my upcoming trip to china
 

We are going to china in a couple of months and
would love to have some insite by those who have
been there.
Such as the food,reception by the locals,problem
with finding safe water for drinking,ability to
cope with a very tough language and anything else
you can think of.

Chinese food are delicious, but real chinese food is a little bit different from what you eat in chinese restruant out of China.

If you traveling there without a guide, you may have language problem when contacting people. Do better preparation before you get there, etc where to go and visit, how long will you stay...

The boiled water in hotels is safe, also you can find the bottled water wherever in the food shops.

You can find at least one person who can speak English in the hotel, the more expensive hotel you stay the more people can speak English.

For more info. about China, contact me by email.

We plan to travel to China in the end of Mar.We will be visiting Bejing, Xian and Chengdu. What hotels do you recommend to stay in? (middle class) Any other hints? THX> ART.

Hey!!

I need some info about Shenyang or Tianjin!

I am going on March 15, 1998 and need some good tips!

Got any? Please reply.

lesli :)

I was in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Hong Kong and Suchou three years ago. The food is excellent anywhere if you really like Chinese food. It is definitely very different from what you get here - Springrolls, not eggrolls; no fortune cookies, not two hundreds items in the same dish. For beverages you will generally find hot tea, beer, and soft drinks. The beer, usually Tsingtao, is very good. That was one surprise to me - how often you get served beer. Don't drink any water. It is not hard to find bottled water. Boil the water or ask for boiled water before using for your teeth. The people are very friendly in general. Sometimes it depends on where you are. Beijing seemed more official than Shanghai, where there is a little more contact with Westerners. Had great conversations with locals who wanted to practice their English on the Bund in Shanghai. Was asked to pose for group pictures with a Chinese family in Tiananmen Square. You will likely be stared at by locals in some places, but not so much at tourist sites. It is an interesting feeling. Language is definitely a greater problem there than anywhere else I have been, although it can be in Japan too. If you are out try to have a card with the hotel's name on it in Chinese to give to the taxi driver. Most hotels seem to have them available. If you want to go somewhere and don't know how to communicate it, try finding a hotel. At the larger ones, there is usually someone who can speak some English. They can tell the taxi driver where to take you. Some books/maps have major place names also written in Chinese - try keeping one of these with you.

No only the Chineses food are great, but also the western cuisine. The western food served in major hotels are excellent and you may find the price very reasonable. For example, the famous Maxims (in Paris) restaurant also operate in Beijing but they serve a cup of coffee at aroung US$3 only. Be aware of the bad guys, take extra care of your belongings. Try to travel in group even at daytime. Hotels are generally fine in large cities. In Beijing, 4 stars hotels are OK. If pricing is not your concern, I suggest you to stay in 5 stars hotels as they normally well located and the staff can speak fluent Chinese.