The usual travel rules for all countries apply to China as well. Travelers are encouraged to follow the same safety procedures of money belts, locked hotel doors, and emergency contact numbers that they would use in any situation. This article is an attempt to help the reader with those problems often facing the traveler who specifically targets The Middle Kingdom.
Jetlag:
Beijing, China is located exactly twelve hours from the American east coast and roughly eight hours from the United Kingdom which means that when you visit the Forbidden City at four in the afternoon Beijing time, you will actually be trying to process the information at four in the morning. Most people who come to China often complain about jetlag and that there is often very little to be done about it. What to remember about jetlag is that there is absolutely no "cure" for it at all. The common rule for recovery from jetlag is "one day per time zone", meaning that if your internal circadian rhythm is off twelve hours after traveling from New York to Beijing, you will probably wait twelve days before your brain ceases to function like a drunken man on a unicycle. While you can't do anything about your jetlag you can schedule your traveling day around it. Most major tourist attractions in China open at eight in the morning, which means that if you report to the ticket gate sharply at eight (it will not be difficult to get up at seven in the morning) you'll basically be touring the facility during the twilight hours of your own time since its much easier to stay up late than to get up early. Another good idea is sun glasses. Since circadian rhythms depend mainly on the body's reaction to daylight, it stands to reason that when standing in the open space of Tiananmen Square a good way to avoid the common migraine headache would be a good pair of sunglasses. Naps are recommended, but only with the presence of an alarm clock since after touring the sights, many travelers retire to the hotel for a "short" nap, which the body then tries to turn into the normal eight hours of sleep average to the American. Strangely, coffee is not only a good way to wake yourself back up (instant coffee, in my experience, is best since it's a low dose of caffeine and it will also help with the common nausea.
Food:
China has quite possibly the greatest horn of odd plenty to offer in the world. The kinds of food offered in any major city boggle the mind, and the traveler is open to all of them. Sadly though, health regulations in China become less stringent the farther one gets from the major cities, becoming non-existent in the smaller towns. One rule of thumb I always follow when traveling in China is to eat either fried or boiled food that has been thoroughly washed. Strangely, the street cart food that we avoid in the west is likely a safe place for calories in China. Street vendors on Wang Fu Jing in Beijing are required to keep the oil in which they fry food to a minimum of seventy degrees Fahrenheit, which means that while the infant snake or scorpion you're eating on a stick might be a little weird, at least you won't spend your vacation on the porcelain throne because of it. In fact, most street vendors who fry food in large vats of oil are required by law to have a thermometer handy, and it is not considered a slight to ask them to measure the temperature of their oil before they cook your food. As far as restaurants go there are plenty of ways you can insure your food is safe. One common trick I use is to order food and then confess a fascination with the cooking methods of China and then to ask if I can visit the kitchen where the food is made and watch the cook prepare my dinner. The Chinese are prouder of their food than anything, and the idea of a westerner wanting to see a master chef (every mom and pop greasy spoon in China has a master at work) do his magic is irresistible to them. If you observe that the fire the cook uses is strangely low (a good fire under a wok licks at the brim of the wok with blue flame) then you may want to think twice about eating the dish. Also, should you be traveling in summer, be aware of the opening in the kitchen. Should the cooks be using an open window instead of an exhaust hood, look then for fly paper to catch the carriers of disease.
For some reason Americans have become obsessed with microbes. Yes, it's true that while a Mexican microbe smaller than the head of a pin once put me in the hospital for a week, the threat is really rather small. The water in China is not a concern for the traveler as long as you don't drink directly from an unfiltered tap, something most Americans or Europeans wouldn't do anyway. If you're worried about the water used in the cooking of food, order only steamed food which of course requires the water to be boiling.
Language:
One of the major problems facing any traveler is the language barrier, but this barrier is far greater in China since the language in most of China is Mandarin, which is a tonal language and therefore much easier to get wrong than a language like Spanish or German which are rooted in Latin. A guide book is the best defense against making mistakes once someone gets off the beaten path. Guide books are good for asking what time the train leaves, but what happens when you're in Inner Mongolia and you innocently ask a local man how much a horse costs and he suddenly asks you why you're wondering how much he'd ask for a night alone with his mother? What happens when you're in a market and you ask for four apples and the vendor thinks you're asking for four dead rocks? The guide book. China currently enjoys a reported 90.9% literacy rate which means that the Mandarin guide book becomes your tool for getting into and out of difficult situations. Do not try to pronounce Mandarin if you don't think you can do it well, but refer to the written Mandarin in your guide book. Simply pointing to the written phrase will be much more affective than stumbling through the spoken word.
Getting Lost:
When you find yourself off the beaten path, its easy to get lost. Thankfully, in China the worst thing that might come of getting lost is traveling several hours in the wrong direction. DO NOT FEEL BAD ABOUT LOOKING LIKE A TOURIST! If you're unsure about whether the bus or train you're looking at will definitely take you to your destination, don't feel bad about pointing to the guide book and then the bus and using hand gestures to get an answer.
Shills:
Finally, the traveler in China will be hit by a handful if shills in front of nearly every train or bus station in the country. When trying to find a hotel, these folks who hang out near the train station showing pictures of hotel beds to people just off the train are very rarely less than honest. If you should find yourself in a city without a prior hotel reservation or a guide book with a list of hotels, these shills can help, but beware. Most often the picture they show you is not genuine, but often the actual hotel room is okay. A good rule of thumb when finding a hotel in China is that the closer you get to the center of any city, the more expensive the hotel becomes. Another common problem for the traveler in China is the taxis that someone finds near a train station. Almost all cities in China require taxis to go by the meter, so asking the taxi driver to use the meter is not untoward. Also, when you exit the train station, walk a hundred meters in any direction and the fare will probably go down.
“HELLO!”
Perhaps the most common annoyance to the foreign traveler in China is the perfunctory “Hello!” being shouted at you on the street in any city besides the major ones. Much has been made by expatriates about the Chinese practice of shouting “Hello!” to anyone with white skin. I have heard explanations ranging from open friendliness to a deep xenophobic fear.
First off, the person who shouts it at you is not introducing himself or even really greeting you since the word “Hello!” is often either preceded or followed by “Lao Wei!”, which is basically how a Chinese person will announce to anyone around him or perhaps just to himself that, by holy Moses, there’s a white guy here. Many think that Chinese people scream “Hello!” at you because, well, that’s probably the only English word they know. Others think of it as an example of a deeply held apprehension about foreigners since the word is usually followed by giggling or howling laughter which is the common way Chinese people deal with their cultural fears. China doesn’t have what you’d call a glowing history with foreigners, walls both physical and mental rising through history, and to yell the greeting to a foreigner is a way for the Chinese to sort of whistle past the graveyard. Veteran expatriates will tell you that hearing the greeting six times a day for years on end will not only make you never want to greet another person in your life, but will also make you want to make a public announcement about how absolutely bloody annoying it is. If you don’t say anything back and simply ignore the word, no one will get offended and they’ll probably assume you’re Russian. If you should nod hello in return or even shout back at them “Ni Hao!” be prepared for some odd looks.
Spitting:
Spitting is a common practice in the northeast of China and through most of the countryside. The practice generally stems from a need to vacate the nasal passages of accumulated dust and dirt that has been inhaled in polluted and windy cities. While on the internet you’ll find countless gripes about how the Chinese spit, you won’t find much as far as explanation. The truth about spitting is that it’s a rural habit, and China is still for the most part a rural country. People from farming communities all over the world regularly spit because they’re regularly in contact with flying dirt and airborne particles which need to be expunged from the sinuses and throat. For the past few decades the Chinese government has tried to curb the practice and met with some success, yet it’s still quite common to walk along streets spotted here and there with gobs of phlegm. There is nothing especially to be done about this but accept it and wipe the bottom of your shoes before entering your house.
Insults:
The traveler in China has a 99.9% chance of getting from one side of the country to the other never having been openly insulted, which ranks China perhaps the highest in the world as far as cordiality. France ranks toward the bottom above Brooklyn. This practice of not insulting the foreigner stems first from a racial and cultural pride which prizes manners in the face of the stranger. It’s important though, to remember that the Chinese of course follow much different rules about cordiality than we do in the west. It is not considered insulting to ask you where you’re from, what you’re doing, whether or not you have a girl or boyfriend, and often your salary. Nor is it considered offensive for a large group of people to sit and talk about you while you’re nearby. Any foreigner that has ever been on a train in China has found himself the topic of everyone’s conversation, so don’t be offended. If you had never seen a Chinese person up close in your life and happened to meet one on a train one day you’d be a little curious too. Should you ever find yourself the subject of an insult such as “Huang Tou” (yellow hair), “Yang guizi” (foreign devil), “Guilao or Guiwu” (ghost), or my personal favorite and the mother of all insults “cao ni zuzong shiba dai” (f@#$ your ancestors for eight generations), just let it slide. In fact should you find yourself the target of an insult, you can take advantage of a key Chinese cultural element, which is the racial and national pride of the people. The one thing that the Chinese can’t stand is to be thought crass, lowly, or disorganized by a foreigner. Should you be insulted, simply glare at the person with your best morally puritanical glare as though in your home country no one would ever sink so low, and very quickly the people around the provocateur will tell him or her to shut up.
Taboo Subjects:
The traveler in China will often be faced with conversations concerning taboo subjects, leaving the traveler to wonder what exactly is taboo and what isn’t. First off, remember that no one likes a foreigner to criticize their country, but this dislike is especially strong in China since almost all of the problems of the past and present have been domestic and are therefore seen as not of concern to outsiders. Still though, the stigma of the insulated Chinese people who are unwilling to talk or engage in what might be uncomfortable discussion is false.
What is true is that there is a basic discrepancy between history books and newspapers in the east and west, and the traveler is faced with a situation that could easily go south should they not keep an open mind. First, remember that a discussion about politics or sensitive subjects in China has a few basic rules. Should you be truly curious about what people think about, say, Tibet, and you openly ask then you will definitely be required to give your own opinions as well. Unlike Europeans or Americans, Chinese people do not like to be interviewed about their country since the society does not have a tradition of openly offering opinions. Frank political conversations are welcome, but remember that should you instigate a conversation you will be required to give your own opinion. Also, remember that the area of politics in China does not include the same topics as it does in the west. We in western countries consider the question of Tibetan and Taiwanese independence as political issues while the Chinese consider them issues of sovereignty. Asking a Chinese person what they think of Tibetan independence is much the same as asking an American what he thinks about Alaskan independence. Most often it doesn’t register as a political comment. The most important thing to remember is cordiality.
