How to Survive in China

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How to Survive in China! Living in a country with over a billion people takes some getting used to…

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Fighting for your position

You would never get to understand what bad traffic jams and crowds until

you visit China.

Orderly queues in China are often disregarded, and people would

blatantly step in front of you, push past you or cut line to the front of the

counter as if you aren’t even there.

It gets much frustrating especially in famous places during the holidays

where it can take more than an hour just to buy a train ticket or more than

10 minutes to cross a bridge.

This is greatly influenced by overpopulation thus practice a lot of

patience, maintain your cool and don’t be afraid to stick out your elbows when

defending to maintain your place in line.

English level in China

Only a handful of people in China can speak English or even any other foreign

language for that matter.

The possibility of getting one person who speaks English gets, even more,

thinner when you move away from the bigger cities into the villages.

Taxi drivers, public institution staff, certain hotels and restaurant staff, bus drivers and so many other people you might interact with don’t know English and if they do it’s quite little that it might not help as much.

There are no two ways about this, just learn some Chinese. There are two types

of the most common Chinese which include Mandarin and Cantonese. Start from the basics like how to say ni hao:

“hello”, bu yao: “No”, xiexie: “thank you”, mei yuo: “can’t do it/don’t have it”.

Numbers in Mandarin are important too. One of the easiest ways is to use the

Chinese translator to help you understand what some words in China mean, such as

places names, subway or bus station names, directions and general useful

phrases that will help you get by.

Maps, subways, and taxis

It is always a good idea when you have a map written in both Chinese and English

with you whenever visiting the city on your own. This might be the only way you get to

communicate with your subway staff or taxi driver about where exactly you are

going to.

You might find the maps in hotels where they display free ones, and others sell them. Also don’t be scared to use the

subway since they have such a nice underground network and if you are lucky you can find one displaying the names in

English.

When you get into a taxi, ask the driver to start the fare meter especially in big cities

for they might easily rip you off. Ask for the receipt and if it looks that they have

overcharged you, then consult with the taxi company. If it’s true to complain to get you

extra money back.

Asking information on the streets

The information you get from the people on the streets is quite unreliable. Well, the Chinese people are very friendly and fond of foreigners and always have the desire to help but when does a rumor become the

real deal.

They might give you information they heard someone say or read on some blog some time

back which might not be applicable today. When you want to get information about places, for instance, consult reliable travel websites or learn from getting lost which

might just be exactly what you do not need.

Food Rules

The Chinese food culture is quite diverse, and most of the people tend to share

dishes whenever they go out rather than ordering the food separately.

You might also learn some have habits of bringing the orders one after another, for

instance, they might serve you the duck first then bring the rice after you are done. If you

happen to experience this, let they waiter know that you would love your orders to be

served at the same time assuming the waiter understands English.

Get prepared about their choice of drinking hot water be it in summer or winter. They believe it’s good for your health, and the

alternative can be tepid but not cold water.

Superstitions

In China, people are quite superstitious. They believe color 8 and 9 are the lucky numbers while number 4 is the unlucky number since it represents the sound of

death.

When presenting gifts do not wrap then in white or black, but they prefer their festive

color red which they believe represents success and good tidings.

You will be able to learn that house numbers, phone numbers or car numbers with 8 in them are in demand and quite

expensive because people believe that they are the luckiest of all charms and represents

prosperity. It is also expected that death shouldn’t be brought up in any conversation.

Good Manners

China is a collective community and family, and friends union is quite strong. When

you take somebody out, it’s expected that you will pay for the meals and never order

only your food since food in China is for sharing.

You will also realize that guys in China carry their girlfriend’s handbags as a sign of chivalry, and they are not necessarily

fashion-mongers or gay.

The Chinese people might also ask to take a selfie with you, so you’ve got to be kind

and learn how to smile like a celebrity. You will also realize that they stare at the

foreign visitors especially the fair-skinned blond people and call them “laowai.”

It can get overwhelming when you are out but try as much as you can to maintain

your cool. In China, pointing at people with your index finger frowns upon thus when

presenting something better use your entire hand but not the index finger

because it’s offensive.

BonusClick on the link below to read the full blog post.

http://blog.laowaicareer.com/inside-out-relearning-simple-things-in-china

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