Beijing and Shanghai for 2 Weeks - What Should I See and Do?
Apr 20th, 2012, 06:37 PM
#21
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I highly recommend AGAINST using credit cards in China except at major international hotels for 2 reasons. One is security. Fraud is common. Second is Dynamic Currency Conversion. Many merchants do not understand or refuse to understand "I want this be charged in Renminbi".
I travel around the world with minimal local currencies and use CC wherever I can, but I avoid using it in China. And I live in Hong Kong.
I travel around the world with minimal local currencies and use CC wherever I can, but I avoid using it in China. And I live in Hong Kong.
Apr 22nd, 2012, 06:52 PM
#22
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ATMs are everywhere and accept cards from most countries. Cash is king in China but you are fine using a credit card in hotels, better restaurants and shopping malls.
I am not sure how common fraud is. I live in China. Use my card daily and nothing bad ever happened to me or any of my friends.
Dadong is know as having the best duck but service is really terrible. Check Private Kitchen for a good experience at a reasonable price.
Do not waste too much energy trying to learn mandarin before the trip. Basic things such as ni hao (hello) xie xie (thank you) and bu yao (I don't want it) are all you need. It is a hard language to learn and cannot be done with a book, you need to interact with a teacher.
I am not sure how common fraud is. I live in China. Use my card daily and nothing bad ever happened to me or any of my friends.
Dadong is know as having the best duck but service is really terrible. Check Private Kitchen for a good experience at a reasonable price.
Do not waste too much energy trying to learn mandarin before the trip. Basic things such as ni hao (hello) xie xie (thank you) and bu yao (I don't want it) are all you need. It is a hard language to learn and cannot be done with a book, you need to interact with a teacher.
Apr 24th, 2012, 10:45 AM
#23
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VeeDubb, regarding ATMS, I'll add that you might find it helpful to know which bank(s) in mainland China and in Japan have a relationship with your bank at home. (You can ask at your bank.)
For example, when I was in Beijing, a number of my classmates used BofA at home, which they had found has a relationship with China Construction Bank, which has numerous ATMs in the city. To my knowledge, none of them ever had a problem withdrawing cash from that bank's ATMs. (For that matter, nor did I, using my HSBC debit card. At the time I was in Beijing, there were only a few HSBC branches, none in our neighborhood.)
It's also preferable to have a 4-digit PIN, and to make sure you know what it is in numbers. (I know it sounds silly, but since our keypads in the US display both numbers and alpha characters, I always knew my PIN as a word not a number - and then ran into trouble overseas where the keypad is digits only! So now I know both.
)
I no longer remember why, but for some reason I had to twice go to a local bank to exchange currency. *That* was a crazy - and slow - experience, and I was glad to have a Mandarin-speaking friend with me! Since you'll only be there for two weeks, you shouldn't have this problem.
The only time I used my credit card was in the gift shop at the Forbidden City. (It was hot, I was tired, and I knew I'd be hit with DCC but in the moment didn't care!) With easy access to ATMs, it was just easier to take out cash and pay that way.
For example, when I was in Beijing, a number of my classmates used BofA at home, which they had found has a relationship with China Construction Bank, which has numerous ATMs in the city. To my knowledge, none of them ever had a problem withdrawing cash from that bank's ATMs. (For that matter, nor did I, using my HSBC debit card. At the time I was in Beijing, there were only a few HSBC branches, none in our neighborhood.)
It's also preferable to have a 4-digit PIN, and to make sure you know what it is in numbers. (I know it sounds silly, but since our keypads in the US display both numbers and alpha characters, I always knew my PIN as a word not a number - and then ran into trouble overseas where the keypad is digits only! So now I know both.
)I no longer remember why, but for some reason I had to twice go to a local bank to exchange currency. *That* was a crazy - and slow - experience, and I was glad to have a Mandarin-speaking friend with me! Since you'll only be there for two weeks, you shouldn't have this problem.
The only time I used my credit card was in the gift shop at the Forbidden City. (It was hot, I was tired, and I knew I'd be hit with DCC but in the moment didn't care!) With easy access to ATMs, it was just easier to take out cash and pay that way.
