First Time China Travel Help

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  jv on 17/07/2024 - 21:42

  +13

  First Time China Travel Help

  Give my travel agent a call…

• 

  keji on 17/07/2024 - 22:08

  +1

  How to get around within each city? eScooters are good but avoid unless you've driven there before. Try to use buses or metro

  What about taxis for further distance?
  Download Didi China while in China. Avoid taxis… there's tax in the word for a reason. Much more expensive than Didi.

  Is public transport easy to manage?
  Yes. Easy to manage but have a SIM that supports Google Maps. I had rubbish experience with Apple maps.

  Money situation
  Carry cash CNY5000 should be enough but WeChat/Weixin linked to your credit card should be sufficient. Wise can link with Alipay but you need to set it up in advance.

  Train Travel & Booking (Inter City/Bullet Train)
  Where do I book the trains for both Inter City and Bullet and how far in advance do I need to book? You can buy paper tickets for metro and regional travel on the day. In regional travel, there are different classes eg First, Business and Economy. First has food and a lot of space.

  Sim Card
  Chinese/Macau eSIM or get Astrill VPN which gives you IG, FB, WhatsApp and Google access in China

  Any other recommend apps or tips?
  Don't lose your passport

  • 

    activ8newbs on 17/07/2024 - 22:17

    Thankyou so much for your help

    1. How affordable is Didi?
    2. Can I setup WeChat for payment in Aus before I go?
    3. Is there a website I can book trains on?
• 

  goosmurf on 17/07/2024 - 22:37

  Argh, wrote a comment and accidentally unpublished it.

  Roaming is an easy way to get around the firewall.

  Get an eSIM whose home country is outside of China so that when you're in China the eSIM is roaming.

  Many travel eSIM providers around like Ubigi and Eskimo.

  Otherwise you can also try Felix Mobile. Just sign up for a new service before you leave and buy the $20 roaming pack. It has 365 day expiry, 4GB, and 100 minutes of calls which can be used to receive calls whilst overseas, and to make calls whilst overseas.

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  Wiadro on 17/07/2024 - 22:46

  -3

  dont say anything bad about the president

  • 

    pizzaforlunch on 17/07/2024 - 22:52

    so be like a normal tourist?

    • 

      coffeeinmyveins on 18/07/2024 - 09:57

      -2

      Difference with most countries is if you do that you won't end up getting disappeared and being an organ donor.

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  hocus on 17/07/2024 - 23:04

  For maps most Chinese people use AMap (Gaode Maps), Baidu Maps, or Tencent Maps. Problem is that they only have Chinese interfaces.

  A work around is to use Apple Maps (assuming you have an iPhone), as in China Apple uses map data from AMap, not Google. This means business listings, transit directions etc. are all up to date, and you can use an English interface.

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  markis10 on 18/07/2024 - 06:09

  Intercity trains can be booked here: https://www.12306.cn/en/index.html

  Getting around use bus/metro, if you have an iPhone you can add a metro card to your wallet for Guanzhou which is easier than cash.

  I use Alipay for payments in China, just link your credit card

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  tighttighttight on 18/07/2024 - 08:57

  China is totally cashless. Payment goes through apps (WeChat/ALiPay) with QR codes.
  I was told even beggars have their own QR codes.

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  rambutann on 18/07/2024 - 10:37

  I've been a few times, including twice this year (for business). It's a really challenging place if you aren't prepared.. happy to answer any questions.

  How to get around within each city? (eScooter/Taxi/Public Transport)
  I believe you can rent eScooters but what app/payment method do I need?

  Taxis and trains.

  What about taxis for further distance? I hear Didi is the way to go but I think I only have the Au version available on the play store. Is that the same?

  Use the DiDi link within WeChat, I managed to get this to work, but did not manage to get the China DiDi app to work…
  Another thing to bear in mind is that they will tell you a price, you pay that price, then if it ends up costing more you will have to pay more at the end, but it wont prompt you.. next time you go to book another DiDi it will say 'you still owe money from your last trip'.

  Is public transport easy to manage? What apps do I use? I hear Google maps doesn't really work.

  Nothing google works. China is hard to navigate as a foreigner.

  Money situation
  I've created a WeChat but don't think I can register for payments? Or at least I don't know how.

  Go into the app and verify yourself, there are websites showing how to do it. It's nerve wracking because UX is not China's strong suit so you don't actually know if its going to work before you land.

  Same with Alipay

  Use WeChat, dont bother with AliPay. I'm sure theres a way to get it to work but I did not succeed..

  I've also got a Wise Visa card. Not sure if that'll work.

  Completely useless besides in western hotels.

  Train Travel & Booking (Inter City/Bullet Train)
  Where do I book the trains for both Inter City and Bullet and how far in advance do I need to book? I'd like a flexible itinerary so would prefer to book at the time of travel

  I booked trains online when I visited as a tourist a few years ago.

  Sim Card
  I'm flying into Guangzhou. Can I just get a local Sim from the airport? And what about VPN? Or should inget an eSim and therefore no VPN required?

  VPN's/access to FB/Google is hard. They work sometimes. I have found Hotspot Shield works well but also doesnt work 60% of the time.
  I use Red Bull Mobile when travelling overseas. Its an app that acts as an eSim. Just buy 1GB at a time.

  Any other recommend apps or tips?

  Do lots of research. Nobody speaks english, there are no photos. If you can do it in a tour, i'd suggest that… I reiterate, China is hard.

• 

  markis10 on 18/07/2024 - 15:41

  Couple of myths being promulgated here.
  1. China is not hard, just different, accept they have a different money system and that access to the internet is not the same as at home, nothing like getting a message saying Facebook is unavailable when you were trying to get a news site on the hotel internet ;)
  2. China is not cashless, and cash is always accepted if you cannot use Ali or WeChat. Plenty of ATMs around, I use a HSBC savings account as it’s accepted at many of the ATMs and doesn’t charge a fee and uses the Mastercard/Visacard exchange rate, Macquarie Banks transaction card is just as good.
  3.Visa/Mastercard acceptance is limited but not just to hotels, larger stores take it including all McDonalds.
  4. Metros in Guangzhou and Shenzhen can get busy, if your arriving into Guangzhou suggest you stay the first night at an airport precinct hotel rather than negotiate the Metro during peak hour, they are surprisingly cheap and many have free shuttle buses that leave from the departures level road.
  5. Make sure your hotels have non smoking rooms available, the newer hotels are most likely smoke free but older ones can be on the nose if you are a non smoker.
  6. Keep aware when walking of your surroundings, it’s not unusual to be sharing the footpath with many bikes both ice and electric powered, if you don’t dither and indicate your intentions you will be fine, and when crossing roads don’t expect cars and bikes to obey signals.
  7. Have google translate on your phone with a roaming sim, invaluable to getting your request across (such as ice for your room etc)
  8. Don’t get sucked into duty free when heading there either in Aus or China, with the exception of wine, beer and spirits are readily available should you like a tipple at your local 7-11 or similar, cheaper at Walmart if you have one nearby. JW red 700ml was sub $20 last month on my most recent trip. Beer $1-2 a 500ml Tsingtao can

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  activ8newbs on 18/07/2024 - 15:47

  Wow thankyou so much everybody. Does anyone have a link to Bullet Train booking websites?

  • 

    markis10 on 18/07/2024 - 16:22

    Posted earlier https://www.12306.cn/en/index.html, that’s for all trains fast and slow

    Also have a read at https://www.travelchinaguide.com/cityguides/guangzhou.htm

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  ftweet on 18/07/2024 - 21:57

  +1

  I was in China last week and can give a few tips:

  1. Alipay - setup prior to arriving in China. Linked with my Up debit card. Super easy and only paid using Alipay in China no cash used at all.
  2. Sim cards - Purchased an eSim from TravelKon. Gave me full access to Google, FB, IG etc. I believe they have an in-built VPN so didn't need to purchase one separately.
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  Somewhat Anonymous on 22/07/2024 - 21:01

  Here are some of my tips

  1. Set up Alipay.
  2. Use your Wise account for AUD to CNY conversion. I put a limited amount of CNY into it each time.
  3. Use the Wise account to generate a virtual CC for use in China. Use this card in Alipay. Destroy the card after your travels.
  4. You can use Internet Roaming via Optus, etc. There are pros and cons.
     4.1 Pros: You can access anything you normally can access in AU, as the traffic from your mobile will be sent to AU before going out to the internet, so no Great Firewall
     4.2 Cons: If you are accessing ANYTHING in China, your mobile traffic will make a round trip to AU then back to China. This is especially evident when making payment; the China people tap their phone and instantly get confirmation, while yours lags by 2-5 seconds.
     4.3 Almost everything like buying food can be done from Alipay, so be patient while you are scrolling through menus deciding what to eat.
  5. Do NOT bank on getting a SIM when you land. I tried and it is almost impossible. There are almost no prepaids (due to scams), and they require you to sign a month-to-month plan with documentation (passport, etc), and you have to do it in person. Then you have to cancel in person.
  6. Another alternative is get a prepaid BEFORE YOU LEAVE from one of the many online shops. Some of these are based out of HK or Macau, so less Great Firewall rules (may still have some due to local restrictions), and round trip time is faster.

  You have not mentioned what cities you are going to. Some cities you can totally just use Alipay to pay for transport (Shanghai). Some cities you can't, and you have to buy a ticket each time from the ticketing machine (using cash). This is because although they all support Alipay and Wepay, most of them still need you to sign up to a local transport company account (through Alipay or Wepay). Some local transport companies accept your AU mobile number, some require a China mobile number.

  For bullet train, I would recommend you book in advance as the tickets can get sold out pretty easily. You will also need to book hotels in advance, don't expect to rock up and get a room because some hotels are unable to cater to foreigners.

  I find Alipay slightly better than Wepay. Also it has a 'translate' function that appears to work sometimes when you are browsing for food, transport, etc. You can also set up both before you leave, it doesn't cost you anything.

  Get some cash in CNY before you leave. You may end up NEVER using it. But it saved me a couple of times as the ultimate fallback. What I did end up using cash for
  - Food when I did not have mobile data
  - Train and bus fare

  I think the most important tip is to be prepared before you fly. Get everything planned and booked. Don't rely on "she'll be right". It is not that China is dangerous or Chinese are not helpful, but there is definitely a different culture/mindset, and sometimes they don't KNOW how to help you because there are so few tourists.

  I did a short trip last year through several cities, Shanghai, Hangzhou, Suzhou, by myself. Happy to answer any questions.