Survival China Travel Tips and Tricks
by John Mckenna
These China Travel Tips, Survival Techniques, will help you get
around and make your trip to China easier, so you will be able
to experience the real China with a little less stress. China is
an odd beast that needs to be respected; the major cities,
Beijing, Shanghai, and Xian, all have their own personalities.
Some complex situations that you think would be an
organizational disaster turn out to be great and you wonder
afterward what all the fuss and worry was about. Then the
simplest of tasks can turn out to be a major calamity.
This is when you have what we call here a “China day”.
These days come and go and are part of the experience of
everyday travel in China. One needs to have an open mind when
travelling China. It is a place with thousands of years of
history and culture that is trying overnight to adapt to Western
ways of living.
You need to have a very open mind when you Travel in China. I
have listed below a few China Travel Tips that will make life
that wee bit more bearable on your Travel China experience.
China Travel Tips – Be Toilet Wise
• Never expect a clean toilet 100% of the time.
• Be prepared; Carry some tissue.
• You may have to use a squat toilet, again if you know this
before hand it is not a shock. If you don’t know how to use a
squat toilet, try the following experiment at home.
While holding onto something for support with both hands, lower
your body down into a low squat position, so that the cheeks of
your bottom is almost touching your heels or the back of your
calf. Now, let go with your hands. See if you stay in this
position for at least 1 minute. If you fall backwards or you
cannot get up, then a squat toilet could be a problem for you!
Practice, you will be happy you did.
• If you see a clean toilet, Go… it may not come again for a
while.
• There are many public toilets around the cities, usually the
ones you pay for are OK, (RMB .5), the others best to stay away
from if you can. You will soon notice them as you walk around
the cities.
• Be warned that public areas like bus and train stations are
usually what I class as “tough toilets”, however if gotta go you
gotta go. • Outside of the major cities, the toilet systems are
old or have very narrow plumbing /pipes and get blocked easily.
In these cases a small basket is usually beside the toilet, this
is for your used toilet paper.
One of the best China Travel toilet Tips I can give you, is use
hotel lobby toilets; these are everywhere and are always clean.
Still they may not always have toilet paper. It depends on the
class of hotel that you are using.
I do not wish to scare you. However, of all the China Travel
Tips in all the other web sites I have read, this is a topic not
often mentioned, but it is very important to us all.
So outside of the major cities conditions can be tough. But most
of the time everything will be fine, especially if you book a
tour; everything will have been checked out before hand. However
even the best laid plans can go wrong, so be prepared, the
toilets in the smaller cities, towns and villages can be scary.
China Travel Tips – The Food
• The food is great and the variety is overwhelming. Most of the
time you get to choose what you eat, or you can recognize what
you’re eating, however sometimes you do not get a choice. Carry
a chocolate bar or something; this will keep you going until
some food that you can recognize turns up. Drink bottled or
boiled water, as the tap water is NOT safe to drink, this is for
the whole of China. Even boiled water, while sterilised can
contain a lot of minerals and iron deposits that you probably do
not want in your system. The safest bet is to drink bottle
water. Tap water in most big cities is OK for brushing teeth.
• Eating habits - Most Chinese people have a great habit of
being very noisy when they eat and lunch and dinner times can be
a wonderfully noisy celebration, food tends to go in all
directions, its just part of being in China.
• People also smoke at the table while everyone is eating, so
some restaurants get very loud and smoky.
• If you get stuck what to order as most of the menu’s are in
Chinese just look at the table next to you and point to the dish
you fancy and ask how much it is, this system works really well
and know seems to mind.
• I have a basic menu that will help you order safe food, (no
Cats or Dog) this will enable you to visit a larger selection of
restaurants, not just the tourist ones with high prices. You can
carry it with you and use it in the local restaurants where most
will be able to serve what is on it. This way you will know what
you are eating.
These local places are very cheap and the food it great. Contact
me if you would like me to send it to you.
China Travel Tips – Taxis
• China Travel Tips- Taxis - Taxis are an experience that can
have you griping the seat and gasping for breath; however you
soon get used to it, after the first few rides, you’re an old
hand.
• The taxis in Shanghai are, overall, quite good. Try to get the
Blue, Blue’ish Turquoise, Gold and White taxis, these are the
best… these are the four major taxi companies and are generally
recognised by their single colour paintwork. The others are OK,
just older and a rougher ride (the others also may have faulty
metres). No drivers will speak English.
• Carry your hotel or accommodation business card with you,
written in Chinese, this helps if you get lost walking around
town.
• In all the taxis around the country you will see the drivers
name and taxi registration number in plain sight. If you have
any problem, or if you think you have been over charged etc,
just take this number down, make a big fuss about it, and the
driver then should wake up and fix whatever problem you have.
Even better is to take the receipt. This has all the trip
details on it and you can ring the taxi company if you want to
take things further or if you’ve left something in the taxi. •
The government takes rip-off drivers in all cities, Beijing and
Xian especially, very seriously and if you complain they will
lose their license. This is their livelihood. So far I have had
not one driver in 3 years that has not backed down and we have
then agreed a price for the trip or solved our problem.
• In Shanghai, it is common practice for taxi fare increases
after 11pm. However, one can usually bargain for a 20% discount,
which will get the fare back to the pre-11pm rate. Be strong
with the taxi drivers, never-the-less, keep your cool, smile and
negotiate.
China Travel Tips – Shopping
• China Travel Tips - Shopping - China is a shopper’s paradise,
Markets, Bargains; Top labels… anything and everything if you
have the time. With clothes, the larger (Western) sizes can be
quite hard to find, however in the major cities where you get a
lot of tourist traffic, you can find them.
• Electrical gear, DVD’s, Cameras, stuff like this is not worth
buying in China, Hong Kong is still the best place for this.
• Store hours in the major cities are from 10am to 10pm, 7 days
a week.
• Visa card is still the best card to carry, with ATM’s in good
supply all with PLUS access etc. There is usually a surcharge
for use of VISA, MasterCard or other forms of credit card.
• Wait on purchasing if you can, look around to get a feel for
the prices. The Chinese are VERY experienced at selling and know
that we halve the opening price when bargaining. In the markets
go for 25% of what they first ask; go so low that they let you
walk away. This will give you an idea of the bottom price. The
resulting end-price will probably be around 40% to 50% of where
they started.
Whatever the market people say, they are used to pushing and
haggling for best prices. Do not worry about being too hard,
they are used to it and will not sell you an item unless they
make a profit. Don’t be concerned with the apparently hurt body
language when you go low – it is all part of the game. As soon
as they have wrapped up your first purchase, they will try to
sell you something more. Remember to keep smiling and having fun
while bargaining.
China Travel Tips – Medical Treatment and Records • Most hotels
will have a doctor that you can see. In the major hotels English
will be spoken.
• Always take a small first aid kit, cold remedy, headache
tablets at the very least. WATSONS is a very large chain
chemist. Most of the remedies, tablets etc, that you may require
should be in these shops. These shops are all over China.
• There is a great network of pharmacy type shops; these are
indicated by a Green Cross. There will always be a 24 hr Green
Cross pharmacy in the city you are in. It is handy to carry a
Phase book, as no one will speak English, however you will end
up with something that will help.
• INPORTANT POINT – for most of the mass produced packet type
medicines, the packaging will be written in Chinese on one side,
English on the other. However in the shops you only see the
Chinese side. Have a good look, turn the packs over, it gives
you a lot more confidence knowing you can read the package.
• If you have a specific medical issue, take records, most of
the Doctors will have OK written / reading English, even though
their oral English will be poor.
China Travel Tips – Telephone
• Using the phone is as easy as at home. However the person
picking it up will not speak English or have very broken
English… the Major 4- or 5-Star Hotels will all be OK.
• What is worth doing is buying a Chinese Telecom SIM card, they
are about RMB100 and with this you get RMB50 in calls, the other
50 is for the price of the SIM card; this SIM card will go into
all major brand phones and work OK.
By doing this, people can reach you within and out of China if
there is an emergency. If you have a couple of phones, you can
short (txt) message each other (SMS). Also you are able to call
your tourist guide, hotel etc if you have any major problems. It
is a cheap way to keep in touch.
NB.Before you buy a Chinese SIM card, check that it will work in
your Cell / Mobile phone. There are plenty of China Telecom
shops that can help. China Travel Tips on when NOT to move
around China. • Spring Festival, this would be the Chinese New
Year time, around the end of January / Early February
• Early May; Labour day Holidays
• Early October; National Day Holidays
Of all the China Travel Tips National Day is the biggest one.
Millions of Chinese travel at these holiday times of the year.
Most are travelling back to home towns or visiting family.
Hotels, trains, planes, cars, buses, and roads are all crowded
to the maximum. Major congestion, everywhere.
Also travel fares are at their full price. No discounts are
offered! Stay in one place and enjoy where you are. It’s best
and causes fewer hassles.
China Travel Tips – TV
• If you want to watch TV, most of the major hotels will have
cable and if you are in the smaller places, the national
channel, CCTV9 is in English. Over the last couple of years it
has got a lot better, with some great China Travel Tips
programs, news and views on people and places around China.
China Travel Tips – Airport Tax • There is a “construction fee”
at almost all airports.
Domestic flights RMB 50 International flights RMB 90 – which is
to be paid in local currency. Just recently, tickets are being
tissued with the Construction Tax included; however make sure
you have the Tax money with you just to make sure.
I hope some of these China Travel Tips will come in handy and
will make your trip to China that little bit easier.
If you have been to China and wish to share your China Travel
Tips, please feel free to contact me anytime.
John Mckenna http://www.Travel-the-Real-China.com
About the author:
Hi I'm John Mckenna, I am from New Zealand and have lived in
Shanghia China now for 3 years.
I own and operate http://www.Travel-the-Real-China .com. My site
provides experienced based Travel and Tour information on the
wonders of Travel in China, the Real China, Ancient China, China
at its very best
by John Mckenna
These China Travel Tips, Survival Techniques, will help you get
around and make your trip to China easier, so you will be able
to experience the real China with a little less stress. China is
an odd beast that needs to be respected; the major cities,
Beijing, Shanghai, and Xian, all have their own personalities.
Some complex situations that you think would be an
organizational disaster turn out to be great and you wonder
afterward what all the fuss and worry was about. Then the
simplest of tasks can turn out to be a major calamity.
This is when you have what we call here a “China day”.
These days come and go and are part of the experience of
everyday travel in China. One needs to have an open mind when
travelling China. It is a place with thousands of years of
history and culture that is trying overnight to adapt to Western
ways of living.
You need to have a very open mind when you Travel in China. I
have listed below a few China Travel Tips that will make life
that wee bit more bearable on your Travel China experience.
China Travel Tips – Be Toilet Wise
• Never expect a clean toilet 100% of the time.
• Be prepared; Carry some tissue.
• You may have to use a squat toilet, again if you know this
before hand it is not a shock. If you don’t know how to use a
squat toilet, try the following experiment at home.
While holding onto something for support with both hands, lower
your body down into a low squat position, so that the cheeks of
your bottom is almost touching your heels or the back of your
calf. Now, let go with your hands. See if you stay in this
position for at least 1 minute. If you fall backwards or you
cannot get up, then a squat toilet could be a problem for you!
Practice, you will be happy you did.
• If you see a clean toilet, Go… it may not come again for a
while.
• There are many public toilets around the cities, usually the
ones you pay for are OK, (RMB .5), the others best to stay away
from if you can. You will soon notice them as you walk around
the cities.
• Be warned that public areas like bus and train stations are
usually what I class as “tough toilets”, however if gotta go you
gotta go. • Outside of the major cities, the toilet systems are
old or have very narrow plumbing /pipes and get blocked easily.
In these cases a small basket is usually beside the toilet, this
is for your used toilet paper.
One of the best China Travel toilet Tips I can give you, is use
hotel lobby toilets; these are everywhere and are always clean.
Still they may not always have toilet paper. It depends on the
class of hotel that you are using.
I do not wish to scare you. However, of all the China Travel
Tips in all the other web sites I have read, this is a topic not
often mentioned, but it is very important to us all.
So outside of the major cities conditions can be tough. But most
of the time everything will be fine, especially if you book a
tour; everything will have been checked out before hand. However
even the best laid plans can go wrong, so be prepared, the
toilets in the smaller cities, towns and villages can be scary.
China Travel Tips – The Food
• The food is great and the variety is overwhelming. Most of the
time you get to choose what you eat, or you can recognize what
you’re eating, however sometimes you do not get a choice. Carry
a chocolate bar or something; this will keep you going until
some food that you can recognize turns up. Drink bottled or
boiled water, as the tap water is NOT safe to drink, this is for
the whole of China. Even boiled water, while sterilised can
contain a lot of minerals and iron deposits that you probably do
not want in your system. The safest bet is to drink bottle
water. Tap water in most big cities is OK for brushing teeth.
• Eating habits - Most Chinese people have a great habit of
being very noisy when they eat and lunch and dinner times can be
a wonderfully noisy celebration, food tends to go in all
directions, its just part of being in China.
• People also smoke at the table while everyone is eating, so
some restaurants get very loud and smoky.
• If you get stuck what to order as most of the menu’s are in
Chinese just look at the table next to you and point to the dish
you fancy and ask how much it is, this system works really well
and know seems to mind.
• I have a basic menu that will help you order safe food, (no
Cats or Dog) this will enable you to visit a larger selection of
restaurants, not just the tourist ones with high prices. You can
carry it with you and use it in the local restaurants where most
will be able to serve what is on it. This way you will know what
you are eating.
These local places are very cheap and the food it great. Contact
me if you would like me to send it to you.
China Travel Tips – Taxis
• China Travel Tips- Taxis - Taxis are an experience that can
have you griping the seat and gasping for breath; however you
soon get used to it, after the first few rides, you’re an old
hand.
• The taxis in Shanghai are, overall, quite good. Try to get the
Blue, Blue’ish Turquoise, Gold and White taxis, these are the
best… these are the four major taxi companies and are generally
recognised by their single colour paintwork. The others are OK,
just older and a rougher ride (the others also may have faulty
metres). No drivers will speak English.
• Carry your hotel or accommodation business card with you,
written in Chinese, this helps if you get lost walking around
town.
• In all the taxis around the country you will see the drivers
name and taxi registration number in plain sight. If you have
any problem, or if you think you have been over charged etc,
just take this number down, make a big fuss about it, and the
driver then should wake up and fix whatever problem you have.
Even better is to take the receipt. This has all the trip
details on it and you can ring the taxi company if you want to
take things further or if you’ve left something in the taxi. •
The government takes rip-off drivers in all cities, Beijing and
Xian especially, very seriously and if you complain they will
lose their license. This is their livelihood. So far I have had
not one driver in 3 years that has not backed down and we have
then agreed a price for the trip or solved our problem.
• In Shanghai, it is common practice for taxi fare increases
after 11pm. However, one can usually bargain for a 20% discount,
which will get the fare back to the pre-11pm rate. Be strong
with the taxi drivers, never-the-less, keep your cool, smile and
negotiate.
China Travel Tips – Shopping
• China Travel Tips - Shopping - China is a shopper’s paradise,
Markets, Bargains; Top labels… anything and everything if you
have the time. With clothes, the larger (Western) sizes can be
quite hard to find, however in the major cities where you get a
lot of tourist traffic, you can find them.
• Electrical gear, DVD’s, Cameras, stuff like this is not worth
buying in China, Hong Kong is still the best place for this.
• Store hours in the major cities are from 10am to 10pm, 7 days
a week.
• Visa card is still the best card to carry, with ATM’s in good
supply all with PLUS access etc. There is usually a surcharge
for use of VISA, MasterCard or other forms of credit card.
• Wait on purchasing if you can, look around to get a feel for
the prices. The Chinese are VERY experienced at selling and know
that we halve the opening price when bargaining. In the markets
go for 25% of what they first ask; go so low that they let you
walk away. This will give you an idea of the bottom price. The
resulting end-price will probably be around 40% to 50% of where
they started.
Whatever the market people say, they are used to pushing and
haggling for best prices. Do not worry about being too hard,
they are used to it and will not sell you an item unless they
make a profit. Don’t be concerned with the apparently hurt body
language when you go low – it is all part of the game. As soon
as they have wrapped up your first purchase, they will try to
sell you something more. Remember to keep smiling and having fun
while bargaining.
China Travel Tips – Medical Treatment and Records • Most hotels
will have a doctor that you can see. In the major hotels English
will be spoken.
• Always take a small first aid kit, cold remedy, headache
tablets at the very least. WATSONS is a very large chain
chemist. Most of the remedies, tablets etc, that you may require
should be in these shops. These shops are all over China.
• There is a great network of pharmacy type shops; these are
indicated by a Green Cross. There will always be a 24 hr Green
Cross pharmacy in the city you are in. It is handy to carry a
Phase book, as no one will speak English, however you will end
up with something that will help.
• INPORTANT POINT – for most of the mass produced packet type
medicines, the packaging will be written in Chinese on one side,
English on the other. However in the shops you only see the
Chinese side. Have a good look, turn the packs over, it gives
you a lot more confidence knowing you can read the package.
• If you have a specific medical issue, take records, most of
the Doctors will have OK written / reading English, even though
their oral English will be poor.
China Travel Tips – Telephone
• Using the phone is as easy as at home. However the person
picking it up will not speak English or have very broken
English… the Major 4- or 5-Star Hotels will all be OK.
• What is worth doing is buying a Chinese Telecom SIM card, they
are about RMB100 and with this you get RMB50 in calls, the other
50 is for the price of the SIM card; this SIM card will go into
all major brand phones and work OK.
By doing this, people can reach you within and out of China if
there is an emergency. If you have a couple of phones, you can
short (txt) message each other (SMS). Also you are able to call
your tourist guide, hotel etc if you have any major problems. It
is a cheap way to keep in touch.
NB.Before you buy a Chinese SIM card, check that it will work in
your Cell / Mobile phone. There are plenty of China Telecom
shops that can help. China Travel Tips on when NOT to move
around China. • Spring Festival, this would be the Chinese New
Year time, around the end of January / Early February
• Early May; Labour day Holidays
• Early October; National Day Holidays
Of all the China Travel Tips National Day is the biggest one.
Millions of Chinese travel at these holiday times of the year.
Most are travelling back to home towns or visiting family.
Hotels, trains, planes, cars, buses, and roads are all crowded
to the maximum. Major congestion, everywhere.
Also travel fares are at their full price. No discounts are
offered! Stay in one place and enjoy where you are. It’s best
and causes fewer hassles.
China Travel Tips – TV
• If you want to watch TV, most of the major hotels will have
cable and if you are in the smaller places, the national
channel, CCTV9 is in English. Over the last couple of years it
has got a lot better, with some great China Travel Tips
programs, news and views on people and places around China.
China Travel Tips – Airport Tax • There is a “construction fee”
at almost all airports.
Domestic flights RMB 50 International flights RMB 90 – which is
to be paid in local currency. Just recently, tickets are being
tissued with the Construction Tax included; however make sure
you have the Tax money with you just to make sure.
I hope some of these China Travel Tips will come in handy and
will make your trip to China that little bit easier.
If you have been to China and wish to share your China Travel
Tips, please feel free to contact me anytime.
John Mckenna http://www.Travel-the-Real-China.com
About the author:
Hi I'm John Mckenna, I am from New Zealand and have lived in
Shanghia China now for 3 years.
I own and operate http://www.Travel-the-Real-China .com. My site
provides experienced based Travel and Tour information on the
wonders of Travel in China, the Real China, Ancient China, China
at its very best
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