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tmitchell

Recycles dryer sheets
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I’ve been studying Mandarin for a couple years now and my teacher invited me to meet her and her husband in her hometown in Guangzhou in July. I’ve decided to go for it and see how much I’ve learned.

I can’t say I’m entirely free from trepidation for a number of reasons, the first of which is just feeling intimidated by the size and scope of China and all the things that make it somewhat inconvenient. For instance, not being able to sign up for WeChat here in the states, navigating ticket sales there, etc.

Anyone here have experience traveling in the mainland? I’ll be with my teacher for the second week, but solo for the first week. Tibet requires a tour so I should be good there.

This is my itinerary: Shanghai-Zhangjiajie-Guizhou-Chongqing-Chengdu-Xining-Lhasa-Shanghai (then home).

I’ve booked flights already but will get train tickets when there. I’m also curious about solo dining if you have recommendations.
 
That's a tremendous amount of domestic travel, but it's a huge country. I would suggest flying between places rather than taking trains, it's a much better experience.

I've only been there once, for about ten days a long time ago, and I have to say I've rarely eaten so well anywhere. Enjoy the food, even if you don't know what you're eating.
 
I never went, but was planning a trip about 5 years ago that didn’t happen. One thing that surprised me was the scope of their high speed rail network.

Probably won’t work for all of the cities OP is planning to visit, but well worth it for cities that are well connected.
 
braumeister said:
That's a tremendous amount of domestic travel, but it's a huge country. I would suggest flying between places rather than taking trains, it's a much better experience.

I've only been there once, for about ten days a long time ago, and I have to say I've rarely eaten so well anywhere. Enjoy the food, even if you don't know what you're eating.
Click to expand...

I’m flying the long distances but high speed trains seem more convenient and cheaper. Did you take them?

And yes I’m really looking forward to the food :)
 
I'm curious, how are you studying Mandarin ? Is it via the internet or actual classes ?

It sounds like it would very interesting to go, and a great experience in speaking, as I'm sure they have different accents/dialects across the country.

I've never been, so I have no advice, a Chinese fellow I know suggested to me to go, as he said it was not expensive to experience luxury travel once there.
 
Our Chinese daughter-in-law was a bilingual tour guide for English speaking tourists before she met our son and moved here. She was based in Beijing but often took tours to other cities. She really enjoyed it and misses all the travel and people.

My son has been there a few times. Once they took the high speed train to Sichuan, which he loved. My DH went there with our son and DIL to meet her family. I did not go because I hate flying and thinking about a 14 hour flight made my eyes roll back in my head!

After their first son was born they took a trip to Beijing, Hainan and a few other places including Hong Kong.

I have no advice for you but I hope you enjoy your trip! Being there with a local resident will be so much more personal that being with a tour group.
 
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Spent a lot of time in Shanghai but never ventured too far from there. Fabulous! The Bundt at night is magical. My company once threw a party in the dome of the TV tower.

Everything, from getting a cab to the food is certainly a different experience but fascinating.

If you're traveling alone you might ask your hotel to arrange a guide to show you around. Take them to dinner. Relativity inexpensive.

Stay in the better hotels: Four Seasons, St Regis...trust me on this and they're not expensive like they are here. Cheap hotels can be.....iffy. Have your hotel write out the name of your destination for the cab driver (but I've had a few who couldn't read) and keep a business card of your hotel with the address so you can get back.

You'll have a great time.
 
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DW’s sister and her husband lived in Shanghai for more than 15 years. We spent 2 weeks with them and another on our own. A fantastic and unforgettable trip. Our most memorable side trip was to Guilin, which has beautiful mountains with the peaks covered in clouds. Also Suzhou, which is a small city situated on canals.

China if far to big to even make a dent with one visit, so some focus will be very helpful. I second Marko’s suggestion to get a guide.
 
No advise as I haven't been there - but I will say it sounds magical.
 
We adopted our daughter there 25 years ago and took her back 15 years ago to get to know her birth country better. DW went back 5 years ago when my daughter did a year of study abroad in Shanghai. Each time was a totally different experience as the country has modernized tremendously. On our first trip to the Beijing airport, incoming and departing flights were marked on a chalkboard. My memory of Guangzhou is that it can get very hot, and the air pollution was quite bad (yellow skies). The food and the people, however, were amazing.

I don't have anything specific to recommend, except a guide when possible. We explored cities on our own but learned a lot more with a guide. My daughter speaks some Mandarin. She took it in college here. We spoke no Mandarin at all but were still able to get by.
 
Sunset said:
I'm curious, how are you studying Mandarin ? Is it via the internet or actual classes ?

It sounds like it would very interesting to go, and a great experience in speaking, as I'm sure they have different accents/dialects across the country.

I've never been, so I have no advice, a Chinese fellow I know suggested to me to go, as he said it was not expensive to experience luxury travel once there.
Click to expand...

I started a couple years ago online with this company : https://goeastmandarin.com

It was affordable and they hooked me up with an excellent tutor.
 
China is gigantic, it'd be even worse than the US to try and take in one trip. the regions are quite distinct.
Shanghai is very western-friendly, in fact, you have to work hard to find the more Chinese parts (like the animal market). Just like any large city be aware of your environment, and don't accept any invitation to try out some tea house by some "students trying to improve their English", it's a scam to extort exorbitant prices. the government teahouse is fine though.
One surprise to me was how few people speak English, even in Shanghai don't expect a cab driver to speak or even read English (your hotel can give you a card with its name and address in Chinese)
 
BlueberryPie said:
China is gigantic, it'd be even worse than the US to try and take in one trip. the regions are quite distinct.
Shanghai is very western-friendly, in fact, you have to work hard to find the more Chinese parts (like the animal market). Just like any large city be aware of your environment, and don't accept any invitation to try out some tea house by some "students trying to improve their English", it's a scam to extort exorbitant prices. the government teahouse is fine though.
One surprise to me was how few people speak English, even in Shanghai don't expect a cab driver to speak or even read English (your hotel can give you a card with its name and address in Chinese)
Click to expand...


I lived in the greater China region for nearly 20 years, traveled a lot both for work and for fun, and there are huge areas that I’ve never visited (and obviously other places that I know intimately). But yes, vast and diverse and fascinating.
 
Just came back from a 52 day trip to Asia, including 28 days in China.

Currently, the Chinese government is not friendly to Americans. I was stopped at the immigration point and was asked many questions to fill out a form, including my driver's license number, my cell phone number, my US political affiliation, my opinions about many political and social problems in the U.S., etc. I was also stopped when exiting China, but just for some additional check by their supervisor.

Some Chinese people are also hostile to Americans due to the every day on-going negative comments about the U.S. on their national TV news programs. If you understand Chinese language, you will hear that they openly talk about future wars with the U.S. on buses, trains, or at tea shops.

You have to be careful about whom you will meet, and what you will say. China just passed a law related to National Security (spies) which may create unintended problems for innocent U.S. travelers, and/or for the Chinese person(s) whom you meet with. Some ordinary people are out there looking to catch "spies". China is moving to the direction of North Korea.
 
flyingaway said:
Just came back from a 52 day trip to Asia, including 28 days in China.

Currently, the Chinese government is not friendly to Americans. I was stopped at the immigration point and was asked many questions to fill out a form, including my driver's license number, my cell phone number, my US political affiliation, my opinions about many political and social problems in the U.S., etc. I was also stopped when exiting China, but just for some additional check by their supervisor.

Some Chinese people are also hostile to Americans due to the every day on-going negative comments about the U.S. on their national TV news programs. If you understand Chinese language, you will hear that they openly talk about future wars with the U.S. on buses, trains, or at tea shops.

You have to be careful about whom you will meet, and what you will say. China just passed a law related to National Security (spies) which may create unintended problems for innocent U.S. travelers, and/or for the Chinese person(s) whom you meet with. Some ordinary people are out there looking to catch "spies". China is moving to the direction of North Korea.
Click to expand...

Yikes. Thanks for the warning. I've been wondering about getting stopped. What city did they question you in?

The cultural part isn't surprising because I hear the same kind of talk here about them.
 
One question I have is regarding money. Apparently WeChat app is used for everything including buying things. Cash is rarely used. Is that true? And if so do you need to set this up before you leave home. I assume you would.

I spent 2 weeks in Shanghai many years ago for work. Absolutely magical place especially the Bund at night. However at the time I found everyone extremely friendly. As just mentioned, attitudes towards Americans have changed. Very sad.

It used to be that lying and saying you were Canadian helped out in situations like this, but I think relations between Canada and China are strained as well [emoji16]
 
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bmcgonig said:
One question I have is regarding money. Apparently WeChat app is used for everything including buying things. Cash is rarely used. Is that true? And if so do you need to set this up before you leave home. I assume you would.

I spent 2 weeks in Shanghai many years ago for work. Absolutely magical place especially the Bund at night. However at the time I found everyone extremely friendly. As just mentioned, attitudes towards Americans have changed. Very sad.

It used to be that lying and saying you were Canadian helped out in situations like this, but I think relations between Canada and China are strained as well [emoji16]
Click to expand...

I'm trying to figure the money part out in fact! I tried downloading WeChat but can't sign up. Apparently you need a Chinese SIM card, but I've got the new iPhone which has e-SIM...
 
OP updating in case others following.

Got my visa yesterday. It’s good for 10 years with 60 day stays, $140. The process was predictably bureaucratic (online application, appointment at embassy—no walk ins) but only a three day turn around.

The majority of my travel is booked with the exception of train tickets which only become available 14 days in advance.

Researching VPN which is necessary to communicate with folks back home apparently.

Not a hands off trip by any means but I’m looking forward to the food & adventure.
 
tmitchell said:
OP updating in case others following.

Got my visa yesterday. It’s good for 10 years with 60 day stays, $140. The process was predictably bureaucratic (online application, appointment at embassy—no walk ins) but only a three day turn around.

The majority of my travel is booked with the exception of train tickets which only become available 14 days in advance.

Researching VPN which is necessary to communicate with folks back home apparently.

Not a hands off trip by any means but I’m looking forward to the food & adventure.
Click to expand...
Be interesting to see if the Chinese powers that be allow use of a VPN while in China, since that would allow you to bypass their restrictions on what sites should be accessible...
 
I hope it's a good adventure for you; it was for us.

Before I took my adopted daughter back to China for a culture tour many years ago, the visa process was completed at the Chicago consulate. I was required to supply my daughter's original Chinese passport before her visa could be approved. By that time, she already had an American passport. The guy at the window looked over our paperwork and called for a supervisor. In what appeared to me to be a ceremony of some kind, the supervisor cut my daughter's Chinese passport in half and then again into quarters before handing the remnants to the window guy. The subordinate then stamped all of our visas and we were cleared to go.

China is a fascinating place to visit. When my daughter was there a few years ago studying in Shanghai, her VPN worked without any issue. She used NordVPN. I don't know if things have tightened up on VPN use.
 
I've found VPN to be hit and miss (haven't traveled there since the pandemic) so I wouldn't count on it 100%. Some places worked great for me and others the only way to call home was a regular phone call at what we long distance my cell phone charges.

I've never had an issue using cash, I use my debit card to get cash (works in many but not all ATMs). It many places (including fancy restaurants) will not take credit cards.

When I'm ready to leave, I use most of my excess cash to pay for my last hotel stay, that way I don't carry much cash back to the US.
 
Why visiting in July? Guangzhou/Chengdu/Shanghai/Chongqing will be brutally hot and humid. You can install Wechat and sign up with your current phone number (not necessary to have a Chinese Sim card) and you can link to your credit card. Another payment app is Alipay and you can also link to a credit card. You may pay extra 3% for the foreign transactions.

China is a very technically advanced country. It alter the traditional experiences of payment and train ticket purchasing. It became a virtually cashless society. But, I believe you could still use credit card for your hotel and (large) restaurant payments.

Any question regarding visiting China, please feel free to ask.
 
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