I think her nails scratched me — I ended up with a 5mm cut on my face and bruising on my arms,” Zhang said, struggling to fight back tears.

“My left ear was bleeding, including the piercing, and my nose was bleeding too.”

She said when she tried to stop the woman from leaving before police arrived, the woman allegedly armed herself with a large knife — estimated to be about 30 to 40cm long — taken from a car and pointed it at her while making threats.

Fearing the situation would escalate further, Zhang’s friend pulled her back.

“But even as they got into the car, they were still smirking at us and making rude gestures, including giving us the middle finger,” Zhang said.

Zhang said the incident had left her fearful and shaken, and she is now reconsidering her sense of safety in Canberra.

“I’ve been in Australia since 2022, and I had never experienced anything like this before,” she said.

“Now both my friend and I are scared to go out and wary of strangers.”

Police told 7NEWS.com.au investigations are underway.

Anyone who witnessed the incident or has information is urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or via the Crime Stoppers website, quoting reference number 8345990.