More ? regarding China

[KenC]

It appears as though I am traveling to China last week in April.  My final destination is Chongqing.  Now that it is all becoming real, I have a few questions for anyone in the know here.

Any specific dress code?
Is there any difference in electric?
Any tips on selecting a hotel?
I am roughly budgeting a $100/day in expenses (not including hotel.  Enough?
Will I be able to navigate the Bejing airport w/o any Chinese?
Navigating airport to hotel?
Will my debit card be accepted?
Any gift giving insights?

Again ALL input is welcomed.
KenC

[Capstone]

It appears as though I am traveling to China last week in April.  My final destination is Chongqing.  Now that it is all becoming real, I have a few questions for anyone in the know here.

Any specific dress code?
Is there any difference in electric?
Any tips on selecting a hotel?
I am roughly budgeting a $100/day in expenses (not including hotel.  Enough?
Will I be able to navigate the Bejing airport w/o any Chinese?
Navigating airport to hotel?
Will my debit card be accepted?
Any gift giving insights?

Again ALL input is welcomed.
KenC

Hi Ken,

It is great to hear that you have decided to take the plunge and are making a trip to China - it is the only way to find out if China & Chinese culture is truly for you. I will try and answer some of your questions.

1. Dress Code - Nothing too fancy is required although I would suggest taking 1 or 2 nice outfits in case you end up going to some really nice restaurants, etc. You will find that most Chinese dress pretty casually most of the time. In summer time I usually pack about 2 nice outfits and then a couple of pairs of jeans and some polo shirts and a couple of pairs of shorts & t-shirts.

2. Electric - Yes China runs on 220V as opposed to 110V here in the states. But most power supplies for electronics these days will work on either - I don't have any problems using my laptop in China. You will need an adapter plug for your electrical items though as the prongs are different there. Most decent hotels in China have adapter plugs that you can use during your stay though - just ask for one when checking in. Or you can buy one at any Target or Walmart to take with you.

3.  Hotel - I would ask the woman that you are going to visit for hotel recommendations in Chongqing. I have never been there and can offer no specific suggestions. A good online Chinese travel agent that you can search for hotels though is www.Ctrip.com. If you are going to stay in Beijing a night or 2 then I can recommend the Park Plaza Wangfujing Hotel which I have stayed at several times - really nice place. It is located in the Wangfujing neighborhood and is conveniently located within walking distance of the Forbidden City.

4. $100/day for expenses not including the hotel will be more than enough. Food & transportation are both very cheap in China. You may want to splurge one night and take your girl and her whole family out to a really nice restaurant but doing so definitely will not break the bank.

5. Navigating the Beijing Airport is a breeze - all the signs, directions, etc are in both Chinese & English. It is a very modern and clean airport.

6. Airport to Hotel - If you are alone, you may find this to be a challenge as most taxi drivers in China do not speak English. What I always do is go to the website of the hotel that I am going to be staying at and print out the name of the hotel & address in Chinese and then just show that to the cab driver - it has always worked for me.

7. Your Debit Card should work at most ATM machines in China - mine has worked at all the ones that I have ever tried it in. I usually use mine at one of the major Banks - Bank Of China, China Construction Bank, HSBC, etc. Don't plan on being able to use it at any restaurants, shops, etc as most of those which do accept credit/debit cards, only except Chinese ones. Now the big western restaurant chains, hotels, etc will pretty much all accept foreign credit cards.

8. Gift giving - if you are going to be giving gifts to any older people such as parents, other family members then Ginseng & Fish Oil tablets and American Chocolate always seem to go over well. Or if you know that they drink then a bottle of good Western booze is also great (Chinese really seem to like Hennessy VO). As far as giving a gift to your girl, that is pretty individualistic depending on her likes, etc.

EDIT: More concerning the use of debit cards. Bank of America has an agreement with China Construction Bank where BoA customers can use their BoA debit cards at any China Construction Bank ATMs in China without incurring any surcharge fees that one normally encounters when using an ATM that does not belong to one's own bank. So if you happen to have a BoA account be sure and use China Construction Bank ATMs.

[Capstone]

BTW - If you haven't already gotten your Chinese visa yet and do not live in or near a city in which the Chinese Embassy or one of the Consulates are located (DC, New York, Houston, Chicago, Los Angeles & San Francisco) then you will need to use a visa service to obtain a visa as visa applications are not accepted by mail. I have used www.mychinavisa.com for my last 3 visas and have always received prompt & reliable service from them and would highly recommend them. No matter how you get your visa be sure and choose the multi-entry L visa with a 1 year validity as it costs the same as a single or double entry visa and gives you unlimited entries for 1 year.

 

[jm21-2]

Can only add a few things to what Capstone said...

For electronics, just about every place, including homes, seemed to ahve surge protectors which would allow the use of a US style plug. It was never a problem to plug in my laptop or cell phone and that's really all I needed electricity for.

This will vary from person to person, but it seemed most people preferred American branded goods in larger quantities vs. something that was more upscale. E.g. a couple cartons of Marlboros were preferred to some high end cigars. Seems like damn near every Chinese guy smokes....

Oh, and you have to basically give money away to spend that much per day. The exchange rate has changed a bit but $100 should go a long ways. You should be able to go to a pretty nice restaurant for about $10 per person, with some quick street food for a pittance when you're on the go....taxis, buses, and trains are cheap...

[KenC]

Thanks Cap.  Great info and exactly what I was looking for.  How about using my cell in China?
Ken

[KenC]

jm,
So, I take it, if I want to smoke American cigs, I have to bring em?
Ken

[Capstone]

Thanks Cap.  Great info and exactly what I was looking for.  How about using my cell in China?

If you have an unlocked quad band GSM phone then no problem at all - just pop a China Mobile SIM card into your phone and you are up and running. CDMA phones also work in China but since you can't plug a local SIM card into them, then you will be paying roaming charges out the butt. If you don't have an unlocked quad band GSM phone just wait until you get to China and buy one - you can get a Chinese phone dirt cheap to use during your visit.

[Capstone]

American cigarettes are pretty easy to find in China but they are very expensive and as such are highly prized. Like JM said - it seems like just about every Chinese guy smokes and so you won't find too many places where you can't light up.

[KenC]

Cap,
Again, thanks for the info.  BTW, my visa ap is going in today to CVSC.
Ken

[Capstone]

Cap,
Again, thanks for the info.  BTW, my visa ap is going in today to CVSC.

Good luck on your trip and above all else have fun! I wish that I was going with you but I will be heading over again in September.

[jm21-2]

If you need to unlock your phone for international use, I highly suggest doing as much as possible from home. My first trip abroad I had a smartphone with a touch screen and the phone company told me to put in the unlock code while it was starting up (impossible with a touchscreen) and took me a bit to figure out what i needed to do to unlock it. Also, the internet on the Chinese sim card I got in China wouldn't work with smart phones....I'm guessing that's probably gotten easier but it can be hard to communicate what exactly you want with the phone plan unless your GF is fairly tech savvy. 

I don't smoke so didn't pay any attention to prices, but marlboros seemed to be pretty hot items over there for gifts. Capstone is right there are very few places you can go where there isn't smoking. Even crowded internet cafes filled with kids have cigs and beers readily available. I've never experienced another country with so much public smoking.

[Jeff S]

Sounds like Cap covered things pretty well. Beijing Airport has many information desks with English speaking attendants who are friendly and helpful.

I don't know Chongqing either, but if you stay in nicer, Western style hotels in many Chinese cities, and like to eat at great places, the $100 a day might be a little light. If you're OK with local kinds of places and meals, it should be plenty.

I regretted lugging nice suits on my first trip to China. Dress slacks and long sleeve shirts should cover you even for business, banking, and other meetings that would call for suits and ties here or in Japan. I never felt out of place with no jacket even at the nicest restaurants.

Yeah - for about $30 you can pick up a dual sim, unlocked quad band iphone clone there. You pop your sim in plus a local prepaid sim, and you have an instant two line smart phone, one US number, one Chinese number. Beware of smart phone data plans though - you'll get charged extra for the long distance email checking. Check with your carrier and turn off your phone data plan before leaving. I take a laptop. The hotels all have free broadband or ethernet - at least the ones I've stayed in.

[KenC]

If you need to unlock your phone for international use, I highly suggest doing as much as possible from home. My first trip abroad I had a smartphone with a touch screen and the phone company told me to put in the unlock code while it was starting up (impossible with a touchscreen) and took me a bit to figure out what i needed to do to unlock it. Also, the internet on the Chinese sim card I got in China wouldn't work with smart phones....I'm guessing that's probably gotten easier but it can be hard to communicate what exactly you want with the phone plan unless your GF is fairly tech savvy. 

I don't smoke so didn't pay any attention to prices, but marlboros seemed to be pretty hot items over there for gifts. Capstone is right there are very few places you can go where there isn't smoking. Even crowded internet cafes filled with kids have cigs and beers readily available. I've never experienced another country with so much public smoking.

I dunno, ever been to Russia?  Can't be any worse.
Ken

[KenC]

I don't know Chongqing either, but if you stay in nicer, Western style hotels in many Chinese cities, and like to eat at great places, the $100 a day might be a little light. If you're OK with local kinds of places and meals, it should be plenty.

Jeff,
I was saying $100 for daily expenses not including hotel.
Ken

[Jeff S]

Ah! Then it should be plenty.

[KenC]

What about money exchange?  Here?  There?  New bills required?
Ken

[Capstone]

What about money exchange?  Here?  There?  New bills required?
Ken

Up until very recently you could not buy RMB outside of China and even now you can only do it at a very few select financial institutions. I believe that some Travelex locations now sell RMB but their exchange rates on all currencies are usually not very good at all. I wouldn't even worry about it until you get to China. I would exchange some money at the airport in Beijing when you arrive. There will be a multitude of places to do this - money exchange kioks, banks etc. Or you could just withdraw some rmb from an airport ATM. I have always gotten the best exchange rates at my hotel though which in most countries is one of the worst places to exchange your money.

For the US dollars that you do take to exchange, new crisp $100 bills are preferred. Most places will not exchange any US currency which is torn, wrinkled, written on etc - so be sure that the money that you take is in good shape. I was in Guangzhou once and tried to exchange $100 worth of $20 bills at my hotel and then several banks and no one would take them because they were a little wrinkled & worn. So I went back up into my hotel room and got the iron and ironing board out, sprayed a little starch on the bills and ironed them out so that they were no longer wrinkled and a bit more stiff. I then took them back down to the front desk at my hotel where just an hour before they had refused to exchange them and got them exchanged without a problem.

Luckily I now have a Chinese bank account and so no longer have to worry about exchanging money, I just go to the nearest Bank of China ATM upon arrival and withdraw some cash without having to pay any sort of fees or worry about what the exchange rate is.

[jm21-2]

I dunno, ever been to Russia?  Can't be any worse.
Ken

Never been to Russia.

The pollution in China was so dense my sense of smell was dulled enough I didn't notice the smoke as much....not really sure whether that's a good thing....

Changing money was easy. I could have a nice trip for maybe $20-30 per day excluding hotel costs. But then I only spent maybe $700 my last trip to Taiwan, including hotel costs, for about 10 days, so I'm probably on the frugal side. The biggest expenses are traveling long distances and swanky restaurants. At least in Qingdao you could get a really great meal out for maybe $10 per person. Street food or more modest restaurants (which sometimes are really good) are very cheap. But if you want french food and alaskan king crab you might pay more than in the US. I might splurge one night and get a private room and waiters at a nice restaurant once just for the experience....something I would never do in the US. I will never forget having my wine glass constantly refilled with Qingdao beer by an attentive waiter whilst dining on snails and funky looking shrimp that had just come out of the tank....

[Jeff S]

"On the frugal side?" I'd put it a little bit different way.

I don't know why anyone would want to eat Alaskan crab in China - the local seafood, while maybe a little weird looking, is fantastic tasting. The beer is pretty good too - but that Chinese booze is horrid, IMO - Way too perfumey.

Ken - if you're a booze drinker, like scotch - pick it up at home or on the international flight. They have it for a great price on the plane - but remember to stash it in your checked baggage after you arrive in Beijing. They do not allow bottled liquids in carry-ons on Chinese domestic flights.

[Capstone]

The beer is pretty good too - but that Chinese booze is horrid, IMO - Way too perfumey.

And the baijiu is a silent killer also - it will sneak up on you after a few shots without too much warning. I was invited over to have dinner at one of my wife's best friends home during one Spring Festival and her friend's dad kept insisting that all the men take shot after shot of the baijiu all throughout the evening. I definitely paid the price for that free dinner!

[jm21-2]

The seafood in China was dirt cheap and amazing...Taiwan was more expensive but maybe even better quality. Nothing like having a super-fresh meal at a seafood market. All the sushi I had in Taiwan absolutely blew away anything I had ever tasted in the US...though I think in China sushi might not be as popular as in Taiwan.

I was surprised by some really nice dark beers in Qingdao. And the real Qingdao beer is pretty good. There's a lot of Qingdao beer that is not brewed the same and just has the Qingdao brand though...the Qingdao beer in Taiwan tastes like piss.... almost exactly the same taste as Taiwan beer.

Maybe Capstone or Jeff can chime in here, but a gift idea might be some American wines? I don't remember about China but wine was really expensive in Thailand and Taiwan. Maybe five times the price as it sells for here.

[Capstone]

Maybe Capstone or Jeff can chime in here, but a gift idea might be some American wines? I don't remember about China but wine was really expensive in Thailand and Taiwan. Maybe five times the price as it sells for here.

From what I have gathered wine has just not caught on that much with the masses in China for some reason. I see a lot of it available in the stores but don't often see it in people's homes - baijiu seems to rule with the masses followed by western whiskeys, cognacs, etc with the middle & upper class. Every time that I go into someone's home I always see a bottle of Hennessy, Johnny Walker, etc in a cabinet or glass display case but rarely see a bottle of wine.

You can buy bottles of wine in a walmart that range in price from $1 up to several thousand dollars (I once saw a $2700 bottle of French wine in a walmart in Xiamen). The biggest selling wine in China is the locally produced Great Wall brand which ranges in quality from piss to decent (price range varies). But hey you can always ask ahead of time to gauge rather or not someone likes wine or not - and I am sure that if it is a French or California wine it would be appreciated just because it is foreign.

[Ray]

Every time that I go into someone's home I always see a bottle of Hennessy, Johnny Walker, etc in a cabinet or glass display case but rarely see a bottle of wine.

Same with the Philippines. Wines just aren't that popular.

But even for someone who doesn't drink, a good bottle of foreign whiskey, scotch, or cognac is always welcome (unless their religion strictly forbids it in the home). A bottle of import booze is usually displayed in a prominent place and offered to important guests.

So when in doubt, bring a bottle or two for gifts. Philippine customs law allows visitors 2 liters of alcoholic beverage the last time I checked.

Ray

[kerouac]

Thank you for the plenty of information, everybody

[Capstone]

Thank you for the plenty of information, everybody

Welcome aboard. Are you thinking about taking a trip to China in the future?