As a traveler to a country like China with thousands of years of rich history and culture that is doing its utmost best to adapt to a Western lifestyle, you will have to maintain an open mind as you travel and explore China. If you not only want to survive a visit in China but also enjoy it while there, read the following tips to ensure a memorable traveling experience in China. 1 Never expect to find an absolutely clean toilet the majority of the time. Be prepared by carrying your own roll of tissue; also, you might have to use a squat toilet. 2 When you find a clean toilet, take advantage and use it. It s recommended to use paid public toilets and if possible, to stay far away from the tough toilets that are found in bus and train stations. 3 The best most friendly toilets are the hotel lobby toilets. These you will find everywhere and are always kept clean, but they may not have toilet paper all the time. 4 Booking a tour to experience China may be one of the best choices in which most everything will have been checked out before the tour begins. But even the best planned tours may go wrong. Your motto: be prepared to handle situations such as with the toilet issue. 5 As you travel China and between meals, always carry a chocolate bar or two in order to keep you going until the next meal. 6 Only drink bottled or boiled water. Bear in mind that even boiled water may still contain plenty of minerals and iron deposits that you do not wish to carry in your system because of health concerns. So the safest option is to carry your own bottled water for drinking. Also, do not drink tap water; tap water in the big cities are only safe enough for brushing your teeth. 7 If you cannot understand the restaurant menu because it s written all in the Chinese language, look over at the next table to you and point to the dish that appears appealing and ask how much it is. 8 If you travel Shanghai through a taxis, try to get the Blue, Blue ish, White, Gold, or Turquoise. Why? There are the best four major taxi companies. Also, no driver will speak English. 9 Always carry with you your hotel business card written in Chinese at all times. So if you happen to get lost while walking anywhere in town, this can help you get back to your hotel. 10 For any reason, you have a problem, or you suspect you have been overcharged by a taxi driver, write down his number and make a huge fuss about it. The driver will usually fix the problem. 11 When visiting Shanghai, the taxi fare will go up after 11pm. But, you can generally bargain for a 20 discount. Always be strong when dealing with taxi drivers, yet, try not to lose your temper. 12 Carry a visa card which is great to have while shopping for anything.
