Coming to China for a holiday? Whether it is long or short, it’s a place that should not be missed! However there are some things that you may want to start practicing before coming into China.

---

1. Get flexible and practice squatting

Yes, without a doubt the Asian squat (full squat) is a common pose in China.

“Why do I need to learn how to squat?”
Because my friends, at some point you need to use a public squat toilet.
Now, squatting is actually a good exercise too. The Asian squat is also the full squat where you bend yr knees with your heels touch the ground. According to sources, the full squat is also healthy for the bowel system and squat toilets are considered more hygienic. But if you can’t squat, don’t worry; your hotels definitely have seat toilets. Have you read about China’s Toilet Revolution?click this

2. Always have a pack of tissues or wipes with you

(p.s. not necessary this brand, could be any)
Well, most of the tourist spots in China are packed with people. So, not all public toilets provide wipes or sometimes they run out very quickly especially during peak seasons. It is best to carry at least a pack of tissues or wipes with you. It’s very easy to buy a bundle of 6 pocket-size packs or wet wipes from a convenient store or just walk in any supermarket. Just look for the words 超市(supermarket) or便利店(convenient store). There are also 7-Elevens available in most cities in China.

3. Using chopsticks

Chopsticks is the most common utensil to pick food and eat. This is not only practiced in China, but also in East Asia. But why do you need to learn how to use chopsticks in China? Well, there are situations that a restaurant may not have a fork (especially if it’s a small local restaurant). Besides that, using chopsticks will give you the advantage of enjoying all sorts of delicious noodles.

"What if I really can't use chopsticks? I have a child, she can't use it"
Most restaurants have spoons and you can ask if they have a plastic fork for your child. Try using the bamboo chopsticks 竹筷 as it is much easier to handle.
source

4. Check Your Notes (SUPER IMPORTANT!)

Checking the notes is one of the MOST IMPORTANT habits you should develop before coming into China. Whenever I receive a 100yuan or 50 yuan notes, I will just check it and inspect it in front of the person that gave me these notes. Even if the person is your friend or subordinate because you just want to take precaution and avoid conflict .

“Why is it so important?”
Because you don't want to hold fake notes with you. Be very careful when you are making a payment at the souvenir market or at hot tourist spots. I would say not all vendors are truthful and honest at those places. There are occasions where you may get fraud notes if you’re not careful in China, especially for 100yuan and 50yuan notes. The safest way to buy stuff? Avoid the 100yuan bill and 50 yuan bill or use mobile payment like Wechat or Alipay. Notice that even if you pay them with 100yuan or 50yuan notes, they will check it too. You will see them feeling the notes and checking them under the light. So what I suggest is when you go to the currency exchange center, you can ask them to teach you how to identify the fake notes. Another suggestion is, before coming into China, have some Yuan notes with you so you are familiar with them.

5. The language

Knowing some basic Mandarin language will always be an advantage to you. I highly recommend that you download Pleco. I find it helpful for foreigners who just came to China. The dictionary itself is free but if you can’t write the characters you can buy the premium version which comes with optical camera recognition that is compatible with IPhone and Android.

sourceYou can download Pleco on Google Play or Apple store

Another way to learn the language is to sign up for classes at Confucius Institutes. They are available worldwide, you can check out their official website here http://english.hanban.org/

6. Paying with your phone

If you are planning to stay in China for more than 7 days or you’re plan to visit China often, I strongly suggest that you do a bit of research on using Wechat and Alipay because it makes payment quick and easy. It is highly recommended that you download the two apps from baidu.com instead of google play because the Chinese version of the apps(you can adjust language settings) has the payment features in yuan. From Wechat itself you can book a taxi, buy drinks from the vending machine, book a train ticket, make payment, transfer money. Almost everything can be done on Wechat.

source

7. Get connected

If you want to get the best of your travel, it is always good to be equipped. If you want to understand more about what can you do or how to go about in China, the best way is talk to someone from here. If you have the time, you can interact with Chinese exchange students near you of the university in your area and get to know more insights about the culture. You might want to ask if there are any dos and don’ts when you visit China. Or when you are making your tourist Visa at the Chinese embassy, you can check out the brochures they have. Remember, there is always information at the embassy because they want to boost tourism.

8. Drinking hot water

In some countries, one may drink water straight out of the tap or just cold water. For most people, it's refreshing. But in China, it's bad for your health. You might want to buy bottle water especially in the northern parts of China because the tap water here is not drinkable. And if you go to restaurants, it is most likely they will serve you hot water because the Chinese believe it is good or your digestion especially during meals. You can always wait for the water to cool down to room temperature to drink it. I'm one of those "converted" to drink warm water because it helps me to relax so you might want to get used to it too.

9. Maps

For your information, Google Maps doesn't work in China. It is a plus if you can read Chinese characters because I considered Baidu Map as the MUST DOWNLOAD APP. It is the best because it acts like a GPS and could guide you to the places you want to visit. It provides information of the various public transport you can take, which directions to walk to get to your destination. And it has a function button where you can search for the facilities near you. For instance: convenient stores, banks, shops, restaurants ect.

source

10.Virtual Private Network a.k.a VPN

sourceLast but not least, do not forget The Great Firewall of China. I remember thinking I could survived without VPN the first few months but I was so wrong. Be sure to download your VPN before coming into China because it is IMPOSSIBLE to access Google, Whatsapp, Facebook, Youtube, Google Play, Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest, Dropbox, Snapchat, Blogger, and lately Skype in China without a VPN.(There's more)

So far, we could still use Steemit to post our travel updates! YAY
Most free VPN doesn't work in China so you might want to check out some of free VPNs that allows limited time access to the websites. I personally use SuperVPN which is good enough, you could use lantern(but it's not really strong).
CAUTION: VPN takes a lot of your mobile data.

That's the ten list I can come up with. If you plan to print it out, be sure to highlight no. 4. Because if you're careful, the people would know you are not to be fooled. Another thing you could do is get connected to foreign students in Beijing. If you need a guide in a certain language or would like to hire a guide, students like us have communities in school and we can help you to spread the word around and maybe you can get a really good guide. You could also check out The Beijinger which is an expat guide in Beijing.

What do you think about this article? I hope it helps you a lot because I learned so much from being here. If you like this article, give me an upvote and comment on what else you want to know about coming to China. To learn more about my upcoming post you can follow me here @asianetworkCheers,
Reena.K

---

Previous Post The Toilet Revolution