A Practical Survival Guide to Visiting China

Are you one among those who have been learning Chinese but have never been to China and only know your language teacher?

Then why not pay a visit to China and see how people living there? Spend a moment reading this article before you buy a ticket to China. It might help you and save you from some trouble such as not being able to pay for transportation etc.

Here is a survival guide to China based on online research and personal experience.

Money 

When people travel somewhere in Western countries, they usually have a Debit card and Passport. If they have these things, they can buy anything else. But in China it is different, and the main difference is to take cash with you, probably US dollars is best so you can exchange it quickly before you figure out which ATM will cooperate with you.

It because it does not seem possible to pay with credit nor debit cards anywhere, it is either Alipay, Wechat, or cash. Cash is the answer if you would not stay in China for a short period. If you are waiting for longer, it may be worth investigating other ways of paying. Though you can connect your foreign debit card to Alipay or Wechat but still not possible to pay with these all the time.  

Communication 

Before you go to China, make sure to download a VPN because China blocks most of the sites you used to, so you will need a VPN to access them. Some VPNs are free, and some are paid. You can access Wifi in many public places, but you will need to manage to get to a Mobile shop to buy a Chinese SIM card.

Also, you will need to check your phone if it accepts any other SIM card than you have if it cannot, then you might want to buy a new phone for use in China. Also, you can buy a Chinese SIM card online through Amazon in your country. It is also good to have a mobile phone with dual SIM capabilities, so if you get an SMS from your regular number, you can accept it and also check your contacts from the original SIM.

Meeting people 

There are two ways that most of the people to recommend to meet people; Wechat and Couchsurfing. On Couchsurfing, people advertise dates of their trip to China and then invite people to meet for coffee or beer through private messages. Many Chinese young people use VPN, so they have access to various Western apps. Couchsurfing organizes meetups for free. The meetups are good to get some local information.

Wechat is also useful for contacting friends, and this app has the same features as Whatsapp and more. 

Medical/hygiene 

Make sure to check the international clinic beforehand in the place you are visiting. It is always great to have a list of things you are allergic to or medicine you take translated into Chinese. Also, you can ask for help from the Chinese friends that you met through Couchsurfing or other means. Buy medical insurance before you go to China and figure out how it works and what it covers. 

Food 

You can eat in places where lots of people eat. The Menus of small verity is an advantage as well; the ingredients will be stored for a short time only if all customers eat the same thing.

Also, learn how to use chopsticks from YouTube videos. Learn primary characters for noodles, vegetables, and meat because many small restaurants do not have picture menus. You can ask your Chinese friends to take you to the place where they like to eat and let them order for you so you can try new things.

Do go to a tea house where you can get a thermos of hot water and tea leaves with a cup. It is common to drink and ask for hot water. It is not recommended to drink water that is not boiled, so ask for hot water or buy bottled.

Moving around

In case you are visiting China for a short time, then mind the public holiday and check the calendar, especially before and after the Spring Festival. This is the time when all the people in China travel and it’s become difficult and sometimes impossible to get a train, plane tickets and also the prices will be high. Other holiday periods are not recommended to visit China, such as Labor Day, Dragon Boat Festival, Western New Year, Mid-Autumn Festival.

And this is unless you want to see how it looks like most of the Chinese people move around. In case you want to visit Tibet, then make sure the region is open to tourists because this region is closed to tourists around February and March. Consider the timing also because of climate such as humidity, temperature, rain, etc. Generally, autumn and spring are recommended as favorable conditions. 

Use the Chinese online services explain in this paragraph for booking trains, flights, and hotels. These websites and apps are in English and convenient to use; also, the prices can be lower. Usually, they enable booking three months in advance. You can use Fliggy or Ctrip for booking hotels, trains, flights, tours, and cars. Also, you can use the same services, but they do not accept foreign bank cards. On the Qunar app, you can check the cheap Chinese airlines. You can also use Spring Airlines for hotel and flight booking. 

Train

You can take train tickets 30 days before your travel. You can book a train ticket on 12306 or through Ctrip and can pick your ticket at the train station or go to the station directly. If you do not have a Chinese ID, you cannot use the self-service kiosks at the station.

There is a possibility that you go to the station on the same day as you want to travel and you may not get a ticket because they sold out. In different parts of the cities, there are ticket offices where you can buy tickets but cannot pick up the ones you booked online. Make sure to keep Passport with you for traveling, and in case you have only foreign credit cards, then keep cash to pay for all the tickets.

Bus

For local buses, you can buy tickets on the bus or at the Train station. The bus routes are explained in the Chinese language, and once you are on the bus, they say what the next step is. You can also book tickets online through Etrip China which even accept foreign debit cards. 

Metro

Most of the cities in China have metro services. You can use the Matroman application to check the metro lines. You can buy tickets on ticket kiosks that show the map of metro lines. You can switch the language to English and can choose your stop on the screen, and the machine will let you know the price of the ticket. You can use WeChat, Alipay, or cash to pay. 

Taxi/Didi

The Uber of China is Didi. I know you can also hail taxi thru the Didi app. Also, it can be linked to foreign credit cards and is also offered in English. There are some standard messages to choose from, and you will need to speak with a driver who mostly cannot speak English. 

Safety

It is always a great practice to register yourself with your country embassy after entering any country. And of course, keep your documents safe and separate from the papers. Leave your travel schedule with an address where you can be found with your family and friends. It is best to let someone know where you will be. Also, write down emergency numbers and check the nearest hospitals before you leave so that when something happens, it will easy to look for these. 

Driving in China

In China, for driving, you will need a Chinese driving license. If you want to get the provisional driving license, you can get that easily even without a test, even at the Beijing airport. To get a regular license can be hard, that also depends on the city. At first, driving in China can be quite stressful and hectic, but most of the foreigners get used to it.

Shopping in China

For foreigners, China is a shopping paradise. Apart from famous brands and main supermarkets, it is best to bargain, because the initial price they say will be very high. Keep in mind that many brands you look at the market are fake, so try not to consider the full retail price.

Decide on the amount and start offer half price. When negotiating the price, use a calculator to show the amount that you are willing to offer. Try to walk away if your price is acceptable; they will stop you. In Beijing, popular places for shopping are Silk Markets and Hongqiao Pearl.

Depending on the cities but the most popular gifts from China are; items produced from silk. You can buy bedsheets, blouses, rugs, tiles, scarfs, etc. It is recommended to buy jade in reputable shops because there are many fake jade items, and it is hard to tell the difference. You can buy pearls, cultivated or natural.