Going to China

adamk

adamk

Well-Known Member
Joined
Nov 20, 2010
Location
Burlington
I'm taking my first trip to China, leaving a week from Monday. For those that have been, any helpful tips or dos/donts. I'm traveling for work and will be there 10 days visiting a handful of injection molding and extrusion companies. Work does have contacts over there that will be picking me up and taking me everywhere so that will be helpful but I'd still like to hear from those who have been.
 
Wife had been several times when she was at Hanes Brands

I'm sure you know this already, but NEVER drink water unless it's from a sealed bottle. Her last trip she messed up and rinsed her tooth brush with sink water at the hotel (VERY nice hotel. Very Americanized) and ended up in the hospital for 7 days when she came home. Finally determined she had ecoli after several attempts to figure out WTH was wrong with her (High point Hospital :rolleyes:)
 
I spent 16 days over there racing and partying in 7 different cities. Beijing and the other mega cities are so westernized it’s almost like just traveling to L.A.. But some of the smaller regions are craaaaaazy. The more inland you go, the more obvious the communism is.

A few things to remember-
*You are being watched by the Chinese gov 100% of the time you are there. Assume as much.
*The tourist traps can have hours long lines, but usually worth it once you’re through it.
*The only time I got sick was when I stopped eating local and had KFC in Tibet.
*No pictures around military or airport security. Want to lose your phone? Ask me how I know :).
*English is pretty easy to find in the major cities. Non existent inland.
*Download a translation app. They are awesome! Especially the ones that show English one way and mandarin upside down (you can have a flowing conversation standing across from someone that way).
*Karaoke bars are actually fronts for brothels in most cities. Sex slave trade is unregulated over there, be careful about backrooms/VIP sections pretty much anywhere.
*Buddy system. If you disappear over there it will not make the news.
*You can negotiate on everything.
*Go local as much as possible! Americans are treated like royalty. Be kind and you’ll be amazed at how you are treated.
 
Also, download a vpn so you can access Instagram and Facebook- both are illegal in China. A vpn allows you to bypass that.

Also, prepurchase an unlimited data/overseas package for the month.
 
go to passport health and get the vaccinations for the area you will be traveling in.

Be aware of the food you eat. Keep your dick in your pants.
 
To follow up on the government watch thing - assume that anything you do involving any kind of a data connection is being watched and recorded. Do not email or otherwise transmit anything that you do not want ending up in a database.
One of my coworkers has family there, he's a little paranoid, but last time he went, he bought a cheap tablet just for the trip, walked onto the plane with it fresh, and wiped it when he got home. Made up a new email just for the trip and never opened his other one. Even w/ VPNs you have to be selective about who the initial source is, they'll still monitor activity in and out of the hole.
 
REDLYNER said:
I spent 16 days over there racing and partying in 7 different cities. Beijing and the other mega cities are so westernized it’s almost like just traveling to L.A.. But some of the smaller regions are craaaaaazy. The more inland you go, the more obvious the communism is.

A few things to remember-
*You are being watched by the Chinese gov 100% of the time you are there. Assume as much.
*The tourist traps can have hours long lines, but usually worth it once you’re through it.
*The only time I got sick was when I stopped eating local and had KFC in Tibet.
*No pictures around military or airport security. Want to lose your phone? Ask me how I know :).
*English is pretty easy to find in the major cities. Non existent inland.
*Download a translation app. They are awesome! Especially the ones that show English one way and mandarin upside down (you can have a flowing conversation standing across from someone that way).
*Karaoke bars are actually fronts for brothels in most cities. Sex slave trade is unregulated over there, be careful about backrooms/VIP sections pretty much anywhere.
*Buddy system. If you disappear over there it will not make the news.
*You can negotiate on everything.
*Go local as much as possible! Americans are treated like royalty. Be kind and you’ll be amazed at how you are treated.
Click to expand...

Any recommendations on a translation app? The entire time I'm there, I'll be accompanied by someone so there won't be any "I got lost" incidents.
 
I’ve been numerous times for work. What province/city are you traveling to? To echo @CasterTroy , I’ve stayed in really nice hotels that had a special faucet labeled “drinking water”. Being my suspicious self I opened the vanity doors and followed the feed line which was tapped off the main water supply. That one was labeled, “not for drinking”. Bottled water - when you open the bottle make sure you hear/feel the break away tabs on the cap actually break. I bought a couple of bottles of water from a corner store that were refilled. Caps spun right off without any tabs breaking. Those were the exception, not the rule. It was 2 bottles over countless bottles of water I’ve purchased. Just something to remember.

Be smart and you’ll have a great time. Enjoy it. Feel free to pm me with any specific questions. I’ve been in the Shenzhen, Dongguan, Shanghai, Suzhou, Hangzhou, Yuyao & Ningbao areas in mainland China, as well as Hong Kong.

Most of the I’ve stayed in have their internet running through a VPN and it’s like surfing the web in the US. No issues accessing Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, etc.
 
Last edited:
I was going to say what @CasterTroy said. DON'T drink the water! I've never been, but a couple of my coworkers go pretty regularly. One said he got sick and basically couldn't leave the toilet because he had the squirts for about 3 days. The hotel doctor was "treating" him, the translator told him that she "knows what to do for Asian men, but doesn't know how to treat westerners." :lol: So she dabbed some funky smelling oil on his temples and called it good.
 
tlucier said:
I’ve been numerous times for work. What province/city are you traveling to? To echo @CasterTroy , I’ve stayed in really nice hotels that had a special faucet labeled “drinking water”. Being my suspicious self I opened the vanity doors and followed the feed line which was tapped off the main water supply. That one was labeled, “not for drinking”. Bottled water - when you open the bottle make sure you hear/feel the break away tabs on the cap actually break. I bought a couple of bottles of water from a corner store that were refilled. Caps spun right off without any tabs breaking. Those were the exception, not the rule. It was 2 bottles over countless bottles of water I’ve purchased. Just something to remember.

Be smart and you’ll have a great time. Enjoy it. Feel free to pm me with any specific questions. I’ve been in the Shenzhen, Dongguan, Shanghai, Suzhou, Hangzhou, Yuyao & Ningbao areas in mainland China, as well as Hong Kong.

Most of the I’ve stayed in have their internet running through a VPN and it’s like surfing the web in the US. No issues accessing Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, etc.
Click to expand...

Good to know. I'll definitely make sure I have clean/sealed bottles of water on hand. I'll be flying into Beijing and then going to Dongguan and Zhejiang (I'm sure I'll be going other places during the day as well but that's where the hotels are booked).
 
I’ve been to both provinces. They are huge and include many, many cities. What cities are you staying in? Depending on where you’re staying in Dongguan, I know some great restaurants and brew pubs.
PM me if you like.
 
Yes I’m also confused as to how they sustain that many people and the water is that bad. That would make me scared of basically anything that contained their water like beer and any prepared foods, etc.
Showers?
 
I think they are used to it, raised on it. Same with Mexico. They build up a tolerance to the bacteria. Still don't understand how they can't get it up to Western standards. Just copy us. It's not rocket science.

Sent from my Moto G (4) using Tapatalk
 
benXJ said:
Why can't they treat water correctly? They've been a 'civilization' for thousands of years. We got it right in a few hundred years.

Sent from my Moto G (4) using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Corrupt govt, they're used to it and it doesn't affect them, hence no one cares?
 
77GreenMachine said:
Yes I’m also confused as to how they sustain that many people and the water is that bad. That would make me scared of basically anything that contained their water like beer and any prepared foods, etc.
Showers?
Click to expand...

Beer is fine, don’t eat salads (could be rinsed in water) don’t get ice with your drink, showers - do you drink your shower water?
 
benXJ said:
Why can't they treat water correctly? They've been a 'civilization' for thousands of years. We got it right in a few hundred years.

Sent from my Moto G (4) using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Because they dont really care.
Their bodies are uaed to it, so it dosnt bother them, and illness is more of a normal part of life there.

To a large extent we Americans have made ourselves weak and intolerant by having such high standards.
 
Back
Top