1. China Travel Tips – Shopping
* China is a shoppers paradise, Markets, Bargains; Top labels anything and everything if you have the time. With clothes, the larger (Western) sizes can be quite hard to find, however in the major cities where you get a lot of tourist traffic, you can find them.
* Electrical gear, DVDs, Cameras, stuff like this is not worth buying in China, Hong Kong is still the best place for this.
* Store hours in the major cities are from 10am to 10pm, 7 days a week.
* Visa card is still the best card to carry, with ATMs in good supply all with PLUS access etc. There is usually a surcharge for use of VISA, MasterCard or other forms of credit card.
* Wait on purchasing if you can, look around to get a feel for the prices. The Chinese are VERY experienced at selling and know that we halve the opening price when bargaining. In the markets go for 25% of what they first ask; go so low that they let you walk away. This will give you an idea of the bottom price. The resulting end-price will probably be around 40% to 50% of where they started.
Whatever the market people say, they are used to pushing and haggling for best prices. Do not worry about being too hard, they are used to it and will not sell you an item unless they make a profit. Don’t be concerned with the apparently hurt body language when you go low it is all part of the game. As soon as they have wrapped up your first purchase, they will try to sell you something more. Remember to keep smiling and having fun
while bargaining.
2. China Travel Tips – Medical Treatment and Records
* Most hotels will have a doctor that you can see. In the major hotels English will be spoken.
* Always take a small first aid kit, cold remedy, headache tablets at the very least. WATSONS is a very large chain chemist. Most of the remedies, tablets etc, that you may require should be in these shops. These shops are all over China.
* There is a great network of pharmacy type shops; these are indicated by a Green Cross. There will always be a 24 hr Green Cross pharmacy in the city you are in. It is handy to carry a Phase book, as no one will speak English, however you will end up with something that will help.
* INPORTANT POINT for most of the mass produced packet type medicines, the packaging will be written in Chinese on one side, English on the other. However in the shops you only see the Chinese side. Have a good look, turn the packs over, it gives you a lot more confidence knowing you can read the package.
* If you have a specific medical issue, take records, most of the Doctors will have OK written/reading English, even though their oral English will be poor.
3. China Travel Tips – Telephone
* Using the phone is as easy as at home. However the person picking it up will not speak English or have very broken English the Major 4- or 5-Star Hotels will all be OK.
* What is worth doing is buying a Chinese Telecom SIM card, they are about RMB100 and with this you get RMB50 in calls, the other 50 is for the price of the SIM card; this SIM card will go into all major brand phones and work OK.
By doing this, people can reach you within and out of China if there is an emergency. If you have a couple of phones, you can short (txt) message each other (SMS). Also you are able to call your tourist guide, hotel etc if you have any major problems. It is a cheap way to keep in touch.
Note: Before you buy a Chinese SIM card, check that it will work in your Cell/Mobile phone. There are plenty of China Telecom shops that can help.
4. China Travel Tips on when NOT to move around China
* Spring Festival, this would be the Chinese New Year time, around the end of January/Early February
* Early May; Labour day Holidays
* Early October; National Day Holidays
Of all the China Travel Tips National Day is the biggest one. Millions of Chinese travel at these holiday times of the year. Most are travelling back to home towns or visiting family. Hotels, trains, planes, cars, buses, and roads are all crowded to the maximum. Major congestion, everywhere.
Also travel fares are at their full price. No discounts are offered! Stay in one place and enjoy where you are. Its best and causes fewer hassles.
5. China Travel Tips – TV
* If you want to watch TV, most of the major hotels will have cable and if you are in the smaller places, the national channel, CCTV9 is in English. Over the last couple of years it has got a lot better, with some great China Travel Tips programs, news and views on people and places around China.
6. China Travel Tips – Airport Tax
* There is a construction fee at almost all airports.