China Travel Advice

Q: I'm hoping to be spending roughly two weeks in China next year - specifically visiting the Huangshan Province (Yellow Mountains), flying into Shanghai, and possibly up to Beijing to fly on to Japan. I have traveled before but am concerned about the language barrier issues. How easy is to navigate successfully and get by in China with no knowledge of the language or alphabet? I know the places I want to visit are fairly well-traveresed by tourists but would love to hear from people who've done similar things.

As you mentioned, both Shanghai and Huangshan are popular travel destinations, so it is relatively easy for a foreign visitor to get around these places. What you need to do is to arrange your transportation and accommodation in advance. Do not count on getting there and then booking your flights, trains, etc., as this may be difficult even for a native speaker. The problem is not language but the scarcity of the tickets. Once you have arranged your transportation and accommodation, the rest is easy, even if you do not speak the native language.

In China, they start to sell tickets for a particular train 7 to 10 days ahead of the departure time, and often train tickets for a particular station are sold only in the departing city. If you have to travel by train and cannot be there early enough to get your tickets, you may need local assistance with this - the help of friends, travel agents, hotel staff and so on.

Plane tickets can be purchased much more in advance and the sale of tickets is not region-specific. As for long distance buses, in most cases you can show up, buy a ticket, and go. Still, you want to look into this as situation may vary from one bus station to another. Also find out about local transportation. For example, where in Huangshan are you going to stay? How do you get from your hotel to the mountain and then back? How long will you be on the mountain? Can you get up and down in a timely fashion? Which cablecar you’re going to take? Is it chilly up there? The trips are relatively easy, but you need to know what you can do beforehand. That way you do not have to ask around much as you go.

In addition to making advance arrangement for transportation and accommodation, there are a few little things you can do to deal with the language barrier. Get a card from your hotel that bear Chinese characters; this way you can show people - like a taxi driver - where you need to go. You can also print some cards yourself that bear some simple Chinese words and phrases such as restaurant, etc., just in case you need help. Many young Chinese have some basic English and they enjoy opportunities of talking to English-speakers. If you do need to talk, seek out young, college-looking fellows. If there is a decent hotel nearby, walk in and talk to the staff. In Shanghai and Huangshan, many signs are in Chinese and English. On some trains, especially express trains (D trains for example), announcements are made in both Chinese and English. If you're not sure, ask the conductors and they should be able to assist you. Again, you will not be all by yourself in Shanghai or Huangshan; there will be quite some people around, so you should be all right even if you do not know the native tongue.