Despite the many blog posts, I’ve written about China, I still get asked all sorts of questions from people about to embark on their big adventure to the Middle Kingdom. So, I’ve put together a quick ‘go to’ list, of essentials, to make sure you’re not caught short when you visit China. Before you go: 1. Download a VPN If you want to be able to use Google, your Gmail account, pop over to Face Book for a nosey, check out Twitter, or use any social media accounts for that matter, or perhaps you want to text home using What’s App, or watch a bit of Netflix -- heads up, you won’t be able to do any of that in China! At least not without a VPN. With many websites banned in the country, a VPN, also known as a Virtual Private Network, simply tricks your computer and/or internet into thinking it’s somewhere else i.e. another country. This allows you to log into all the things you can’t leave home without. In China, it came to be known as my ‘VPS’ –Virtual Protector of Sanity. So, how do you get a VPN? I wrote a post a few years ago on the logistics of choosing a VPN, you can read that here but because those that work best tend to change every year and China is often banning certain VPNs, I’ve also done the legwork to come up with a list of those that are most effective in 2019. NordVPN NordVPN is recommended by those in the know and has kept its focus on becoming one of the better VPNs in China. It also offers good value for money. Click here for more information. Express VPN. Express VPN has long been and still is classed as one of the most efficient and easiest to use. In fact, it was the one we used when we lived in China and was by far the most consistent. VyprVPN VyprVPN began in 2006 in China and has become one of the most popular VPNs. Their security levels are top notch and their speed is excellent. Private Internet Access These guys are one of the simplest to use. You’ll also see they are one of the cheapest. Private VPN Experts say Private VPN is great when used on Stealth mode! 12VPN 12VPN also gets top marks and consistently provides good service. Surfshark Surfshark works well and can help you bypass tough censorship, including the ability to unblock Netflix in the US! Astrill One of the biggest VPN providers, Astrill is still favoured by many as the premier VPN provider in China. All of these obviously cost money so if you’re looking for a FREE VPN for a few days and you’re not too fussy about speed and consistency, try the following: *Hotspot Shield *Windscribe *TunnelBear *bVPN And for the very latest information on the best VPN for your needs (August 2020), check out Consumer Advocate's post here. Best VPN's Based on In-depth Reviews. 2. Install a Translation App While English is spoken by many Chinese, it’s still quite limited in a lot of cities, especially outside the top four. It can be hard to have more than a basic conversation, so it will pay to have a back-up in the form of a good translation app downloaded before you go. These days, there are those that translate your voice directly - what more could you want? Which one to use? Baidu Translate Baidu is one of the easiest because it’s a China-approved app, so will never be blocked and it’s free. Users say conversations are fast and reasonably accurate. Google Translate Google Translate is one of the best but will be blocked unless you have your VPN (see above). It offers both voice and conversation translation. iTranslate Reviewers say it’s one of the best with a great user experience but unfortunately does cost. Good for those who aren’t technically inclined (ahem, yours truly). Microsoft Translator This one isn’t blocked and is free. Very simple to use. You can hear the translation as well as see it in Chinese characters and pinyin. PLECO If you just want a simple app on your phone to type in English words and find out the Chinese equivalent, I couldn’t get by without Pleco. Obviously, the key to using a VPN and any translation app is WIFI, whether that’s with your own data or connecting to the hotel or local WiFi. If you are using Chinese WiFi, warning: don’t expect miracles when it comes to speed! 3. Using Money in China First things first, be sure to tell your bank you’re going overseas, so your cards aren’t blocked. Secondly, be aware that many places in China still don’t take foreign credit cards. (Girls, just FYI Zara and H & M do!) ;) Your best bet is to carry some cash. And because many western banks don’t carry the Chinese Yuan (RMB), it’s probably easiest to exchange enough money at the airport to get you by, at least until you reach your hotel, for things like a taxi from the airport and food. From there on in, you should be able to use your debit card to withdraw from an ATM – make sure they have the Visa or Mastercard logo. Those major banks that should allow you to do this are: Bank of China, China Merchant’s Bank or ICBC. ATMs do have English, but you will need your pin for both debit and credit cards. Of course, WeChat and Alipay are now taking over cash in China for locals as the most popular forms of payment, but even though there is an option to add a foreign credit card to the apps, I’m told it’s not as reliable or perhaps easy as you think. **Also, note, if you’re using cash in Chinese shops, do expect it may be funnelled through a machine which detects whether or not they’re fake notes. Unfortunately, this is a reality in China, and I’ve known tourists to be caught out, even when withdrawing from an ATM. 4. Travelling Around China If you want to book travel flights within China, the best online site is Ctrip, now called Trip.com. It's generally cheaper than foreign companies and they have English-speaking phone support in case you have any problems. Beware, there’s a big possibility (like a fifty per cent chance) that any flight you take in China will be delayed, so be prepared! Also, there’ll likely be no English spoken on Chinese domestic carriers and the food tends to be a little dubious. Trains on the other hand, almost always run on time and are extremely speedy and efficient. China's bullet trains run at 300km plus an hour and have you there in no time at all! They’re also safe and pretty comfortable too. For timetables in English, these two sites are recommended and are also good options to purchase your tickets online. - www.china-diy-travel.com (also gives fares, in RMB) - www.chinahighlights.com (also gives fares, in US$) www.chinatt.org Try to book well in advance as tickets do get sold out, especially if there are any big national holidays looming. You can also book trains on Trip.com You can try buying your tickets at the stations, especially Beijing, but before you do, I highly recommend checking out this site which is super detailed on everything to do with trains in China! Note: You will need your passport for all ticket purchases. To get around most cities in China, a taxi is usually your best option. Cash is still the easiest method to pay your fare with unless you have WeChat or Alipay. Some taxis will refuse to give you change for 100RMB so make sure you have smaller notes on hand too. Before you get in, ensure you have the name of your destination written in Chinese or a card from the hotel, to hand the driver. It is law for Chinese taxis to use a meter so if you’ve flagged down a normal cab, check that it’s on and if they refuse by trying to negotiate a ‘price’ with you, you can simply refuse and exit the cab. Most taxis are bright colours, red, green or yellow, so you can't miss them, but there are also what’s known as illegal ‘black cabs.’ These so called cabbies don’t use meters and can end up costing you much more than you bargained for. If you do use one, try and negotiate a price before you get in. In many city’s don’t be surprised if taxis refuse to pick up foreigners. It’s not personal, they simply don’t want the hassle of someone who can’t speak the language. Thankfully, what is more popular now is the Chinese Uber equivalent, Didi Chuxing.Download this app and set up your payment method before you leave home.It is available in English and they do take foreign credit cards! For more information you can check out this link here 5. Using a Phone When you’re travelling, having network data is key, right? As I mentioned, WiFi isn't always available so connecting to a Chinese network is crucial. You can do this with international roaming, which is obviously the easiest way, but it can also be the most expensive. Alternatively, you can purchase a Chinese SIM card but this does mean your phone needs to be unlocked or you can buy a cheap Chinese phone when you arrive. Travel China Cheaper goes into extensive detail here. There’s also another option which involves renting a phone and wifi for China online. This will give you a Chinese phone number, which is often needed when connecting to WiFi in public places, help you avoid any security concerns, and basically save you a whole lot of time! Here are the details to do this. 6. Powering up In mainland China, Hong Kong and Macau, the power supplied to sockets is 220 volts at 50Hz AC. This is similar to what you’ll find in most of Europe and Australia but different to the 110V 60Hz found in the United States and Canada. There are a variety of plugs found in China, but the 220V 50Hz electrical current stays the same. If you find that you have a device rated for 220V or 240V that won’t fit any of these plugs make sure you purchase a simple travel plug converter before you leave. Now you've got all that, time to get packing! Struggling with what to pack? Check out my post on the Top Ten Things to Pack When Travelling to China And just before you go, couple of key things to remember: The tap water in China is NOT drinkable (that includes brushing your teeth).Air pollution can be a serious hazard, particularly in the winter months. Make sure you bring a mask to wear if levels are extremely high. I recommend Vog Masks.And of course, avoiding travel insurance is simply not an option. … [Read more...]
China’s Pearl of the Orient! Why Guilin is Compulsory Viewing
When I told my local hairdresser in Xi’an I was off to Guilin for a few days, he got very excited and made me practice China's famous saying: Guilin is "Shan shui jia tian xia!” …until I had it right (as you do). (FYI - I’m starting to realise that Chinese people love their proverbs and there's a ‘saying’ for just about everything and anything.) In this case, ‘Shan shui jia tian xia’ means: Guilin’s ‘mountain and water scenery is the best under heaven’. That’s a pretty big call, right? ......Oh and there’s another one: “East or West: Guilin Scenery is Best!” Not wanting to be disappointed after all the 'hype,' I purposely didn’t look at any pictures of where we were going. (Unlike the hotelier who, I might add, scrutinises the website like a seagull scavenging for food, weeks out from the trip! ;-) ) Me? I like to be surprised. Plus, we had a few good friends who’d trodden the path before us and given us the lowdown. I knew we were in good hands. So, a two hour flight south from Xi’an to Guilin in China’s Guangxi Province and the adventure was on! Stepping outside from the airport, it immediately felt different, warmer for a start. Dare I say, there was almost a tropical feel in the air… (or maybe that was just wishful thinking on my frozen parts?) But there were palm trees, I swear! We were picked up by a recommended driver and had a two and a half hour journey up into the hills to a place called Ping’an Village….it’s the spot where the famous rice terraces reside in all their glistening glory. Despite the palm trees, once we hit the road, there was no mistaking we were still in China. The ramshackle streets, the ubiquitous beeping, the swarm of motorbikes and three wheeler Tuk Tuks snaking their way in and out of the traffic…all manner of goods being transported on the back, from people to packages, piled high! We saw a couple almost swallowed by a giant bouquet of balloons; live chickens in small baskets, perched on the back of bikes; there was even a lone cow standing on the back of a 3-wheeler! Gridlocked in the bumper to bumper, mid-morning Spring Festival traffic, we couldn’t miss the sound of a few overexcited kids yelling out “There’s a wai guo ren!” before erupting into fits of laughter. Yep. That’s us. The foreigners are coming! Once we got through the mayhem, it was a long and rather windy road up, up and up high into the hills. First stop - a gated entryway where we needed to hand over cold hard cash to the “officials” for entry into the village. Another 15 minute drive to the village itself or at least the bottom of the village and despite travelling up... we had definitely travelled back in time. Hello Ping'an! We thanked our driver and grabbed our bags from the boot, not before being swamped by lots of little old ladies in pink hats, gesturing madly at our belongings. Don’t be fooled by their small stature and number of years under their belts, these women are tough cookies and will carry your bags in large round baskets on their backs, all the way up steep, rickety walkways to your guest house. Our room for the night was first cab off the rank, just a 300 metre walk so we politely declined. The mere idea of making these women carry my luggage when I was perfectly capable seemed a little preposterous, but then again, this is how they make their living. And if you're really not up to the walk, or just want to take yourself back to China life of old, you can always sit yourself in one of these (for a small fee)! Ping’an Village is over 600 years old and has been harvesting rice for just as long. The village is made up mainly of the ethnic minority, the Zhuang people, but there are also the Yao people. The Yao women are easily identifiable because of their very long, long hair (which is wound around and around and bunched on top)! It’s believed they only cut their hair once during their lifetime. (Now that’s one way to save on hairdressing costs!) In recent years productivity in Ping'an has been slow and the rice is mainly harvested for the locals to consume and now the more than 60 guest houses that cater to the 2000 tourists a day. In 1949, Guilin was the first place in China to open up to tourists and this tiny but oh so charming village amongst the rice fields has been a hard treasure to keep hidden. For the last 12 years, intrigued tourists from around the world have been sneaking a look at this quaint, authentic Chinese town where life resembles that of a bygone era. Today the government even pays local farmers to flood their rice terraces, making for better quality pictures for tourists like us! Walking up to our guest house it’s clear though, tourism has cast her spell. There are now lots of little stalls selling all sorts of souvenir trinkets and locals are busy cooking up all sorts of traditional concoctions, including jars of extremely spicy looking chilli. The Zhuang ladies in their bright pink hats are squatting around a fire, cooking Tudou Hong zi (sweet potato) and their Chinese is peppered with a few English words like “hello” and "Come and look!" That aside, it really is another world…… Our guest house ‘Bai Ke’ is four floors on stilts….it’s endearingly rustic and authentically Chinese in style, with a sweeping view right across the mountains. We hear roosters screeching and I spy a lone woman toiling the rice fields. It feels like we are a million miles away from the hustle and bustle of manic China. We are made to feel incredibly welcome by the owner of the guest house from the minute we arrive until he drives us all the way to Guilin the next day. How's that for service! First things first though, it's time to explore. We get directions to walk (hike) up into the village and to the top of the mountain for the best views. Directions in the loosest sense of the word. We find ourselves in and out of backyards, along rickety stone pathways, up steep stairways and past random chickens, ladies cooking their bamboo rice and locals lunching in the sun. We pass by a grandma, baby on her back, hanging sheets in her yard. Everyone is friendly and it’s just a matter of heading up! After many pit stops and photographs, we make it to the top. (The Small Person is exceptionally stoic in the face of a promised ice-cream). We’re lucky, we’ve struck amazing weather and it’s nudging 25 degrees….in the middle of winter. I’m told if it’s a foggy day, the view can be disappointing, but today the view is breathtaking. At the top we’re clearly back on tourist soil and their are a million and one people wanting to take a photo with the small blondie. Luckily though, we spot a stall with ice creams and coke! We find a private spot in the grass but one of the 'Yao' ladies selling postcards and bracelets spies us and seeks us out. As much as I know we’re the 'wai guo ren' so there's a fair chance we are probably being ripped off, before I know it, I’ve purchased two bracelets, one each for Small Person and I! Back down the hill and that night our B & B serves us a delicious traditional village meal of sticky rice and chicken in bamboo. This is one of only two remaining places in China where they still use this kind of ancient cooking method. And of course we BYO our bottle of white for a modern day touch! The next day, country air in our lungs, refreshed and raring to go we hightail it back down to Guilin City for the night. First up, if you don’t need to go to Guilin or are short on time, I probably wouldn’t bother. As a city in China, sightseeing wise, apart from being surrounded by impressive karst mountains as you drive in, there’s not a whole lot going on. In this part of the world, it’s all about the surrounding areas. The next day we are lined up for a 3.5 hour, 83 km boat cruise up the Li River to Yangshuo. It’s been booked by a local friend so we have no idea what to expect. Picked up by a tour bus we find ourselves the only foreigners on board (which is really nothing new) and next minute we’re in a tight squeeze following one of those flags you see Chinese tourists huddled around, the world over! In true China style, it seems every cruise boat is scheduled to leave the dock at exactly the same time. You can imagine, this makes for a rather crammed and rushed entry on to the boats. Pushed, squeezed and shoved forward, we try to keep an eye on our flag bearing a Winnie the Pooh mascot, in the hope we make it on board the right boat. (Did I mention we forgot our luggage?….ah yes, such seasoned travellers, we got so excited getting on the tour bus we forgot we were actually going away for the night!) That said, the tour operator kindly arranged for another bus to pick up our luggage and get it to Yangshuo by the afternoon at no cost. A side to China where things like that are always infinitely easier, than being engulfed in red tape. On deck and every boat motors off up the river in unison…the chefs start cooking lunch on the back of the boats and we’re all seated at tables. It's no luxury cruise. It’s basic and there is one pretty dirty squat toilet for every female on board. The food is a very basic, Chinese buffet of rice and noodles and at feeding time, it's one in, all in. The view though is mighty impressive. They call it a 'jade ribbon winding among thousands of Karst Hills' and I can immediately see why it’s beckoned so many poets and artists over the years. Middle Earth springs to mind as we gaze at these hundreds of limestone peaks jutting sharply from flat ground in all manner of shapes and sizes. This is apparently the result of a perfect alchemy of geological conditions tens of thousands of years ago. About half way up we’re told the scene before us is that famous one on China’s 20 yuan note. Arriving in Yangshuo…this is a village that’s more than a village but not quite a city. It’s quaint and quirky and for Spring Festival it's draped in pretty red lanterns. Again, the minute you step off the boat, you’re flanked by a plethora of stalls selling everything known to mankind…. if you have kids you may want to put blinkers on them! Once you get through the merchandise hysteria, turn off the main path and you’ll be confronted with lots of cheap and cheerful bars and restaurants in an enchanting setting, complete with trickling river. On recommendation, we stayed at the eco-friendly Yangshuo Village Inn which was about six kilometres from the main drag near Moon Hill. Set in a tiny local neighbourhood, it was authentically Chinese and a world away from our five star bubble. I loved it the minute we stepped inside to a roaring fire and tiny cups of ginger tea. Owned by an American who has been in China for over 20 years, he has local villagers running the guesthouse and the service is impeccable. Upstairs the Italian rooftop restaurant serves genuine Italian food to die for. Not a noodle in sight. Our room is simple, cosy and comforting. We sit on our private balcony while fire crackers erupt across the laneway and the karst mountains rise up into the night sky. With just a day and a half in Yangshuo we decided to hire bikes (which are everywhere). Despite the seemingly towering karst mountains, it’s completely flat and super bike friendly. Let’s be clear though, until this point, I hadn’t been on a bike for 22 years, but who’s counting. We I wobbled off down the laneway and onto the main road. Yikes! Competing with large tour busses, cars, motorbikes and a host of wobbly bikers like us …we pedalled up to the Yulong river. Here you can jump on a bamboo raft and glide down the river, appreciating the vivid and beautiful landscape before you. If we thought the view coming up from Guilin was incredible, this is even better. We cycled along the river for about ten kilometres enjoying the serenity.... Along the way, we found Yangshuo Village Inn’s sister hotel set river side at this incredible spot. Lunch! By the time I was getting the hang of the whole two wheeler thing, it was time to start heading back, but not before an impulsive stop off at a little roadside cafe. We soon found out this was no ordinary cafe….while it looks pretty under a rooftop of passion fruit vines, there was a fair bit of rubbish on the tables and strewn across the floor and I'm not sure how game you would be to eat the food. Bottled beer though, that we could do! US$3 for two giant bottles of beer and a coke and we were set! All that pedalling is thirsty work! (Never mind that the table-top almost wobbled off.) I think my hairdresser might just be right, with his saying "Shan shui jia tian xia!” If you live in or are visiting the Middle Kingdom, this is definitely scenery that has to be seen! This is Guilin. This is China. Tips for Your Trip (*I am not being paid to endorse any of the following, these are just my personal recommendations.) Car from Guilin Airport to Ping’an Village (around 250rmb). You can also catch a bus! Gate into Ping’an Village - 100rmb each, kids under 1.2 metres free. Bai Ke Hotel, Ping’an River Cruise from Guilin to Yangshuo - 550 rmb - kids under 1.2 metres free, Kids under 1.5 metres half price. (Note: There are different prices at different travel agents so it pays to negotiate.) Yangshuo Village Inn Yangzhou Mountain Retreat (Sister hotel on the river.) … [Read more...]