What to Expect in China
China is fast becoming a hot travel spot for visitors from all over the world and for first time visitors, it can be quite daunting to figure China out. Even though I’ve been there a couple of times, I still get surprised by random observations and experiences. Here are just some of the things you’ll expect to encounter in China:
Social media detox
If you are addicted to social media, you might find it disconcerting to hit the great firewall of China. Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Google and YouTube are banned in Mainland China (except for certain parts of Shanghai and Beijing). You can try to install a VPN on your laptop or smartphone to access these sites, but a detox of social media might be good for the soul! Instead of being glued to your phone, go out and experience the city and soak in the atmosphere. Thankfully, you can still keep in touch with friends and family at home with mobile messaging apps like Whatsapp and Kik, as well as most email websites. You just can’t Instagram that bowl of noodles until you get home!
Perils of being a pedestrian
Crossing the road in China is terrifying, even while you’re at a proper intersection with the traffic signal in your favor. Cars from the diagonally opposite direction will drive through any gap between you and the person in front of you at full speed, and motorcyclists seem to have the same rights as a motorist and a pedestrian. So basically, you’ll be walking across the road and motorcycles will be right behind you, in front of you and coming from diagonally across the street! You’ll have to constantly look out for any random vehicle even if it’s the pedestrian’s signal to go.
Even if you’re walking along the sidewalk, you’re still not completely safe. Some cities in China have parking spaces on the sidewalk. You’re casually strolling along and then a car comes up right behind you furiously honking away. Sometimes, motorists will park their car illegally on the narrow sidewalk so you’ll have to find a way to squeeze through!
You can definitely tell a local from a tourist. The local pedestrian will cross whenever they feel like it (traffic laws be damned). I’ve seen an old lady strolling diagonally across a busy intersection with cars whizzing around her. No one else batted an eyelid and I stood there gawking at her.
Smoke gets in your eyes
If you’re a non-smoker, it will be a challenge to avoid cigarette smoke in China. International hotels are better at enforcing smoking rules but if you’re staying in a small local hotel, you will get wafts of smoke coming into your non-smoking room through air conditioning vents. People also still smoke in restaurants and other indoor areas even with non-smoking signs posted everywhere. I’ve also been to several spas filled with cigarette smoke as well! Thankfully, no one smokes in trains (at least I’ve never encountered that) and in shopping malls.
Go big or go home
Typically hotel rooms are much smaller than what they look like in the online brochure. But not so in China! Depending on the city, most hotel rooms are massive, even in a mid-range local hotel. Four star international hotels have bathrooms the size of hotel rooms in Europe!
This also applies to certain banquet style restaurants. They have a regular dining area with smaller tables but for a fee, you can book a private room with an enormous table that seats 20 or more. These private rooms also come with its own restrooms and may be equipped with a TV for karaoke and a mahjong table for gambling. You can spend hours eating, drinking and singing badly!
Beware of “white wine”
Baijiu translate to white wine, but it’s absolutely not anything like Chardonnay. Made from grains, baijiu has 40 to 60% alcohol content! It also smells like cat pee. Drink it if you dare!
On that note, gan bei (cheers) to your first trip to China! Cross the scary roads, do cartwheels in your giant hotel bathroom, eat all the good food, and hold your nose and do a baijiu shot.