Recently having gone to China for the first time and having made return trips, I want to share my knowledge. I've finally gotten Asia under my belt! I'm so excited to break into a new continent, despite all of the new things that came along with it. Bear in mind, China is a whole new world to westerners that takes some preparation ahead of time. If you're looking to go to China, check out some of these tips.

The long and the short of it is, buckle up. This is going to get interesting.

1. Visa

To visit China, you need a visa. Look into the visa requirements for your respective country to see what you need to do ahead of time. There are many details required to apply for this visa and your photograph has to be very specific dimensions. Brace yourself. It is interesting to note that the visa occupies an entire page of your passport and if you don’t have a free page, you will not get a visa.

2. Flight

Any trip like this will come with a long flight across the pond (if you're coming from the western hemisphere, of course). These flights are between 7 and 15 hours from the United States to China depending on where you are flying to or from. There are a few things that you can do to improve your flight quality. Check out this post on Surviving Long Flights.

I do not recommend booking any flights into either Shanghai airport (there are 2) in the early hours of the morning, but I will get into the details on that one later. Just take my word on this one, fly through some other city. Be aware that whatever airline you are using to get to China will likely not be the same airline that you use flying around China. Many airlines in the States have partnerships with Chinese airlines and that can lead to confusion. It also gets difficult to change flights in China, including when flights get cancelled. Save the number for your flight’s customer service in your phone so that you can deal directly with them, but know that they cannot always help you.

Depending on which airports you fly through, you may find that English is not heavily spoken and I will say that, like most countries, if you lead with the local language, you are better received. I learned enough Mandarin to say “Hello”, “Nice to meet you”, “Do you speak English?”, and “I’m sorry, I don’t understand Chinese.” Though Mandarin is a difficult language to master, the attempt can carry you far with some people. It’s always polite to learn the locals’ language before you go anywhere. Just because it’s difficult doesn’t mean you shouldn’t try.

3. Customs/Passport Control

Make sure you plan long layover times if you are routing through China for any reason. Customs here is a little different than in the States. It doesn’t matter if you are flying internationally or not, if you are changing terminals in a Chinese airport, you will be leaving security and going back through security when you enter your next terminal. Depending on which airport you are traveling through, you may have a long run or a even a bus ride ahead of you. Brace yourself.

It is important to note which airports you are flying into and out of, as well. This may seem strange, but I was routed into one airport in Shanghai and routed out of the other airport in Shanghai. This has a 40 minute bus trip between the two locations. Speaking virtually no Mandarin, this was a trick. I’m just grateful that I had someone with me that could help.

Once you get off of the plane from another country, you are routed through border control. This can take several hours. You must first go through Passport Control, then Customs, then Security. You will have to collect your luggage regardless of flight and continue to check that luggage in on your next flight. This is yet another reason why I love to travel carry-on only. It is possible no matter where you go.

One other note: Depending on where you route through, you will have to scan your fingerprints in the system to enter or exit the country.

4. Food

China is a big place. Different regions have different culinary customs. I was in Chongqing, in the heart of China and the food there is special. There is a dish there called “Hot Pot” and anyone who travels to this region simply must try it. The entire process is well worth the experience. Food is a very social thing in Chongqing. Eateries are on nearly every corner and the food overall is very good. There is a particular spice used in this region that I do not care for, personally, but that can’t be helped sometimes. The Szechuan peppers were amazing and in everything! There are less spicy dishes available, but if you want the heat, go to Chongqing.

The food tends to have a bit more oil in it than traditional American fare, so be warned if you have gallbladder troubles (or nice shirts). The oil will get on your clothes and refuses to come out. Cotton, chiffon, doesn’t matter. Be ready. Be wary of ordering “wine” lest you end up with a higher blood alcohol level than you intended. Best I can tell, there is no word in Chinese for what Americans would call wine. When you ask for wine, you get liquor. It is extracted from grape stems and it is delicious! Though it seems obvious, I should warn that actual Chinese food is nothing like Americanized Chinese food. Most things are not fried, very little is in a sweet sauce, although white rice is served with most dishes.

As with most travels, when you go out to eat, order bottled water and make sure the cap is tight. Only drink from sealed containers anywhere you go in the world. The local beer is delicious, though it is served at room temperature, much like Germany. The Chow Mein was my personal favorite dish of the trip with Kung Pao Chicken as a very very close second.

5. Transit

Getting around Chongqing is a trick, but once you get it down, you are good to go. There are buses that run in nearly every direction and a Metro underneath the city. The Metro is very easy to use, but like most transit, can get crowded quickly. Be sure you know where you are going before you get on the Metro or on the Bus. It is very easy to get turned around when you are surrounded by people.

The buses I took were only 2 Yuan per trip. In 2019, this is about $0.30 USD. Extremely affordable. I recommend Baidu Maps to use while you are there. You should know ahead of time that Google Maps does not work at all and Apple Maps works ok. The most updated information we found was in Baidu Maps. Also, Baidu translate worked quite well if you have your international data turned on. If you do not, then by all means, download the Google Translate app and download the Mandarin dictionary for offline use.

6. Pollution

Again, depending on where you go in China, the pollution levels will vary. Flying through Shanghai, the air quality was terrible. In fact, flying out of Chongqing, we found that nearly every flight into Shanghai in the early morning was cancelled, nearly every day. We later found out that it was because first thing in the morning, the air quality is worse than throughout the rest of the day. I am not sure why the hour is so important in this, but it makes a difference, especially when you are planning your routes to try and get home in the time-frame that you wish to. Heads up.

7. Airport Security

As mentioned a little before, airport security can be tricky. Whenever you transfer between terminals, you will have to collect your checked luggage and then re-check it in the next terminal. This can be a major inconvenience if you have a tight travel window. Plan ahead and book longer layover times to allow you to navigate what can be called a “hectic” environment.

Lighters are not allowed on planes in China. You will see buckets of them in every airport. Some airports have smoking areas, some do not. Shanghai, as of late 2018 had a smoking room. Beijing did not. Lighters are mounted to the wall in the smoke area to allow you to ingest your nicotine without too much hassle. Backup batteries, umbrellas, laptops, electronics, and charging cables must all be removed from your bag prior to entering the scanner in the security line. The process is: You walk up to the counter. A photograph is taken of you while an employee looks at your passport and boarding pass. A large red stamp will be placed on both sections of your boarding pass. You then step through a walled off area where you will remove the aforementioned items from your luggage and place your things on the belt to go through the scanner. If you have a back up battery, hand it to the guy working the machine, as he will not allow it to go through. If you have a water bottle, even if it is empty, they will kindly dispose of it for you. After your things go through the scanner, you walk through a metal detector and proceed to you rather intimate pat down. Every time I passed through an airport in China, no matter where I was in the country, I was patted down. I am still unsure why, but oh well.

8. Getting Around

Taxis are the way to go. Hold up your phone with the destination name and address and away you go. Buses, as I mentioned before are cheap and fairly easy to use, but they can get crowded in a hurry, especially on popular routes in peak times. The Metro seems sketchy until you get on the train, then it’s great all around. These were also not expensive. Taking a taxi is usually about 70 yuan or less depending on how far you are going. That’s about $10 US. If your hotel staff is good with English, they can also arrange a cab for you. Just remember to grab a business card of the hotel or take a picture of the front of the building showing the address and you’re in business. We walked many places, but Chongqing is not a small city and it can wear you down to walk that far for so long.

9. Getting Home

The little yellow piece of paper that they give you (Customs Form) on the plane before you land in China is important. It will split into two pieces. Fill out the first with the important information relevant to your stay. Detach and save the second. Do not fill this one out yet, this is important to remember. Cancellations and changes are very common in this country and your Departures information must be correct. Fill out you Departures slip once you are in the airport in line at Customs on your return journey.

Remember that you still have to go through Customs, Border Control, and Security before you reach your gate, so plan plenty of time. Three hours is the common recommendation for international flights and you can make it work here, as well. I tend to aim more on the 4 hour mark to ensure that I am at my gate before my plane takes off. I have been detained at security for longer than I was comfortable at times and this can lead to serious schedule-changing. It is better to spend more time in an airport in this case, than an extra day in the country. At least, that’s my opinion, especially when you have to work the next day.

Bonus: Jet-lag

Jet-lag is something that I had never experienced until a trip to the other side of the world. It is a really thing, y’all, so plan for it. I recommend staying up as long as you can on the flight over to try and adjust and sleep as long as possible on the return flight to help you get back to normal. Drink plenty of water every step of the way. They say that every hour of time change is a day of re-adjustment on the other side. Where ordinarily I would shake my head at this, when it comes to flipping your schedule by 12 hours, it seems to take some time to go back to normal. I found myself nodding off on the couch at 5 PM, waking up at 3AM, and being exhausted around noon. Drink water! I cannot stress it enough. When you’re body is experiencing this fatigue, it requires more effort to function. The main ingredient for helping that function is: you guessed it, WATER! So, drink up.

I hope you guys enjoyed these tips from a new China visitor. In 2018, I visited Chongqing 3 times, spending a grand total of 5 weeks there. It is an exciting city that will turn what you know on its ear. There are ancient cities, brand new buildings, factories with the latest technologies, and museums about Americans. Chongqing is not a heavily visited city by internationals, but is a gem nonetheless.

[Update on May 5, 2019]

Double Bonus

Quick add-on. Food in China is labeled with the production date, not the expiration date. I threw away some perfectly good food during my visit becuase I did not realize this until I was at the end of my trip. Don’t let this happen to you!

Hope you enjoyed it, I think I’ll write a Chongqing specific post in the near future to show you some more about this unique and cool city. Stay tuned.

Thanks y’all!