China, for me, was a little overwhelming. More overwhelming than the first time I traveled to Kyrgyzstan by myself and moved in with a local family.
More overwhelming probably for a number of reasons: the language, the size, the highly populated cities.
It was, however, my first time visiting, and I think China might take some people a little bit more time to get accustomed to.
Here are the basic tips and insight for the first time traveler that I picked up on my first trip.
Language
It's difficult. Unlike romance languages that use the same alphabet as English or even Russian that uses a few of the same letters as English, the Chinese symbols are basically indecipherable to the untrained eye.
Unless you happen to run into an English speaker on the streets, then getting around is extremely hard – especially when taxi drivers just decide to leave you in the dust instead of trying to put up with charades.
Tips
Learn some simple Mandarin or Cantonese (depending on where you're going in advance).
Learn the words for hotel, food, drink, how much, and thank you. Numbers, thankfully, you can do by hands gestures (see below), but for everything else, you might want to invest in a language learning or translation app for your iPhone.
Whenever the opportunity presents itself, always have your hotel or hostel write down the name for things in Chinese as it will help you heaps!
Counting
Chinese people have a simple way of showing numbers using one hand.
When an American girl in our hostel let us in on this little tip, taxis became so much easier!
Tips
Get the gestures down before arriving. Know that when a taxi driver flashes the symbol for 6, they most likely mean the fare is 60, and so on.
Toilets
Toilets are probably the one single place where I would really, really enjoy both privacy and the ability to sit down.
Unfortunately, you don't get much of either in China.
Get used to the ways of the squat toilet, as they are everywhere. Also, you might want to get used to the idea of walking in on someone else in the loo.
I had my first encounter with what one might call a "trough" toilet with no walls or doors as soon as I crossed the border, and sure enough, other people taking care of business next to you is only a cause for alarm for you, and you alone.
Tips
You might want to read my guide to mastering squat toilets for females and then start building up your leg muscles in advance.
If you need some privacy or a place to sit, I suggest heading to a Western establishment for a toilet.
Hygiene
The hygiene aspect of China, since I'm a little bit of a germaphobe, was extremely hard to deal with.
Everywhere I looked people were hocking loogies – even indoors, at supermarkets, next to fresh fruit and veggies.
The sound alone makes me cringe.
Coughing and sneezing seemed to usually be free-flowing, so if you see someone about to sneeze, keep your distance.
Perhaps you'll be luckier than when a guard coughed directly on my hand as I gave him my passport.
Tips
Always carry extra tissues and hand sanitizer when traveling in China – especially for the toilet situation.
Food
The Chinese palette varies quite extensively from that of the Western world.
A big emphasis is on textures, eating strange parts of an animal (chicken feet, intestines, and fat), and eating strange things in general (think starfish or scorpions on a stick).
Chinese food is often sitting in an entire pool of oil when served.
Even though you use chopsticks and are not spooning large amounts of oil onto your rice, Western stomachs still might have a hard time adjusting.
Sichuan pepper is popular in certain parts of the country, and I personally find it tasty in very small amounts.
These peppers actually provide a numbing or tingling sensation to your mouth, so when the food is swimming in peppercorns and oil, it is often too overpowering.
Be aware and avoid if necessary.
Tips
Hit it up with an adventurous spirit!
Order white rice with your meals as it both soaks up the oil of the dish and acts as a filler if you happen to come across food you don't quite enjoy.
Tea is also a must for drinking with oily meals.
If there is ever a dish or ingredient you discover you don't enjoy, learn the word for it so you can avoid it in the future.
Comfort
Western hotels will cater to Western customers, but smaller establishments and hostels are more likely to provide the Chinese standard of rice pillows and hardwood mattresses.
Some people say this stiff setup is good for your back, but I beg to differ.
Tips
Sometimes it might be better to make your own pillow out of a shirt stuffed with other soft clothes.
Otherwise, you can try packing a travel pillow for your time in China.
Daniel McBane - Funny Travel Stories says
This brought back some memories. None of them good though and I'm pretty sure I had some good memories of China too....
The toilets were the worst thing for me, since I worked in schools for two years. Chinese teachers clearly had no problems squatting down next to their students over a trough, but I just couldn't do it. I and the other foreign teachers were frequent visitors to the nearby McDonald's during work hours. Luckily they didn't seem to mind a bunch of foreign teachers popping in just to use their restrooms. They actually found it quite hilarious.
Rebecca says
Cool article but that toilet situation...ugh.
Andi of My Beautiful Adventures says
Such great tips for first timers!!!
jan says
These sound like good tips. I am not that interested in China, but I like photos I have seen of inner Mongolia.
Travel Photo Report says
Haha, very good picture tip for number, we had a bit of a hard time before we asked to teach us how they show numbers. First, we tried European ones and had a lot of difficult communication & misunderstandings. I wish I saw this post before out trip to China.
I actually liked sichuan peppers' tingling effect :-) Had never tried anything like that before.
We have some tips on travelling by railway in China and Chinese food as well.
Rebecca says
Great, timely tips Brooke! I leave for 30 days in China on Friday. Glad to see your hand signs for the numbers. I will have to get studying some language!
mary says
sounds nasty. spitting and hocking and coughing in the grocery store??? and on your hand from the passport guy? that's truly disgusting!!! sorry that happened to you!
Vicky says
Some great tips here. Traveling through China can definitely be difficult (has spent the last 1.5 months here). One more tip: when your hand sanitizer runs out, don't throw out the bottle, fill it up with liquid hand soap and this way you can actually wash your hands after all those filthy squat toilet bathrooms!
lee says
hi
Iam a chinese backpacker ?
so funny this about our country ?
welcome to china?
himanshu says
well,hey guys, I'm an Asian (Indian) and I agree with you guys when you all say it's difficult for you guys to use these toilets as you are not used to these toilets (as in my case it's the opposite;I find it diffeicult to adjust to western toilets as I think tey are more filthy-NO OFFENCE MEANT ) but let me tell you this-these toilets (Squat toilets ) are better in terms of health. Don't believe me, do some research on it. It's scientifically proven.
By the way if any of you guys have any plans of backpacing India then you are heartily welcome. And don't worry about the toilets, we are known for our hospitality (especially to the foreigners) so your needs will be taken care of (you may find 1 out of evry 5 toilets to be western in most of the hotels).
Nomadic Boys says
Great post - the toilet tips made me burst out laughing!
I find the ICOON app helpful as a way of showing what I want through pictures if I don't know the language very well.
pippo says
I'm italian, every predictable private bathroom in Italy has a bidet side the wc, after your duty you can even wash properly the bottom asshole and your growin if you need or please, but, when I have to use public bathroom for my businesses i prefer use a sqat toilet because I try to avoid contact with surfaces as much as possible ... of course IN PRIVACY. today in 2014 knowing everything we know as human being about pathogen, bacteria and epidemiology is frankly crazy insane a situation like that, the problem is not the squat toilet and his mechanics, the problem is the way asian and the developing world use it as a mob.