{"id":6026,"date":"2019-06-05T18:03:31","date_gmt":"2019-06-05T10:03:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/interpreterdatabase.com\/?p=6026"},"modified":"2019-06-05T23:03:42","modified_gmt":"2019-06-05T15:03:42","slug":"7-useful-things-to-know-before-going-to-china","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/interpreterdatabase.com\/7-useful-things-to-know-before-going-to-china.html","title":{"rendered":"7 useful things to know before going to China"},"content":{"rendered":"
China is a huge and fascinating country, attracting more and more international visitors every year. Whether you intend to travel here for business or tourism, this article will be very helpful to make your China trip much easier.<\/p>\n
Don’t come to China expecting people to speak English, even if nowadays many young Chinese from big cities learn English at school, they are not the majority and very few are able to speak it fluently.<\/p>\n
Most suppliers are able to speak basic English related to their business, but when it comes to the details you’ll face the language barrier. It is recommended to hire an interpreter to avoid future complications.<\/p>\n
The language barrier is everywhere<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
2 – Payment methods<\/h3>\n
When traveling around China you’ll notice that most Chinese use their smartphone to pay for just about everything : restaurant, groceries, transportation, etc. While in the countryside cash is still preferred, in the urban area cash is becoming obsolete.\u00a0Everyone is using Wechat or Alipay.<\/p>\n
As a foreigner, you can also use your smartphone to pay. You can install Wechat on your phone and ask someone to transfer money to your Wechat account.<\/p>\n
Credit Cards are accepted only with some hotels, high-end restaurants and foreign brand shop. Therefore, you should always bring cash with you during your travel.<\/p>\n
You can exchange currency with your bank before departure, at the airport with a currency-exchange shop or you can withdraw money from some Chinese ATM Machine such as HSBC and ICBC.<\/p>\n
<\/div>\nAlways bring cash with you<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
3 – Transport solutions<\/h3>\n
Car<\/strong>\u00a0: In china you can rent a car with driver from \u00a5400 to \u00a51000 per day, the price varies according to the city and the class of the hired vehicle. Foreign driving licences are not valid in China.<\/p>\n
Taxi<\/strong> : They are cheap, plentiful and available 24h\/24h. But taxi drivers don’t speak English, then it is recommended that you have with you the phone number and the address of your destination written in Chinese.<\/p>\n
Always ask for the receipt, there is the taxi’s plate number on it. You can call the taxi company’s phone number in case you lost something or if you have any complaints.<\/p>\n
Metro<\/strong> : Most big cities offer a modern metro system and it is the best solution to avoid traffic jams during rush hours. The bags are inspected with an X-ray machine at each station before entry.<\/p>\n
The operating hours for most metro stations usually starts between 5:00 to 6:00 in the morning and ends between 22:30 to 23:00. In every station there is a map in English to help guide you.<\/p>\n
Train<\/strong> : The high-speed train also called “Bullet train” is one of the fastest train in the world and is very comfortable. By way of indication, a Guangzhou-Shenzhen ticket cost around \u00a575 in second class, \u00a595 in first class and \u00a5195 in business class. It is recommended to make a reservation, at least 1 day before departure.<\/p>\n
<\/div>\nTaxi are cheap and plentiful<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
4 – Phone & Internet<\/h3>\n
In China you will want to use your phone to make calls and access internet. But unless you have subscribed an international plan, your SIM Card won’t work here. One of the first thing you want to do once in China is to get a Chinese SIM Card.<\/p>\n
After landing in China, you can easily buy a SIM Card at the airport. You’ll just have to provide the retailer with your passport.<\/p>\n
In China, internet is available everywhere. Free Wi-Fi connections can be found in hotels, restaurants, coffee shop, airports, metro, etc. in every big cities and tourist towns.<\/p>\n
Be aware of the Great Firewall, it is the government’s solution to censor and regulate the internet in order to protect its citizen. In China you’ll not be able to access websites such as Google, Youtube, Facebook, Twitter, etc. while others will be significantly slowed down.<\/p>\n