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 Traveller's Tales: Advise for travellers in China
Heed our handy tips on safe travel in China. You may read about travel warnings, health, what to wear, travel with kids, travel with pets, local weather, local government, medical information and traffic information in the area.Also, you might want to read our
Beijing city guide,
Guangzhou city guide,
Kunming city guide,
Shanghai city guide,
and Xian city guide.
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| G Monson |
24 June 2002 |
Stayed at Sofitel Jin Jiang Oriental Pudong Shanghai - Shanghai, China.
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Shanghai was a surprise with few high rise buildings in Pudong close to the Hotel. Smog or Fog was prevalent most days although conditions were not unbearable (except for the high humidity experienced at this time of the year).
CBD was pretty with the diversity of the different high rise buildings and it was a pleasant experience and we wil go again. Primary reason was not to sight see but to get to know my young daughter before returning to Jakarta.
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| J Dahlheimer |
23 June 2002 |
Stayed at Novotel Peace Hotel Beijing - Beijing, China.
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Caution: Avoid the land sharks and use only a metered cab from the airport. We negotiated with one of these at 250 rmb against what we understood to be the usual hotel's pick up price of 350 rmb. However this still turned out to be substantially higher than the meter cab rate average of 100 rmb and the driver was prepared to further skim us on the tolls and giving change.
Another caution. Be prepared for aggressive and very hard sells by street vendors if you give the slightest hint of interest in any of the items. At the big spots such as the Forbidden City the mob of vendors can be a bit intimidating for the less experienced traveler.
Allow at least a full day for the Forbidden City and be sure to buy a layout/map because it is very easy to wind up confused by this remarkable labyrinth of buildings and squares. If you chose to shop in the FC be aware that these are not government shops and the prices are fully negotiable.
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| T Sin siew |
22 June 2002 |
Stayed at Hangzhou Xinqiao Hotel - Hangzhou, China.
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Pls do not take any "Cheap shopping tour" for a few RBM. They sent you to expensive shops and will drop you in the middle of roads if you do not buy.
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| M Low |
15 June 2002 |
Stayed at Tianlun Dynasty Hotel - Beijing, China.
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Beijing is not too dificult to get around in even if you are not able to speak Mandarin. Being able to read some Chinese helps in getting around but if on tour, then it is not really necessary. Have ready your destination and hotel name written in Chinese to inform taxi drivers where you want to go. Taxis are relatively safe but drivers tend to try keep small change as tips unless specifically asked for.
If visiting the Great Wall, the Mutianyu section seems the best choice as it is not crowded like the Badaling section, where we noted most tours would normally include a visit to the Ming tombs and at least 2 mandatory tourist shops or factories (a full day tour). We took the half day tour to Mutianyu starting at 11am from the hotel and returning at 5pm. However, the tour guide tried to push in a visit to a hospital (not stated in the itinerary) on the return journey. The trick is to get you to sit through a short presentation about Chinese traditional medicine and its diagnosis of disease before introducing a Chinese Physician to examine you. We believe that after the examination they will say how unwell one is and push treatment with herbs, acupuncture, massage or whatever else. We did not stay to find out !! On the way out we saw others in a large room all receiving treatment at the same time.
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| E Doyon |
31 May 2002 |
Stayed at White Swan Hotel - Guangzhou, China.
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It is not expensive to shop in Guangzhou but you need negociation skills.
They absolutely need to build an airport of international level. I am still not use to see a hole in the groud for toilet in an airport. The airport looks like a fruit market with the smell that comes with it. The custoom, luggage check in, are more slow then in Benin, Africa.
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| C Park |
29 May 2002 |
Stayed at City Hotel, Shanghai - Shanghai, China.
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The bund is wonderful at night, and I highly recommend the Shanghai Museum. I took a one-day city tour through Jin Jiang Tours which takes you to the Jade Buddha Temple, the Yuyuan Gardens, the Shanghai Museum, and the Bund. Warning: the lunch included was bad.
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| T Shuff |
28 May 2002 |
Stayed at Lu Song Yuan Hotel - Beijing, China.
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Great wall tour less than desirable. Hired private driver from the hotel and asked to be taken to Simitai. We were actually taken to Jinshanling and dropped off to walk to simitai, a 4 hour hike. All of this was okay, but we met with what we thought were thugs along the way wanting more money to continue on to Simitai. We found out after the fact that these guys were legitimate. So you pay to get on and to get off, which wouldn't be bad if you knew if advance.
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| H Dear |
14 May 2002 |
Stayed at Lu Song Yuan Hotel - Beijing, China.
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Beijing can be a difficult city if you don't show a little back bone. Be firm with the taxi drivers and make sure their "registration card" is mounted on the passengers side of the dash board. Sit in the front seat and make sure they use the meter or have them stop and get out.
Having dark brown hair and fair skin it was immediately assumed that I was a Uyghur (Muslim from the Xinjiang region of China- generally assumed to commit most of the petty crime in the city ie pickpocketing, bicycle theft). I was refused cabs, stared at with looks of (what I interpreted) as contempt and dislike and this problem was long term and wide spread according to my daughter and her friends that spent the last school year in Beijing. It can be completely annoying but remember to have patience. Westerners are still an oddity outside of the major hotels and tourist sites and a majority of the Chinese have a had time discerning our various nationalities.
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| N Daley |
13 May 2002 |
Stayed at Lu Song Yuan Hotel - Beijing, China.
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I only had 2 days in Beijing so there was a lot I missed, but the Forbidden City was worth seeing. The parks were the best.
I got around both on foot and by taxi.
I want to underline what the Lonely Planet says about getting to your hotel from the airport. It is a long drive but should not cost more that 100 yuan (about $25). The correct way to do it is to walk outside, find the taxi line, and take the first one in line. Ask how much it will cost. It is essential to have your hotel written down - in Chinese if possible, since most do not speak English.
I made the mistake of taking a taxi offered by an inside broker. He came to me, spoke in English, knew my hotel, and said it would cost 200 yuan. I was very tired and just took the offer without thinking. As it turned out, he was not the driver, but a broker working for other drivers, so he probably got the extra 100! On the other hand, the 200 yuan may be worth it to you... this is a HUGE airport.
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| W Wong |
05 May 2002 |
Stayed at Novotel Peace Hotel Beijing - Beijing, China.
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Beijing is a fantastic, modern city. The biggest difficulty is the language barrier - I speak Cantonese and Hakka dialects but that didn't help at all, and most taxi drivers don't understand English - it's best to write destinations down in Chinese. There is a great night food market on Donghuamen Dajie (bugs on sticks were going down a treat!) We spent most of the time trying to figure out what was being cooked! If you don't fancy that, there is a good Cantonese restaurant, Hong Kong Food City, which caters for tourists (extensive menus in English) opposite the night market.
Definitely recommend the Hutong tour (beware of the touts who sell "hutong tours" at the North Gate of the Forbidden Palace, they are private individuals waving around official looking leaflets), the Great Wall at Mutianyu, Hongqiao Market for "antiques" and jewellery (don't pay more than a third of the asking price) and don't miss Beijing Opera at the Liyun Theatre.
Most of the time we walked - tired legs at the end of the day as the centre of Beijing is a huge place, but well worth it. Lastly, and sadly, lots of people came up to us saying they were "art students, would we like to see their work?" but all of them were sellers for small galleries so avoid unless you particularly like art.
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