Survival China Travel Tips And Tricks - 2
China Travel Tips
– Taxis
• China Travel Tips- Taxis - Taxis are an experience that can have you
griping the seat and gasping for breath; however you soon get used to
it, after the first few rides, you’re an old hand.
• The taxis in Shanghai are, overall, quite good. Try to get the Blue,
Blue’ish Turquoise, Gold and White taxis, these are the best… these are
the four major taxi companies and are generally recognised by their
single colour paintwork. The others are OK, just older and a rougher
ride (the others also may have faulty metres). No drivers will speak
English.
• Carry your hotel or accommodation business card with you, written in
Chinese, this helps if you get lost walking around town.
• In all the taxis around the country you will see the drivers name and
taxi registration number in plain sight. If you have any problem, or if
you think you have been over charged etc, just take this number down,
make a big fuss about it, and the driver then should wake up and fix
whatever problem you have. Even better is to take the receipt. This has
all the trip details on it and you can ring the taxi company if you want
to take things further or if you’ve left something in the taxi. |
China Travel Tips
• The government takes rip-off drivers
in all cities, Beijing and Xian especially, very seriously and if you
complain they will lose their license. This is their livelihood. So far
I have had not one driver in 3 years that has not backed down and we
have then agreed a price for the trip or solved our problem.
• In Shanghai, it is common practice for taxi fare increases after 11pm.
However, one can usually bargain for a 20% discount, which will get the
fare back to the pre-11pm rate.
Be strong with the taxi drivers, never-the-less, keep your cool, smile
and negotiate.
China Travel Tips
– Shopping
• China Travel Tips - Shopping - China is a shopper’s 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, DVD’s, 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 ATM’s 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.
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.
• IMPORTANT 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.
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.
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.
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; Labor 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. It’s best and causes fewer
hassles.
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.
China Travel Tips – Airport Tax
• There is a "construction fee" at almost all airports.
Domestic flights RMB 50
International flights RMB 90 – which is to be paid in local currency.
Just recently, tickets are being tissued with the Construction Tax
included; however make sure you have the Tax money with you just to make
sure.
I hope some of these China Travel Tips will come in handy and
will make your trip to China that little bit easier.
If you have been to China and wish to share your China Travel Tips,
please feel free to contact me anytime.
John Mckenna
http://www.Travel-the-Real-China.com |