1: Not every hotel accepts foreigners

When I was in Nanjing, there was one night I could not find a hotel that will take me, not even when I had an Australian passport. Typically, cheaper hotels will require a Chinese local ID. When you book your hotels online, make sure they accept foreigners.

2: Hotels don't need your credit card.

Hotels will typically take a few hundred RMB as security deposit on arrival and return it to you upon departure (if your room is clean and nothing is damaged).

3: Many public toilets are squatting toilets and do not have toilet paper in them.

Many people prefer squatting toilets because you won't have to touch the seat. Therefore, most toilets will not have seats. You'll also need to bring your own toilet paper.

4: Paying for things with your phone often gets a discount.

If you have Alipay or WeChat Pay installed on your phone and linked to your Chinese bank account, you can sometimes get a discount when you pay with these apps. Use the Meituan app to search for nearby shops / restaurants / tours etc. with special offers.

To open a Chinese bank account watch this video:

5: If you go on a tour you are very likely to be taken to shopping factories etc.

If you sign up with a cheap tour, chances are there will be compulsory shopping. If you refuse to buy you may end up in trouble. Be careful.

6: Taxis are cheap.

Sometimes it may be worth while to catch a taxi. In comparison to Australia, Chinese Taxis are the same price as Australian buses. You can also call taxis using an app similar to Uber called Di Di.

7: Security checks for metro / fast rail

Get used to putting your bag through X-rays. It'll happen a lot. Read details for catching fast rail here.

8: Google / Youtube / Facebook is blocked.

Alternatives in that order: Baidu for searching, Youku for videos and WeChat / QQ for messaging.

You could access gmail or facebook through a VPN but it's slow and not always working. I signed up to QQmail before going to China and set up auto forwarding from my gmail account.

9: Can't use Google maps.

If you want to find your way around, either use Baidu Map or Iphone Maps.

10: Mobile SIM card

I got a local Chinese mobile SIM card at "China Mobile". They needed to see my passport. I paid 70 RMB for 2gig of internet data and 18 RMB for 50 minutes of talk (1 month expiry). Make sure you tell them that you want to enable overseas calling, otherwise by default you can't call overseas numbers!! Watch this video for details:

Note: Information obtained in early 2016. May not be current.