China Travel Tips

1. Bring tissue with you.

As most people know, in Asia, squat toilets are very common. Most of the local people prefer squat toilets, especially in public places, because they feel it's more sanitary. Some public squat toilets will provide you will toilet paper or tissue, while others do not. It's always good to bring tissue with you in case there isn't any.

2. Always bring Hand Sanitizer

As mentioned, not all public restrooms have toilet paper, and they also don't have soap. For some reason, soap is not a common thing to find in restrooms in China, some don't even sinks. So, if you're from the United States, it's always good to bring some hand sanitizer to clean your hands if you feel they need to be cleansed.

3. Always ask for water/drinks withOUT ice

It's common knowledge that drinking water from tap is not clean in most countries outside of the United States. But some people forget that the ice you get in drinks, is also made from that tap water. If you want to avoid getting sick, in China it is always good to drink things without ice, or hot. Like hot tea, hot water. Bottled drinks are okay. Even on an extremely hot and humid day, opt to spend more on a chilled bottle of water.

4. Be FLEXIBLE.

With 1.38 BILLION, yes, I said BILLION with a "B", there is always a need to be patient and flexible in China. This is probably the MOST important tip I can give you. Not only does the large population get in the way of getting places on time with loads of traffic, China is a country where rules can change instantaneously, access to certain places may depend on who is there when you visit, etc. The people of China are very obedient to the rules the government has put in place. The rules try to help with population overgrowth in certain areas. For example, did you know, if you have a car with a registered license plate from a specific city, you canNOT drive your car to other cities? (Can you imagine if you registered your car in Los Angeles and couldn't take a road trip to San Francisco or San Diego? That concept blows my mind still. But it is China. Remember you're in a different country and living by their rules.) They will not let you into the city. Therefore, if you book a travel tour, it is very common to have to take multiple modes of transportation to get from city to city, instead of just using a bus to travel. The bus from one city may not enter another one. Also, as tourists, they may hold you to different rules or standards than the local people. There have been many times where plans had to be changed, I had to wait a long time, or I just had no idea what was happening. You just have to take a deep breath and say to yourself, "This is China, I'll live by their rules, for now."