Taking a trip to China. Any Suggestions???

[anyonebutedmonton]

So on May 5th I will be taking a ridiculously long flight from Calgary to Beijing and will not be returning until June 13th. Its a school trip through the Risk Management department and I will be getting credit for 2 courses.

Here is my Itinerary:

May 5th - Leave Canada for China

May 6th - 12th Beijing - This is a sightseeing week that will include the Great Wall and Lost City

May 12th - June 6th Shantou - This is the reason for the trip as I will be studying at the local university for about 4 weeks.

June 6th - 13th Hong Kong - A buddy and I are venturing out on our own and plan to take a train/bus from Shantou to Hong Kong area and stay there for a few days before returning to Canada

I am hoping to gain some experience from the well travelled CP community. Any suggestions or tips would be huge.

[GirlySports]

McDonalds and KFC is your friend.
The food in China is awful!
It's better in HK.

You get so much time! I did a China tour which was 9 cities in 10 days and didn't get to wander around much.

[flamingchina]

Originally Posted by anyonebutedmonton

May 6th - 12th Beijing - This is a sightseeing week that will include the Great Wall and Lost City

In Beijing look for uygur (muslim) food. It's usually noted in a restaurant by having a green sign, usually with a crescent moon... fantastic food

The food situation will really depend on how well you can acclimatize to other foods.
If you're willing to experiment, it can be great, but there is some really crappy food there too.

[Gozer]

Visit Tibet. Ask for free stuff.

[J pold]

Be sure to stop by Tibet, I hear there is a lot of free stuff there

[Canada 02]

I use to live in HK, so tell me what kind of things you are interested in (food, shopping, culture, outdoors etc) and i'll suggest a few things

[Iggy's Forehead]

Don't do your best Russel Peters.

[Fozzie_DeBear]

In Beijing goto the Lama Temple (an AMAZING Bhudda there),

if you goto the Great Wall there are three main areas to visit, the closer to Beijing the more crazy/touristy, we hiked the furthest section called Simatai

...and try to get to the old ruined palace in Beijing
Get a good phrasebook with PINYIN, english and Chinese characters...get one with a MENU in it (Lonely Planet has a small one IIRC) and when you go to a restaurant you can point to dishes in the phrasebook to ensure you eat as little dog as possible

Also be sure to try eggplant over there...I am a total carnivore and I was blown away with the dish.

Good restaurants around the embassy district...

Learn the following phrases IN ORDER..."Wo Boo Yow" (I don't want it)...."Thai Gwai" (too expensive)..."Pee-yen ee dya" (Can I have it cheaper?)...if you pay more than 30% of the asking price in a marketplace you are being hosed...can't bargain in department stores though...Also learn "Shey-shey (Thanks) (sounds like "shave" without the "ve")...or "Shey-shey ni" (more polite)

Load up the ipod with free chinese lessons at Chinesepod.com (or through iTunes)

If you can get outside of Shantou try to get to Xian (overnight train ride but worth it if you are a History fan)

or Yangshuo (the Chinese equivalent to Banff)

I could on but PM me if you have any other questions...

[Teh_Bandwagoner]

Go fight a panda!

[Gozer]

Hookers and blow

[Machi]

-Tiananmen Square

are you flying to Shantou from Beijing? if not, it's gonna be a LONG ride.. lol

[LChoy]

Risk management huh...

- Wear a Free Tibet shirt
- Falun gung head band
- Have a picture of the Dali Lama on your backpack
- Accessorize with a mini fire extinguisher



Haha, seriously though

- Unless you are use to it, wear a light breathable shirt. The humidity really hits you when you step out of the airport
- The MTR (subway) is quite good and gets you around every where in HK

I’ll write more as I think of it

[Tron_fdc]

Make sure you go to the Silk Street market in Beijing. They sell all the fake stuff, and it's a great time wandering the halls, getting accosted by the girls selling the crap in the booths, and having them hex you when you out-negotiate them.

just remember....if they want $10 for something, drop a zero and offer that as your price. If you're paying $5 for the same item you're getting hosed.

[anyonebutedmonton]

Originally Posted by Canada 02

I use to live in HK, so tell me what kind of things you are interested in (food, shopping, culture, outdoors etc) and i'll suggest a few things

Honestly I am interested in everything. I want to try some different foods but Im not that adventurous. I have a really nice DSLR and I want to take some nice pictures.

[anyonebutedmonton]

Originally Posted by Machi

-Tiananmen Square

are you flying to Shantou from Beijing? if not, it's gonna be a LONG ride.. lol

Ya we will be flying. except from Shantou to Hong Kong but that isn't that far to train or bus so it should be ok

[Azure]

Don't get thrown into jail.

Come back safely with all body parts accounted more.

[Flaming Choy]

don't practice falun gong in public

[kermitology]

Originally Posted by GirlySports

McDonalds and KFC is your friend.
The food in China is awful!
It's better in HK.

I'm just a lowly gwai-lo, but I actually really liked the food in China.. so long as I didn't end up ordering tripe.

Why the hell do people eat TRIPE?!

[Fozzie_DeBear]

Originally Posted by anyonebutedmonton

Ya we will be flying. except from Shantou to Hong Kong but that isn't that far to train or bus so it should be ok

If you ever take a long train ride, spend the extra coin for the soft sleeper...

[Fozzie_DeBear]

Originally Posted by kermitology

I'm just a lowly gwai-lo, but I actually really liked the food in China.. so long as I didn't end up ordering tripe.

Why the hell do people eat TRIPE?!

I agree 100% some of the food in China blew me away...95% of the time in a good way and sometimes in a bad way...and in terms of bad food I never had poor quality food just really weird...and you would be doing yourself a disservice if you ate at KFC too much...they are EVERYWHERE...kind of like Starbucks here.