There is a lot of information out there to prepare you to live in China, but this page tells you about the things that other websites overlook. I provide you with some advice based on my experiences, and hope that you will be able to learn from some of the information below. Feel free to submit any questions or comments.
Food
• Try as many different foods as you can. No matter what you like to eat or not, try it. One of my first days in Beijing I ate one of the best dishes I have ever enjoyed in my life. To my disbelief, I found out soon after eating and expressing my satisfaction with the meal that the meat had actually been frog.
• The Chinese do it fact eat dog. I always thought this was a myth, however, in the northern parts of China dog is a fairly common dish. It was also one of the dishes that I ate during my time here.
• The American fast food places here are some of the most expensive places to eat here relative to everything else, but they are still cheaper to eat at than in the U.S.
• It is totally up to you to decide if you want to eat the food from the street vendors or not. Each person has his or her own opinion, so make your own decision. I personally found some great things to eat from vendors for a very cheap price, but also had problems numerous times because of something I ate from the street. The food is really cheap, but the quality usually is also poor. I have heard that some of these vendors reuse the grease that the restaurants discard to cook the food in. If you do decide to eat from the vendors, proceed with caution as some vendors serve better food than others.
• Boil any water that comes from a faucet before you drink it. To be safe, don’t even use water from the faucets when brushing your teeth. Bottled water is the safest, although studies here have found that 40% of bottled water in China is actually just regular tap water, but that is a different discussion.
Shopping
• If your shoe size is 46 or smaller you will have no problem finding shoes in China. I am a size 47, or U.S. 12, and I was still able to find all of the shoes I wanted and needed. But everywhere seems to carry men’s shoes if they are size 46 or smaller. So don’t worry about bringing a bunch of shoes to China. Instead, only bring a couple of pairs, one for walking and one other pair of your choice, and if you need more buy a cheap pair at one of the markets. I would suggest a pair of sandals, because the Chinese will spit anywhere and you don’t want to walk around anywhere barefoot.
• Clothing companies like Ralph Lauren have very small factories in far parts of China make clothing for them. The Ralph Lauren representatives go to the plants with a roll of enough fabric to make 10,000 shirts. They lay out the pattern that will be used to cut the fabric so that 10,000 shirts will be made. The Chinese are smart, and as soon as these representatives leave, they rearrange the pattern, so that they can get about 10% more production out of the same amount of fabric. They produce the 10,000 shirts for Ralph Lauren, and produce the extra 1,000 at night, but they only give Ralph Lauren 10,000 shirts. The rest of these shirts are sold very cheaply into the Chinese market, and they are exactly the same as the shirts you would buy in the U.S. for 20x the price.
Ralph Lauren realized this and countered by only providing enough buttons and tread for 10,000 shirts. The Chinese now purchase the cheapest buttons and thread that they can, but still use the same fabric as the shirts found in the U.S. These shirts do commonly fall apart at the seams though because of the cheap thread used. But this is how the Chinese make the exact same items here and sell them for much cheaper prices. The exact same process is followed for everything from shoes, purses, jackets, etc.
This being said, make sure to visit the markets here, as popular western clothing only costs a few dollars and is almost impossible to differentiate from the actual goods sold in the U.S. Make sure you stock up during your time here because you will never see better deals on clothing than the ones here in China.
Bargaining
Travel
• It is cheaper to purchase airplane tickets through the Chinese airline websites.
• The sleeper trains are very small and crowded. I would suggest spending a little extra money to get the bed on the bottom of the rooms since those beds are a little bigger. The beds are very tight and not built for very large people.
Housing
• When renting an apartment, you usually have to pay all of the cost of front for the period you are renting. Sometimes you can negotiate with your landlord to only pay half initially and the other half a few months later, but it is very common for them to require payment of your entire rent up front.
• Your agent or landlord may say that you have to pay a foreigner’s tax, usually equal to one month’s rent. Do not pay this tax no matter what. This is a tax from the government on the owner of the property if they rent it out to foreigners. Many landlords or agents will scam foreigners by telling them that they must pay this and will make a very convincing argument. Do not give in and you will save yourself some money.
Weather
• China is very cold in the winter due to a lack of Western heating systems. Many heating systems are inadequate, and walls in the buildings are usually very thin and not insulated. As a result, heat does not stay inside of an area for very long, so in order to stay warm, you must almost always have a heat source running during the winter. Some places don’t have adequate heating systems so if you are coming to China during the winter make sure to bring enough warm clothes and some long underwear.
• Weather in the summer also quickly becomes extreme, with temperatures reaching as high as 40C.
Miscellaneous
• If you are visiting China and you are a male, do not bring your wallet. Instead, purchase a two-sided money clip that holds both cards and cash. Because of exchange rates, you will carry around many more bills in China than you normally would at home, and with a wallet you may have difficulty shutting it or sitting on it. Also, because foreigners are easy targets for pickpockets, it is much safer to carry your money and valuables in your front pants pockets. Because of both of these reasons, a money clip is by far the most convenient, and one of the most useful items to have in China.
• Most bathrooms found in public in China are squat toilets. For those of you who don’t know, this means that they are troughs or holes in the ground. Very few places have western style toilets, and most places also do not provide toilet paper. It is a great idea to always carry a small package of toilet paper and hand sanitizer, in case you need it.
• You must be very aware of your surroundings in China. You must watch where your walking to avoid the spit, feces, people, bikes, cars, buses, and anything else that you could possibly imagine. Texting while you walk is just not smart here, because you could walk into a terrible situation rather quickly.
• Rosetta Stone is a great tool to have to enhance your learning ability when in China. Just being in China helps to improve your Chinese at a much more rapid rate than anywhere else, as you are essentially studying no matter where you are. Watching television is a great learning tool; I prefer to watch cartoons, as usually the language is less complex and easier to pick up if you are just beginning your studies of the language. Although expensive, Rosetta Stone is a great way to further enhance your learning experience during your time in China. (If you are traveling to China, wait to purchase Rosetta Stone until you arrive. It is possible to find a full version of Rosetta Stone for PC for $15. Versions for Mac are extremely difficult to find.)
• The most annoying thing here in China is by far the spitting. No matter where you walk, there is spit on the ground, as Chinese culture basically encourages you to spit anywhere, at anytime. They believe that the mucus is bad and should immediately be discharged. Everywhere you go, you hear the sound right before they are about to spit, which is essentially a warning sign so that you can try to not get hit. Even though I am a college male and this is one of many things commonly accepted by my demographic, it is really annoying because of how often it happens and it is pretty gross to see spit everywhere on the ground. I would say that when I walk down the street, I hear someone preparing to spit about every 15-20 seconds.
• Bring deodorant with antiperspirant. It is almost impossible to find in China.
(Information will continually be added to this guide and can be found on the tab, Traveler’s Guide to China.
