Eight Tips for Traveling in China

Why choose just eight? Because eight is a lucky number in Chinese. May-lee Chai offers her pointers on having a safe and productive trip to China.

Bargaining

What’s the fun of buying something if you have to pay full price?

Bargaining to the Chinese is like seduction to the French. You are creating a relationship with the merchant, not a price war. Remember to establish a friendly rapport first. Shouting, arguing and pointing are not very seductive. Smiling, being friendly, offering to buy more for a better price are.

Open-air markets and privately run stores are best for bargaining. Large department stores have set prices, but don’t be afraid to ask, “Can you offer me a better price?” Clerks will be more than happy to point out sales and other bargains in their stores.

Crime    

Street crime is fairly uncommon in China, relative to Western nations that is, but pickpockets and muggers are most likely to work in crowded situations. Be sure to keep your wallet, pocketbook and camera close to your body.

Female travelers

I’ve traveled alone through China and felt safer than in most cities in America, but there are some guidelines to keep in your head.

Caucasians are more likely to attract attention, some of it unwelcome. Most white people are presumed to be Americans, and the stereotype of the loose American woman perpetuated by endless Hollywood movies is alive and well. If you feel you are being harassed, shout “Bu!” (pronounced “Boo!”) loudly. This means, “No!” It will usually attract help and drive off your unwanted beau-to-be.

Asians, though, will blend in, which can be an advantage in cities, but in remote areas can be a danger. In very rural isolated areas, the scenery may be spectacular and ripe for backpacking, but there may also be kidnapping rings looking for Chinese women to be sold as wives to Chinese farmers. Once while traveling outside Kunming in Yunnan province, I was approached by two Chinese men who tried to attack me. By shouting loudly in English and Chinese, so that they realized I was American, they let me go. If you find yourself cornered, it is essential you shout so that they figure out you are a foreigner. The Chinese government will take the kidnapping of a foreign tourist very seriously, and most would-be kidnappers prefer to go after more vulnerable, local prey.

If you want to backpack on your own, be sure to let friends know where you are going first.

Noise

China is loud. It’s a populous country and people have learned to shout just to be heard. Some megastores hire people to shout along their aisles to attract customers by imitating traditional street vendors. You’ll get used to it. You will.

Off the beaten track

While package tours abound, if you feel like going rogue and exploring China on your own, here are some tips for deals your guidebook might not tell you about:

Cheap rooms can be rented on most university campuses. They have special “guesthouses” for foreign travelers. You might have to share the bathroom with other travelers of the same gender, but the price is a fraction of what you’d pay in a hotel. The streets and alleys surrounding universities are also lined with cheap restaurants catering to students.

Buddhist temples and convents often serve vegetarian meals to travelers. Although they are not officially restaurants, for a donation many offer visitors delicious and entirely vegan dishes.

If you want to make local friends quickly, try going to a park and asking where the “English corner” meets. This is the term for clubs of people practicing their English, who would be thrilled to meet an English-speaking foreigner. In exchange for language practice, they can give you advice on where to stay, sightsee and eat.

Planes, trains and automobiles    

Domestic airlines have improved dramatically within China in terms of safety and reliability. That being said, never pack anything into a checked bag that you can’t live without. Although my checked bags have always been found in the end, they have been delayed, especially when flying from Beijing to Shanghai, which is known as the Bermuda Triangle of lost luggage. There’s even a counter set up with a bilingual (Chinese-English) clerk right outside the baggage carrousels at the Shanghai Municipal Airport, for example, to file a report if your checked bags don’t arrive when you do.

Most airports will deliver late luggage to your hotel if you leave your address. For this reason, if you’re planning a multi-city itinerary, give yourself enough time in each location for your luggage to arrive.

When taking trains, sleeper cars on the te kuai (express) trains are surprisingly comfortable, economical and allow you to see the countryside as well as keep all your bags with you. Non-express trains will stop frequently as migrant workers get on and off on their way to the cities. While this can be interesting, it is slow indeed.

When getting into a minivan or car for travel within a Chinese city, always use the restroom first. Traffic congestion is legendary, and hard on the bladder. Once you make it to the gleaming superhighways looping outside China’s megacities, the drive is usually smooth and fast. But again rest stops can be few and far between.

Remember this if you plan on seeing sites outside major cities, be it the Great Wall and Ming Tombs outside Beijing, the Terra Cotta Warriors outside Xian, the Buddhist grottoes in the mountains of Sichuan, or any other ancient sites.

Shopping

Yes, China is this shopper’s paradise. From gorgeous silks to designer clothes, antiques to folk art, China has something for me and, I imagine, for everyone. Remember to bargain, check out multiple stores for prices before ordering something expensive like a tailor-made suit or dress, and feel free to ask locals for recommendations on where to shop and how much something costs. Chinese are generally friendly, genuinely proud of their country, and willing to help tourists so that they will have a good impression of China.

Tipping

Never feel obligated to tip. But if you plan to return to a restaurant or are on a cruise and someone is very helpful, a small tip is a good way to establish a friendly relationship.  Tips are rarely (in my experience, never) refused, and create goodwill.

Yi lu ping an! Have a safe trip!

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