Wondering about the most important things to know before going to China? I’m giving you my honest advice based on my trip there this past September.
Let’s be honest with ourselves — China is probably not at the top of your travel bucket list. It’s probably not even at the top of your Asia bucket list.
But, if you’re into ancient history, love big cities, or maybe are simply looking for another country to hit while backpacking through Asia, perhaps you’re considering going to China.
I’m sure I don’t need to tell you that you’re in for a huge culture shock, but that’s something you’ll have to experience for yourself.
What I am here to do is to make sure that you pack everything you need, and that you’re as mentally (and maybe even physically) prepared as possible.
Keep in mind that I spent time in Beijing and Chengdu, which are less Westernized than Shanghai and Hong Kong. Many of the things I’m mentioning may not apply to more “Western” areas of China.
Keep reading for 8 things to know before going to China…
READ: 5 Things to Know Before Going to Morocco HERE
Here are the 8 things to know before going to China…
1. Download a VPN on Your Phone and Laptop
If you don’t know much about China, here’s a newsflash: the majority of your favorite social media sites and websites are illegal. No Facebook, no Instagram, and even no Google.
Do you know how difficult it is to plan your trip when you don’t have access to Google to type in “restaurants near me” or whatever? Very difficult!
Thankfully, you can access all of these sites with a handy-dandy VPN, which is why this is #1 on my list of things to know before going to China (because social media is crucial to how I make money every day).
Even if you’re thinking, “I don’t need Instagram, I want to unplug and immerse myself in the culture,” you should probably still download a VPN.
Hacking and data theft are known to be super prevalent in China, and a VPN will protect outsiders from getting into your laptop and cell phone data.
If you’re wondering if a certain site is blocked in China, you can check this link.
I used a VPN provided by my university, but friends of mine recommended Express VPN. Just make sure you download the VPN on all of your devices before you leave, because you won’t be able to get it once you arrive. I recommend searching “VPN” on the app store, then downloading a few of them with high ratings, just in case.
Recognize this place?
2. Buy Little Tissue Packets To Stuff Into All Your Purses
Another one of the major things to know before going to China? This may be an odd thing to write about in a blog post, but when visiting China you want to make sure you have toilet paper on you at all times. Most public restrooms do not have toilet paper, and even the more “legit” places (think museums and restaurants) can be lacking in the TP department.
Save yourself the discomfort and buy a pack of on-the-go tissues like these
As an added bonus, you may also want to carry a small hand sanitizer, like these
3. Get Any Shots (or Pills) From Your Doctor
Of course, as you would when traveling to most developing countries, you want to make sure you’re up to date on all of your shots.
If you’ve gotten all the standard stuff and aren’t staying in China for more than a month, you’ll most likely only have to get something preventative for Typhoid. These can be given in shots, but my doctor instead gave me four pills that I took every other day prior to my trip. Super easy. For more on the CDC recommendations for travelers to China, click here.
If you’re already at the doctor, you may want also to see if they can prescribe you something for “food poisoning.” Most of the food in China is cooked, and as someone with a pretty sensitive stomach, I didn’t get sick. Still, it’s always better to be safe than sorry!
Lastly, you might want to buy some water pills from your local pharmacy. Due to Chinese food’s traditionally high sodium content, you may start feeling bloated and puffy and gross while visiting. I bought some and didn’t end up using them, but again, never hurts to be safe!
4. Consider a Crash Course in Chinese
As a native English speaker, I’m very fortunate that wherever I go, there seems to be a decent amount of people who speak the same language as me (or at least have a very basic knowledge of it).
Out of every place I’ve traveled, China was the most challenging in terms of language barrier. Very few people I interacted with spoke English, and even “basic” English words (such as “toilet” or “water”) were unfamiliar to waiters, hotel staff, etc.
To add to the difficulty, it’s not like someone who doesn’t know Chinese can take their best guess at understanding Chinese characters. Unlike in Spain or France, where I could somewhat understand certain signs, menus, etc. were saying, I was shit out of luck in China.
Many times, if I was looking for a restroom or trying to order something specific (or simply attempting to interact with someone), I ended up using Google translate and showing the staff my phone so they could read the characters from there. Thankfully, since I had cell service the entire time, this was available to me, but depending on your plans, it might not be to you!
If you have the time, enjoy using Duolingo, etc., I’m sure learning basic Chinese before your travels would help you immensely.
5. Potentially Start Using a Squatty Potty At Home
This is another odd thing to mention on the blog, but it’s definitely one of the most important things to know before going to China. About 85% of the toilets in China are not regular American toilets (or “pedestal” toilets, as they call them in China).
They’re what I like to refer to as “squatty pottys,” and they look like this:
Yes, you’re looking at it right. There is nowhere to sit down. You basically just squat over the hole and hope for the best.
Needless to say, this leads to the majority of the public restrooms being extremely foul-smelling places.
Anyway, I don’t really have any words of wisdom for exactly how to prepare yourself for these (besides the aforementioned toilet paper) but it’s just something to be ready for. Some spots have one “handicapped” toilet that’s a regular toilet, but the rest are squattys. Definitely take advantage of the regular toilet at your hotel when you can.
For some extra guidance, here’s a handy dandy guide on how to use a “squat toilet.”
The squat toilet in all of its glory
6. Exchange & Withdraw Cash When You Can
If you’re like me and typically forgo exchanging currency at the airport because your debit card doesn’t charge you for foreign withdrawals — change your strategy before heading to China.
While ATMs in hotels and certain areas may allow you to withdraw Yuan from your card, many ATMs will not accept any American cards. When my friends and I headed to Leshan for an excursion to see the Big Buddha sculpture, we couldn’t find anywhere to get cash out. Even the banks in the area weren’t able to give us cash from our credit cards.
Plus, A LOT of places only accept cash (or simply just don’t take American cards). This includes places like 7-11.
I recommend exchanging a decent amount of cash at the airport, and then taking out a large amount from your hotel’s ATM (assuming you’re staying at a hotel). You don’t want to get stuck somewhere with no money — trust me, I did it at Leshan and it wasn’t fun.
7. Be Willing To Experiment With Your Taste Buds (And Do Extra Prep If You Have Dietary Restrictions)
As I mentioned previously, few people speak English. You’re also likely not going to accurately guess at what most Chinese characters mean. So, naturally, when you’re at a restaurant, things can get difficult.
Some places (particularly spots in the plethora of giant malls in China), have photos on their menus — which is a big help — but many do not. You can try using Google translate to ask your Server what exactly “Mapo Doufu” is, but you might not get very far.
The server told us this was noodles, but after further consideration we realized it was chicken feet.
One night, my friends and I spent a good 20 minutes trying to figure out why our server at the hotpot wouldn’t allow us to order vegetables and meat instead of fish. To be honest, I still don’t exactly understand the reason, but a nice English-speaking passerby explained to us that if we weren’t ordering fish, we couldn’t get the other stuff.
Anyway, what I’m trying to say is that you have to be willing to try tasting stuff, even if you’re not quite sure what it is. If you’re someone with dietary restrictions (like me), you should probably print out a card that states your dietary restriction in Chinese so that you can alert any servers when dining out.
If you don’t eat dairy, like myself, you shouldn’t have too many issues except for possibly with some desserts (but dessert isn’t very popular in Chinese cuisine anyway). I normally eat mostly vegan at home, but I ate a good amount of fish, chicken, pork, and meat in China and I didn’t feel sick as I sometimes do — just very, very full most of the time.
This was the “menu” we were given at Mei Mansion in Beijing (which I do recommend going to)
8. Prepare to be Stared At
If you’re from a relatively diverse city, like I am, you might be shocked to discover that there is much less diversity in Beijing and Chengdu. There were several instances where my friends and I were the only white-passing people in the vicinity. When we headed to Tiananmen Square with one of our black friends, random people started coming up to him and asking to take photos. This happened to pretty much every single black person I was traveling with, but it happened to some of my more white-passing friends as well.
Even if you don’t get your photo taken like you’re some type of celebrity, you’ll definitely be stared at.
But, it’s not in the creepy way you get stared at when you take the subway in lingerie as a top. It’s just in a genuine way of fascination.
Speaking of getting stared at creepily on the subway, the men in China are extremely respectful when it comes to catcalling, leering at you, etc. And by respectful, I mean that they don’t do it.
I felt completely safe, no matter what I was wearing, which was a nice change from most places (including America). China is known to be one of the safest places to visit, especially for female travelers. Therefore, none of this came as a surprise, but it was still a stark difference to what I’m used to.
I hope this helped you prepare for your upcoming China trip and gave you all the things to know before going to China. Or maybe it even served as some inspiration to plan a visit! If I missed something or you have any questions, feel free to comment below!
Leave a Comment