China has always been an odd-ball. Its recent success has convinced it of the sanity of its practices. Its current state is like that of an adolescent - young and unafraid, rude and unrefined but ambitious. Tourists will find it difficult to survive in this environment. Culturally it is incongruent with anything you may be used to. There are surprising sights around every corner. Despite its premier economic position in the world, it is resoundingly inefficient, probably because of the proliferation of SOE’s. For example, the three telecommunications providers each have its own model of iPhone - pick the wrong service provider and be doomed. Worse, no one that works at these companies know anything - a stark contrast to the five minutes it took to set up a 3G connection in Hong Kong for a fraction of the price. Train bookings are a nightmare as well. Many things in China require a Chinese citizenship card or a domestically issued bankcard, or a Chinese cellular number. You can see the circular argument that makes travel to China an abject difficulty. Also, note that a Visa is required for Canadians.
On the Yangtz River
China is obsessed with wealth. At a basic level, think of the “BMW” quotation, the emphasis on home-ownership in marriage, and the wonderful Youtube video on “Princess Syndrome” (indeed, this was a video on Hong Kong, so some of these issues cross straits). None of these issues are particularly problematic, except that the explosion of wealth in China has led to dishonesty. For example, at most tourist destinations, there is a charge to get onto the grounds and then an extra charge to enter the place of interest, unbeknownst to entrants. With the initial sunk cost paid, the additional cost is usually borne by the tourist, even if the entire cost would have been prohibitive. Then add the various transportation options inside the attraction and the destination becomes an unmistakable business.
In general, things are cheap. For example, a bullet train from Shanghai to Hangzhou, a one hour ride, is about 50 RMB. But the social stratification has resulted in “price discrimination” that is borderline dishonest. For example, an 888 RMB bottle of wine, i.e. an above-excellent bottle in any country, smells like soap. Even nice restaurants charge for tissue paper. Culturally, China will be surprising. Cold drinks are non-existent (so drink red wine, not beer). Take tissue paper with you - even nice places might not have it in washrooms. And finally, get used to unsanitary conditions. At Hubu Alley, a famed foodie street, a lady holds her infant son over a disgusting garbage bin so he can relieve himself. Also, anywhere where there’s water, there’s always a line of black mould along the cracks (even at the nice hotels and restaurants). At an hourly rental at Beijing Airport, the washroom looked reliably 3rd world. I was scared.
I had the pleasure of exploring inland china as a part of a wedding procession. The actual wedding of my cousin was over a year ago in Canada but the in-laws wanted a traditional wedding in Jingzhou, a small city near Wuhan. Without the normal religious influences of Western weddings, Chinese weddings are an odd mélange of all sorts of cultures and traditions: red bags containing money and tea drinking ceremonies from ancient China, European “wedding march” and wedding vows, and flashy lights from modern Chinese Communist television shows. Of course, there were oldies like “The Moon Represents My Heart”, popularized by one white sinophile who sang it in a remote Chinese village to the applause of the provincial Chinese.
Not far away is the ancient capital city of Xi’an, the gateway to China via the Silk Road. Tourists flock to the terra cotta warriors of Xi’an (g: Emperor Qinshihuang's Mausoleum Site Museum). It’s a sight of gargantuan proportion, 30 minutes out of town. It dates back to the Qin dynasty, which unified China over 2000 years ago. Unfortunately, the site is too touristy and artificial to make for an enjoyable experience. For example, on the way out, there is a forced 20 minute walk through tourist-trap stores. The history itself is worth exploring. Black soot can still be found on the pit walls, a remnant of the fires set by the rebels that overthrew the tyrannical Qin dynasty.
The best sights in Xi’an lie much closer to city centre. A particularly enjoyable activity is to take a bike ride around the city walls. But don’t expect to fully circumnavigate it - the path is so uneven that it makes for sorest hands and behind. The nicest part of the wall is the “south gate”. Considering going at night to see the walls light up. The other main attraction is Beiyuanmen street, or Muslim street (g: Beiyuanmen). It starts near the Bell and Drum towers (g: bell tower, xi'an; g: Drum tower, xi'an) - both beautiful in its own right but altogether uninteresting. The street itself is lively with the best food in town and arranged in night market fashion. A sampling of lamb mutton soup, spiced tofu, frozen yogurt, watermelon chunks, durian ice cream and lots of meat on sticks. This and other street food represent the best culinary experience in Xi’an. Restaurants in this city are so defunct that they do not deserve a mention.
Down Beiyuanmen is a mosque (g: 30 Huajue Alley) - an excellent display of multiculturalism in an otherwise uniform country. Inside, Chinese Muslims wear headscarves and Taqiyah. Also see the Arabic writing and prayer mats in Chinese architecture. A little ways away, see Buddhist pray/mumble at the Big Goose Pagoda (g: Big Goose Pagoda). In a neighbouring commercial alley, a few extra steps take you to the most down to earth experience in the city: the poor drinking afternoon tea (or beer) at rundown tables, listening to fat ladies sing century old songs (g: 34.22, 108.96). A final non-touristy attraction is the Tangbo Museum (g: 26 Gong Yuan Nan Lu), where you can learn Chinese calligraphy with a Chinese brush pen. The English-fluent tour guide explains the significance of the museum’s art, then tries to sell art created by students.
Going to China and surviving is a badge of honour. Experiences differ significantly, depending on attitude and the various localities of China. Shanghai, for example, is not too far from a Hong Kong: rich, westernized, less of a culture shock. Beijing is very much still the communist capital it has been for over fifty years. And “inner china”, the populous but economically undeveloped parts – they tend to be even more of a challenge to accept, probably because of their poorness.
Accessibility: China uses Chinese and most people speak Mandarin. English is not reliably used. Non-native Mandarin speakers will find it difficult to comprehend the various accents and grammatical oddities from non-traditional speakers. Most Chinese signs are spelt out in Pingyin, the Romanization of Chinese. Google maps accept both English and Chinese words but some locations are only searchable by Chinese characters. See the google guides (“g:”) in the article. Furthermore, Google Maps may be blocked or might be slow in China. Hotspot Shield or another way to bypass the censor is essential. China Unicom and China Mobile offer sim cards but they are somewhat difficult to attain. Some phones only work with certain networks so research beforehand. Google translate is essential. Taxis are usually difficult to hail and unreliable.