Stuff you need backpacking around China

Map of Chinese dialects The official language of China is Standard Mandarin, known in Chinese as Putonghua (普通话, "common speech"). It has been the only language used in education on the mainland since the 1950s, so most people speak it. However, the pronunciation varies quite a lot from region to region. Unless otherwise noted, all terms, spellings and pronunciations in this guide are standard Mandarin. As Mandarin is tonal, getting the correct tones is necessary for one to be understood. Many regions - especially in the southeast and south of the country - also have their own "dialect", all of which are tonal. These are really distinct languages, as different as French and Italian although referring to Chinese "dialects" as separate languages is a touchy political issue. Of true dialects within Mandarin, pronunciation varies widely and there is often a liberal dose of local slang or terminology to liven up the mix. The largest dialect groups are Cantonese, spoken in Guangdong (Canton) and Hong Kong, Wu (Shanghainese), spoken in the region around Shanghai, and Minnan (Hokkien, Teochew), spoken in the region around Xiamen. Note that the variant of Minnan spoken in Hainan is not mutually intelligible with the other variants. Many Chinese are bilingual in the local language and Mandarin. A few who are older, less educated or from the countryside may speak only the local dialect, but this is unlikely to affect tourists. It often helps to have a guide that can speak the local language as it marks that person as an insider, and you as a friend of the insider. As a general rule, almost all Chinese can understand spoken Mandarin even if they are unable to reply except in their local dialect. Of course, it goes without saying that learning a few simple phrases and sentences in the local dialects will very much enrich your travel experience, and will draw smiles and encouragement from locals, by and large. Whatever the spoken dialect, the written language is always the same. Even Japanese and Korean use many of the same characters with the same meaning. There is a complication in this, however. Mainland China uses "simplified characters", adopted to facilitate writing many years ago. Traditional characters are used in Taiwan, Hong Kong, Macau, and by many overseas Chinese, but also on the mainland in advertising and commercial signs. As a result you will just as often see 银行 (yínháng) as 銀行 for "bank". The simplification was however fairly systematic, which means that all hope is not lost for the traveller trying to pick up some sign-reading skills. Note that in calligraphy, the number of scripts is much more varied as different painters use different unique styles, though these have been grouped into five different styles. They are zhuanshu(篆书／篆書), lishu(隶书/隸書), kaishu (楷书/楷書), xingshu (行书/行書) and caoshu (草书/草書), of which kaishu is the official script used in China today. When calligraphy is written in kaishu, it is usually traditional Chinese characters that are used due to their superior aesthetic value. The casual traveller can easily get by without learning the other four styles though learning them would certainly help those with a deep interest in traditional Chinese art. In the far western reaches of the country, Turkic languages such as Uighur, Kirghiz, and Kazakh, Russian and Tibetan are spoken by some of the non-Han ethnic minorities. In the northern and northeastern parts, other minority languages like Manchu, Mongol and Korean and are also spoken in areas populated by the respective ethnic minorities. Yunnan and Guangxi in the south are also home to many other ethnic minorities such as the Miao and the Naxi who speak their own languages. However, Mandarin is generally usable too. Sadly some of the minority languages such as Manchu are dying out. See also: Chinese phrasebook, Cantonese phrasebook, Minnan phrasebook

English speakers

Although most Chinese are taught some English at school, and passing an English exam is a requirement for a university degree, the focus of the instruction is formal grammar and writing rather than conversation. As a result, few learn it well enough to be able to participate in an English conversation. Outside of the largest cities and the major tourist areas, it is quite rare to find locals conversant in English. That said, a few locals who have studied English as a second language in university (an especially if they studied abroad) generally have a reasonable to very good standard of English. Useful hint: it's often helpful if you try to simplify your English. Stay away from using complex phrasing like "Would you mind if I come back tomorrow?" and stick to simpler, more abrupt phrasing like "Tomorrow I will come back." This brings the phrase closer to its Chinese equivalent, and is therefore not necessarily condescending.

Learning Chinese

See also: Learn In the West, Chinese has a undeserved reputation for being difficult to learn. While it is very different from English and other Western languages, there is no reason that a traveler cannot learn to speak some basic Chinese. Elementary Chinese grammar is quite simple; the main difficulties are pronunciation and using tones. Written Chinese is famously complex and requires a great deal of study to master. However, learning to recognize just a limited number of characters will allow you to get information you need. This may even be simpler in Chinese than in languages with alphabetic writing systems, because in those languages you can't understand anything until you know the whole alphabet and acquire the required vocabulary. In Chinese it's relatively straightforward to pick up the characters, say, for "Internet cafe" or "fried noodles," without knowing anything else about the language. If you have a good visual memory, you may even end up knowing what a sign means without being able to pronounce it - a useful skill even if only to distinguish "exit" 出口 from "entrance" 入口. To bridge the gap between recognizing and reading out loud, pinyin was developed, which uses Latin script as an aid to teaching Chinese. Pronouncing pinyin is not intuitive for English speakers, as letters and combinations are not what you would expect, but learning it at even a basic level already has enormous practical value for the traveler. An understanding of the local dialect - often completely different from standard Chinese (Mandarin) - can be useful when traveling to more remote areas. But in those areas a phrase book that includes Chinese characters will also be a big help, as written Chinese is more or less the same everywhere.

Food in China varies widely from region to region. While visiting, relax your inhibitions and try a bit of everything. Keep in mind that undercooked food or poor hygiene can cause bacterial or parasitic infection, particularly during warm or hot weather. Thus it is advisable to take great care about (and perhaps abstain from) eating seafood and meat on the street during the summer. That said, hygiene is better than in, say, the Indian subcontinent. Chinese gourmands place emphasis on freshness so your meal will most likely be cooked as soon as you order it. Searing hot woks over coal or gas fires make even street food usually safe to eat. Do be on the lookout for ripoffs though; it is not at all uncommon to order a common dish (particularly at lowbrow restaurants) and receive a portion that is obviously much smaller than that ordered by a local sitting next to you, while still being charged the full price. However, if you can avoid such blatant tricks, eating in China can be a highlight (perhaps, the highlight) of your trip. NB: Certain dishes are prepared from endangered species, such as stew made from near-extinct turtles from South East Asia or soup flavored by the threatened facai moss, while other dishes may include ingredients that some people may prefer to avoid, such as dog meat. Therefore, it is advised to check the the contents of dishes before ordering.

Famous cuisines

• Beijing: home-style noodles and baozi (bread buns), Peking Duck, cabbage dishes, great pickles. Not fancy but can be great and satisfying.

• Cantonese / Guangzhou / Hong Kong: the style most visitors are already familiar with to some extent. Not too spicy, emphasis on freshly cooked ingredients and seafood. Dim Sum (点心) (small snacks usually eaten for lunch/breakfast) are a highlight.

• Fujian: ingredients mostly from coastal and estuarial waterways. "Buddha Jumps over a Wall" (佛跳墙) is particularly famous - the story is that the smell was so good a monk forgot his vegetarian vows and leapt over the wall to have some.

• Guizhou: combines elements of Sichuan and Xiang cuisine, making liberal use of spicy, peppery and sour flavors.

• Hunan: occasionally referred to on menus as Xiang cuisine, is actually the cuisine of the Xiangjiang region, Dongting Lake and western Hunan Province. Similar to Sichuan cuisine, but can actually be "spicier" in the Western sense.

• Shanghai: because of it's geographic location, Shanghai cuisine is considered to be a good mix of northern and southern Chinese cooking styles. The most famous are xiaolongbao(小笼包) and Chinese chives dumplings (韭菜饺子).

• Sichuan: widely available outside Sichuan, and famously hot and spicy, though not all dishes are made with live chilis. Arguably the finest PRC cuisine. If you want really authentic Sichuanese food outside Sichuan, look for small shops in neighborhoods with lots of migrant workers. These tend to be much cheaper and often better than the ubiquitous up-market Sichuan restaurants.

• Zhejiang: includes the foods of Hangzhou, Ningbo, and Shaoxing. A delicately seasoned, light-tasting mix of seafood and vegetables often served in soup. Sometimes lightly sweetened or sometimes sweet and sour, Zhejiang dishes frequently involve cooked meats and vegetables in combination.

Fast food

Various types of Chinese food provide quick, cheap, tasty, light meals:

• various items from the ubiquitous bakeries
• barbecued sticks of meat from street vendors
• jiaozi, which Chinese translate as "dumplings", boiled ravioli-like items with a variety of fillings. These are found throughout Asia: "momos," "gyouza," and jiaozi are all basically the same thing.
• baozi, steamed buns stuffed with salty, sweet or vegetable fillings
• mantou, steamed bread available on the roadside - great for a very cheap and filling snack
• fresh hand-pulled noodles; look for a tiny restaurant with staff in Muslim dress, white fez-like hats on the men and head scarves on the women
• in Guandong and sometimes elsewhere, dim sum. At any major tourist destination in China, you may well find someone serving dim sum for Hong Kong customers.

The Western notion of fast food has also reached China. McDonald's, KFC, and Pizza Hut are ubiquitous, at least in major cities. There are a few Burger Kings. Chinese chains such as Dicos (chicken burgers, fries etc., cheaper than KFC and some say better) or Kung Fu (with a more Chinese menu) are also widespread.

The Chinese love a tipple and the all-purpose word jiǔ (酒) covers quite a range of alcoholic drinks.

Toasting

Chinese toast with the word ganbei ("empty glass", bottoms up), and traditionally you are expected to drain the glass in one swig. Toasts usually involve only two people, rather than the whole group as in the West. During a meal with locals, the visitor is often expected to drink one glass with each person present; sometimes there may be considerable pressure to do this. Exercise caution. Fortunately, the glasses are usually small — even beer is often drunk from an oversized shot glass. Also, Chinese beer is generally around 3% alcohol, so it is 'weaker' than Western standards. However, the rice wines and baijiu (see below) are definitely potent (some around 56% alcohol). As such baijiu is often drunk in small shot glasses for a good reason. US president Nixon practiced drinking before his first trip to China to be ready to drink with Mao Zedong. Unless you are used to imbibing heavily, be very careful when drinking with Chinese. If you want to take it easier but still be sociable, say "suibian" before you make the toast, then drink only part of the glass. It may also be possible to have three toasts (traditionally signifying friendship) with the entire company, rather than one separate toast for every individual present. Be sure to reciprocate any toast to you. For failing to do so Gen./Secr. State Alexander Haig and his staff were sent out on West Lake in Hangzhou in an unheated boat with no food in the middle of winter and left there for a longer while. This was back in 1970 when they came to set up Pres. Nixon's historic visit. Beijing had to intervene to tell the local officials to be nice to them anyhow and they got a "warmer" send-off when they flew out of Shanghai.

Alcohol

Beer (啤酒 píjiǔ) is very common in China and is served in nearly every restaurant. The most famous brand is Tsingtao (青島), from Qingdao, which was at one point a German concession. Other brands abound, generally light beers in a pilsner or lager style, usually around 3%-4% alcohol. Some companies (Tsingtao, Yanjing) also make a dark beer (heipijiu 黑啤酒). The typical price for beer is about ¥2.5-4 in a grocery store, ¥4 to ¥8 in a restaurant, around ¥10 in an ordinary bar, and ¥20-30 or more in a fancier bar. Unfortunately, most places outside of major cities serve beer at room temperature, regardless of season, though places that cater to tourists have it cold. Red wine is common and much of it is reasonably priced, from ¥15 in a grocery store, about ¥100-150 in a fancy bar. Anyone used to European, Australian, or Californian wines will find the general quality in China appalling. There are perhaps some exceptions. But an experienced drinker of wine is unlikely to be satisfied with Chinese wines as they are made today. Bars commonly serve red wine over ice and sometimes mixed with Sprite, like a 'wine cooler'. There are also a few white and sparkling white wines. Quality on those is reportedly better than the reds. Xinjiang offers decent wines; Suntime [6], with a passable Cabernet Sauvignon; Yizhu, located in Yili and specializing in ice wine; and the French-owned Les Champs D'or, for best overall winery in China. Ningxia and Gansu produce some decent wines (hot and dry in summer and cold in winter) while what comes out of Shandong and Hebei are blah (warm and moist in summer and not so cold in winter). Imperial Horse and Xixia labels from Ningxia, Mogao Ice Wine from Gansu and maybe Castle Estates from Shandong are decent brands with a small history of quality about them. Yunnan wines are generally rated highly, but not all of them deserve it; Shangrila wine from around Zhongdian is one that does. Great Wall and Dynasty are large brands with a number of wines at various prices; their cheaper (under ¥40) offerings are generally not impressive. Chang Yu is another large brand; some of their low end wines are a bit better. Note that the word jiǔ 酒 is often loosely translated as "wine" by Chinese beverage firms and English speakers (see below). If you are looking for Western-style grape wines be sure to ask for 葡萄酒 (pútaojiǔ - grape wine) to ensure you are getting what you want. There are also several brands and types of rice wine. These do not generally much resemble Japanese sake, the only rice wine well-known in the West. Travelers' reactions to these vary widely. Báijiǔ (白酒), a Chinese white lightning. Chinese frequently mistranslate baijiu (lit. "white spirits") as "white wine", but at 40 to 65% alcohol this sorghum-based plonk is far from it. Maotai (茅台), China's national liquor, is a famous and comparatively expensive type of baijiu from Guizhou. The cheapest baijiu is the Beijing brewed Erguotou (二锅头) which comes in two variants - the clear bottle (56% alcohol) and the green bottle (65% alcohol). Ordering "Xiao Er" (Erguotou's diminutive nickname) will likely raise a few eyebrows and a chuckle from working class Chinese. Baijiu will typically be served at banquets and festivals in tiny shot glasses. Toasts are ubiquitous at banquets or dinners on special occasions. Be warned very cheap baijiu will actually BE white spirits or even agricultral fertiliser, even the good stuff will give a severe taste shock, unless you are used to strong spirits. Baijiu is definitely an acquired taste, but once the taste is acquired, it's quite fun to "ganbei" a glass or two at a banquet. Chinese brandy is excellent value, about the same price as wine and generally far more palatable than the baijiu. A ¥16-20 local brandy is not a ¥200+ imported brand-name cognac, but it is close enough that you should only buy the cognac if money doesn't matter. Expats debate the relative merits of brandies from French-owned Louis Wann [7], Chinese brand Changyu [8], and several others. All are drinkable. The Chinese are also great fans of various supposedly medicinal liquors, which usually contain exotic herbs and/or animal parts. Some of these have prices in the normal range and include ingredients like ginseng. These can be palatable enough, if tending toward sweetness. Others, with unusual ingredients (snakes, turtles, etc.) and steep pricetags, are probably best left to those that enjoy them.

Bars, discos and karaoke

There are no pubs, except in areas with a lot of tourists or expats such as Yangshuo or Shenzhen. The few there are tend to be quite good, though. To just go out for a few drinks with friends, pick a local restaurant and drink beer at around ¥5 for a 600 ml bottle. It will be Chinese lager, around 3% alcohol, with a limited choice of brand and may be served warm. In discos and fancy bars with entertainment, you normally buy beer ¥100 at a time; this gets you anywhere from 4 imported beer (Heineken, Bud, Corona, Sol, ..) to 10 local beers. A few places offer cocktails; fewer have good ones. Other drinks are sold only by the bottle, not by the glass. Red wine is in the ¥80-200 range (served with ice and Sprite) and mediocre imported whiskies (Chivas, Johnny Walker, Jim Beam, Jack Daniels; extremely rarely single malts) and cognacs, ¥300-800. Both are often mixed with tea. Vodka, tequila and rum are less common, but sometimes available. Bogus "brand name" products are fairly common and may ruin your next day. These places often have bar girls, young women who drink a lot and want to play drinking games to get you to consume more. They get a commission on whatever you buy. In general, these girls will not leave the bar with you; they are professional flirts, not prostitutes. Karaoke (卡拉OK) is huge in China and can be broadly split into two categories. More common is the no-frills karaoke box or KTV, where you rent a room, bring your friends and the house gives you a mike and sells you booze. Much favored by students, these are cheap and fun with the right crowd, although you need at least a few people for a memorable night. Bringing your own booze can keep the price tag down but must be done on the sly - many places have windows in the door so the staff can make sure you only drink liquor they sold to you. Rather different is the distinctly dodgier special KTV lounge, more oriented to businessmen entertaining clients or letting their hair down, where the house provides anything and everything at a price. At these often opulent establishments — over-the-top Roman and Egyptian themes are standard — you'll be joined by short-skirted professional karaoke girls, who charge by the hour for the pleasure of their company and whose services may not be limited to just singing badly and pouring your drinks. It's highly advisable not to venture into these unless you're absolutely sure somebody else is footing the bill, which can easily run into hundreds of dollars even if you keep your pants on. As elsewhere, never NEVER accept an invitation to a restaurant or bar from an available-looking woman who just picked you up in the street sometime after sundown. At best, suggest a different place. If she refuses, drop her on the spot. More than likely, she will steer you into a quiet little place with too many doormen and you will find yourself saddled with a modest meal and beer that will cost you ¥1,000 or worse. And the doormen won't let you leave till you pay up. This is somewhat rare. But it does happen.

Tea

At the risk of stating the obvious, there's a lot of tea (茶 chá) in China. Green tea (绿茶 lǜchá) is served up for free in almost every restaurant, the most common types being green gunpowder tea (珠茶 zhūchá), so named not after the taste but after the appearance of the bunched-up leaves used to brew it (the Chinese name "pearl tea" is rather more poetic), jasmine tea (茉莉茶 mòlichá) scented with jasmine flowers, and the half-fermented oolong (烏龍 wūlóng). However, specialist tea houses serve a vast variety of brews, ranging from the pale, delicate white tea (白茶 báichá) to the powerful fermented and aged pǔ'ěrchá (普洱茶); check prices carefully before ordering as some of the best varieties can be very pricey indeed. Various areas of China have famous teas. Hangzhou, near Shanghai, is famed for its "Dragon Well" (龙井 lóngjǐng) tea. Mount Wuyi in Fujian has "Dark Red Robe" (大红袍 dàhóngpáo) tea. Pǔ'ěr in Yunnan has pǔ'ěrchá (普洱茶), named for a city in the central part of the province. Most tea shops will be more than happy to let you sit down and try different varieties of tea. "Ten Fu Tea" is a national chain, and in Beijing "Wu Yu Tai" is the one some locals say they favour. Normal Chinese teas are always drunk neat, with the use of sugar or milk unknown. However, in some areas you find Hong Kong style "milk tea" (奶茶 nǎichá) or Tibetan "butter tea". The type of tea that is common in the West, Indian or Sri Lankan, is known in China as "red tea" (紅茶 hóngchá).

Coffee

Coffee (咖啡 kāfēi) is becoming quite popular in urban China, though it is nearly impossible to find in smaller towns. Several chains of coffee shops have branches in many cities, including Starbucks, UBC Coffee (Shang Dao Kafei in Chinese), Ming Tien Coffee Language (Is that supposed to be "lounge"?) and SPR (the best of them). All offer coffee and both Chinese and Western food, generally with good air conditioning and nice decor, at fairly high prices, ¥25 or so a cup. There are also lots of smaller independent coffee shops or local chains. These may also be high priced, but often they are around ¥15 a cup. Quality varies from excellent to abysmal. For cheap coffee just to stave off withdrawal symptoms, there are several options. Go to a Western restaurant chain (KFC, McD, etc.) for some ¥6 coffee. Or almost any supermarket will have both canned cold coffee and packets of Nescafe (pre-mixed with whitener and sugar), just add hot water.

Cold drinks

Many drinks that, in the West, are usually served chilled or with ice are served at room temperature in China. Ask for beer or coke in a restaurant, and it may arrive at room temperature. Water will generally be served hot. That is actually good, because only boiled (or bottled) water is safe to drink, but it's not pleasant to drink hot water in the summer. You can get cold drinks from small grocery stores and restaurants, just look for the cooler (even though it might not actually be cool). You can try bringing a cold beverage into a restaurant. Most small restaurants won't mind--if they even notice--and there is no such thing as a "cork" charge in China. Remember that most people will be drinking tea, which is free anyway, so the restaurant is probably not expecting to profit on your beverage consumption. Asking for ice is best avoided. Many, perhaps most, places just don't have it. The ice they do have may well be made from tap water, and so be unsafe for travelers.

Outside of hotels, major supermarkets, and high-class restaurants, credit cards are generally not accepted (not even in places such as KFC), and most transactions will require cash. However, those with Discover credit cards will find that their card is much more widely accepted (under the UnionPay system) than those with Visa/Mastercard/AmEx. Most convenience stores take UnionPay, as do most restaurant chains, stores selling high-value items, and most ATMs. Beware of pickpockets. Many stores have point-of-sale terminals for Chinese bank cards; typically these will not work for foreign cards. If you are going to spend a lot of time in China and use significant amounts of money, consider getting a Chinese bank account. In the vast majority of cases, price of goods already have Value-added Tax (VAT), and any sales tax included, so anything with a marked price tends to be sold at that price or slightly below, but there is large room for bargaining if there is no stamped price. If you are buying anything which is not from a fixed price store, bargaining is normal, though you may get a better price if you let a local person do the buying for you. Vendors will charge the lowest price to local people (who can speak the dialect), next lowest price to other Chinese nationals, and the highest price to foreigners. Bear in mind, however, that some middle and upper class locals may not be willing to bargain as mercilessly as you would. If you want to get the best price possible, arrange for a friend to visit the site and make the purchase without you. Even if a Chinese person is doing the bargaining, the sight of a foreigner will inflate the price. Many visitors come looking for antiques, and hunting in the flea markets can be great fun. Be aware however that the overwhelming majority of the "antique" items you will be shown are fakes, no matter how convincing they look, and should you have bought real antique you may be in for some serious trouble (See Antiques below). You are advised not to spend serious money unless you know what you are doing, since novices are almost always taken for a ride.

Currency

The official currency of the People's Republic of China is the renminbi (人民币 "People's Money"), often abbreviated RMB. The base unit of this currency is the yuan (元), international currency code CNY. All prices in China are given in yuan, usually either as ￥ or 元. The yuan was pegged at 8.29 to the US dollar until 2005 when the Chinese government revalued it somewhat and linked it to a basket of currencies. It stayed around ¥8 to the dollar for most of 2005 and 2006, then began a slow increase in value. As of mid January 2008, it is around ¥7.2-7.3 to the US dollar. Various other governments are pressing China to further revalue the yuan, which would make Chinese exports more expensive and foreign imports cheaper in China. An eventual further change, increasing the value of the yuan, seems almost certain but a sudden dramatic change appears quite unlikely. Cheat Sheet

• 10 fen (分) is 1 jiao (角)
• 10 jiao is 1 yuan (元), the base unit
• yuan is commonly called kuai (块)
• jiao is commonly called mao (毛)
• 10 is shí (十)
• 100 is bǎi (百)
• 1000 is qiān (千)
• 10000 is wàn (万)

The official subdivisions of the yuan are the jiao (角), at 10 jiao to the yuan, and the fen (分) at 10 fen to the jiao. A coin worth ￥0.10 will thus say 壹角 ("1 jiao"), not "10 fen", on it. But in colloquial Mandarin, nobody ever speaks of yuan; the standard term is kuai (块), and the jiao is also dubbed the mao (毛) instead. The fen remains the same, so a price like ￥3,75 would thus be read as "3 kuai 7 mao 5 fen" (although the trailing unit is usually omitted). When dealing with numbers, note that for example "wu bai san", literally "five hundred three", means 530 or "five hundred three tens", with the trailing unit dropped. The number 503 would be read as "wu bai ling san", literally "five hundred zero three". Similarly "yi qian ba", literally "one thousand eight", means 1800. When using larger numbers, keep in mind that Chinese has a word for ten thousand, wàn (万), and thus for example 50000 becomes "wu wan", not "wu shi qian". Chinese coins and bills A lot of Chinese currency will be in the form of bills — even small change. As a general rule, bills are preferred in the north and coins in the south. Even the jiao, at just one tenth of a yuan, exists as both a bill (the smallest) and two different coins. Conversely, one yuan exists both as a coin and as two different bills. You should be prepared to recognize and handle either version. Counterfeiting is a major problem, especially of ￥50, and ￥100 bills, though even fake ￥10 bills exist. When you buy currency at a bank, ask the teller to check for counterfeit bills. Examine all bills you receive as change. Be suspicious when you get several bills with lower denominations on top. The following are indicators of a possible counterfeit bill: Sharp-edged watermark, No metal strip, Smooth paper, Flat smooth ink, Reflective number on bottom-left of a ￥50 or ￥100 bill is the wrong color, or the color of the reflective number doesn't change when you tilt the bill. The following are indicators of a real bill: Blurry-edged watermark, Metal strip, Rough paper, Raised ink, Reflective number on bottom-left of a ￥50 or ￥100 bill is the correct color, and the color of the reflective number changes when you tilt the bill. Note that old style bills do not have a metal strip or the bottom-left reflective number. Counterfeits often have very (too) bright and luminous colours. It is not considered impolite to refuse bills and to ask to have them changed. Of course, the safest way is to stick with the Bank of China, as they are by far the most trustworthy money changers in China. Avoid paying for taxi fares with large bills as the driver will need to give you change, and inside a dark taxi it's hard to determine whether bills are real or fake. Try to break your hundreds at larger stores or restaurants so you do not have to accept a fifty (one of the most commonly counterfeited bills).

Changing money

Obtaining RMB in Western countries can be difficult or impossible, and the exchange rates are often unfavorable. It's generally less problematic to wait until arrival and using your debit or credit card in a local cash machine, which can be found everywhere in most towns. In recent years the official exchange rates have been close to market value, so official exchange rates can provide amounts similar to, or better than, unofficial ones. The airports in Beijing and Shanghai have cash machines which accept most international debit/credit cards. Be sure to check for the Plus or Cirrus symbols (whichever your bank supports), as there are many ATMs which are not linked to international networks and may retain your card, a very unpleasant prospect. If you have trouble because the ATM requires a 6 digit PIN and you only have 4 digits, try 2 leading zeroes (although this may not be necessary - try your actual PIN first)! Also, when venturing into more remote regions it is advisable to carry sufficient cash, as ATMs with international network access may not be available. If you find yourself in a town with a Bank of China branch but no international network-capable ATM it may be possible to get a cash advance on a credit card inside the bank. Just ask. Foreign currency and/or traveller's cheques can be exchanged into RMB in most hotels and banks with varying levels of difficulty, and you will be required to show a passport or identification. Your signature on your passport will be compared with the signature on the traveller's cheques, and your cheques and passport itself may be scrutinized to be sure of authenticity. If the signatures aren't an exact match you may be denied. Providing a receipt with a matching signature may help. Using dual signature travellers cheques such as those provided by American Express can cause quite a hassle if both parties aren't present. As well, carrying travellers cheques for a currency other than your own causes suspicion and concern even at major banks. A Canadian citizen using American travellers cheques took almost two hours to cash them at a major branch of the Bank of China. However, traveller's cheques get much better exchange rates than cash when exchanged at a branch of the Bank of China. Exchanging US currency for RMB can be much simpler, but expect the bills to be heavily scrutinized before the exchange is processed. Opportunities to buy RMB before entering China, for example when coming overland from Hong Kong or Vietnam, should be taken, as the rates are better. The same is true going the other way - selling just across the border will often net a more favourable rate. Also, most banks will allow you to get a cash advance via a debit or credit card. It's useful to carry an international currency such as British Pounds, US Dollars, or Japanese Yen to fall back on should you not have access to a cash machine. Keep all your exchange receipts as you will need them to exchange RMB back into your original currency (this is to ensure that only RMB bought in China is bought back - the economic logic is too arcane to go into here). This includes cash withdrawals from ATMs, and any other exchange medium. Exchanging currency outside of official channels (i.e. if you lose your receipts) is technically illegal, although enforcement of these currency controls is lax, and exchange rates are not any better than through official channels. Electronic money transfers to another country are difficult. Most banks don't offer this service; you need the main branch of Bank of China, and even they may not do it except in major cities. Service charges are high, the staff is often not properly trained, and the process can take up to a week. It will be MUCH easier if you have an dual-currency account with the Bank of China - opened at the branch from which you plan to get your money. Electronic transfers to dual currency accounts incur no or very low fees although it still will take about one week. All you need to start is your passport and visa and a small initial deposit (can be RMB) plus the new-account fee (¥10-20). Western Union have deals with China Agricultural Bank and with China Post so there are a lot of Western Union signs around. This is what overseas Chinese sending money to relatives, or expats sending money out of China, generally use; it is generally easier and cheaper than the banks. There may, however, be problems. Their "system" may be "down" or the employee you deal with may ask for silly things — for an overseas transfer, the recipient's passport number and visa number; for a within-China transfer, cash in US dollars. Just try another branch. If you open a foreign currency account or a dual currency account, check if you will be able to access it in another province (e.g. the Bank of China does not allow this as of 2006).

Costs

Unless you are heading to Hong Kong or Macau, China is generally a cheap place to visit. That is if you eat the local food, use public transport and stay in a decent hotel. ¥100 is a perfectly serviceable daily backpacker budget. However, if you want to live an extravagant lifestyle and eat only Western food, even ¥1000 a day may not be enough. There is widespread variation in prices depending on where you go, with big cities like Shanghai, Beijing and Guangzhou generally costing more than the rural, more inland parts of the country. Shenzhen and Zhuhai are also known for being expensive by Chinese standards (which is still relatively cheap by Western standards) as many residents of Hong Kong and Macau, who are generally more affluent than their mainland Chinese counterparts, often go there to shop.

Tipping

Tips are neither given nor expected in China, with the exception of maybe bellhops and bar hostesses in the more sleazy establishments.

Banking

Opening a bank account in China - especially an RMB-only account - is a very straightforward process. You only need your passport with a valid visa (tourist visas are acceptable). For long-term travel or residence, a Chinese bank account is a very good idea. Your ID and PIN are required for withdrawals at the counter although deposits can be made no questions asked if you have the bank book they issued with your account. Banks usually charge a fee (around 1%) for depositing and withdrawing money in a different city than the one you opened your account in. Atms are now present in almost all towns and cities except in the most remote areas. Many ATMs accept Visa, Mastercard, AMEX, Maestro, and Plus debit and credit cards although some only accept Union Pay cards. Bank of China The Bank of China is probably the most useful bank for travellers and foreigners living in China. Many branches have English-speaking staff and the bank has the authority to deal with foreign currencies, unlike many of the other banks. Almost all cities, big and small, have a branch but not all have ATMs or currency-exchange services. However, some remote areas have no branches even in larger towns so be prepared for such situations. Opening an account with the Bank of China costs only ¥1 and the minimum initial deposit is only ¥1 but you will be charged ¥15 if you want a Union Pay debit card. You will recieve a bank book as standard in which will be recorded all transactions and balances - including foreign currency balances. The Bank of China is also the best choice for sending and recieving bank transfers as it is quicker than other banks.

What to look for

China excels in handmade items, partly because of long traditions of exquisite handmade items, partly because labor is still cheap relative to other countries. Take your time, look closely at quality and ask questions (but don't take all the answers at face value!) NOTE ON ANTIQUES: China's government passed a law in May 2007 banning the export of antiques from before 1911. It is now illegal to purchase antiques from before 1911 and take them out of China. Even antiques bought in proper auctions cannot be taken out of China. Porcelain at Shanghai's antique market

• Porcelain with a long history of porcelain making, China still makes great porcelain today. Most visitors are familiar with blue and white, but the variety of glazes is much greater, including many lovely monochrome glazes which are worth seeking out. Specialist shops near hotels and the top floors of department stores are a good place to start, though not the cheapest. The "antique" markets are also a good place to find reproductions, though it can be hard to escape from attempts to convince you that the items are genuine antiques (with prices to match). Two of the most famous centers for porcelain are Jingdezhen and Quanzhou.

• Furniture in the last 15 years China has become a major source of antique furniture, mostly sourced from China's vast countryside. As the supply of old items dwindles many of the restorers are now turning to making new items. The quality of the new pieces is often excellent and some great bargains can still be had in new and old items. Furniture tends to be concentrated in large warehouses on the outskirts of town, Beijing, Shanghai and Chengdu all have plenty of these. Hotels will tell you how to find them. They can also arrange shipment in most cases. Zhongshan has a huge furniture market.

• Art and Fine Art the art scene in China is divided into two non-interacting parts. On the one side there are the traditional painting academies, specializing in "classical" painting (bird and flower, landscapes with rocks and water, calligraphy), with conservative attitudes and serving up painting that conforms to the traditional image of Chinese art. On the other hand there is a burgeoning modern art scene, including oil painting, photography and sculpture, bearing little relation to the former type. Both "scenes" are worth checking out and include the full range from the glorious to the dreadful. The center of the modern scene is undoubtedly Beijing, where the Da Shan Zi (sometimes called 798) warehouse district is emerging as the new frontier for galleries, reminiscent of New York's Soho in the mid-80s.

• Jade There are two types of Jade in China today: one type is pale and almost colorless and is made from a variety of stones mined in China. The other type is green in color and is imported from Myanmar (Burma) - if genuine!. The first thing to be aware of when buying Jade is that you will get what you pay for (at best). Genuine Burmese jade with a good green color is extraordinarily expensive and the "cheap" green jade you will see in the markets is made either from synthetic stone or from natural stone that has been colored with a green dye. When buying jade look closely at the quality of the carving (How well finished is it? Is it refined, or crude with tool marks visible?). The quality of the stone often goes along with the quality of the carving. Take your time and compare prices before buying. If you are going to spend a fair sum of money, do it in the specialist stores, not in the fleamarkets. Khotan in Xinjiang is a famous area for jade.

• Carpets China is home to a remarkable variety of carpet-making traditions. These include Mongolian, Ningxia, Tibetan and modern types. Many tourists come looking for silk carpets: these are actually a fairly recent "tradition", most of the designs being taken from middle-eastern traditions rather than reflecting Chinese designs. Be aware that though the workmanship is quite fine on these carpets they often skimp on materials, particularly dyes. These are prone to fading and color change if the carpet is displayed in a brightly lit place. Some excellent wool carpets are also made in China. Tibetan carpets are amongst the best in terms of quality and construction, but be aware that most carpets described as Tibetan are not made in Tibet, with a few notable exceptions. As with jade, best to buy from stores with a reputation to uphold.

• Other arts and Crafts Other things to look for include Cloisonne (colored enamels on a metal base), laquer work, masks, kites, wood carving, scholar's rocks (decorative rocks, some natural, some less so), papercuts, and so on.

What to avoid

Chinese markets and shops are crawling with goods that mesmerize the average cash-flushed tourist. While some of these exotic rarities make for a nifty gift, there are other products you should avoid purchasing, such as coral, ivory, and endangered animal parts. China's economic miracle has been a disaster for the world's wildlife and has left such species as the elephant, tiger, rhinoceros, Tibetan antelope and Snow Lotus decimated or on the verge of extinction. Aside from being immoral, it is illegal to import the majority of animal products into most Western countries; if customs agents catch you with the skin of an endangered species you may be subject to a serious fine and/or jail time. So if a store clerk seems eager to sell you a leopard skin or an ivory trinket, use your better judgment and move on.

Bargaining

See also: How to haggle This is almost a national hobby, and local people tend to engage in hard bargaining behavior that foreigners may consider rude (e.g. commenting unfavorably on the quality of the merchandise). However negotiations generally remain calm - Monty Python style histrionics usually fail to make progress - but if you speak enough of the language to say things like "Do you think I'm stupid?" or "Do I look like a baby?" it may help. Once you both agree on a price, it is set in stone. This doesn't mean you must buy, just that haggling is over. As a tourist, every vendor is going to try to make you overpay. To get a good idea of accurate pricing, pick an item that you want, and is common to many stalls. Ask the price, and when they answer, laugh loudly and reply with an absurdly low price (like 1-5% of the calling price) for it. When they say "No. Are you crazy?", look at the item a bit longer, then start to leave. They will call out progressively lower and lower prices for the item, the farther you get from them. Remember the lowest price they call out (they may even accept your "absurdly low" price). Go to the next stall, and repeat, with a price that is about 50-75% of the previous lowest. Eventually, you will find a fair price. You can obtain obscenely low prices this way, but don't abuse your bargaining power! Many people depend on making decent margins off of tourists to survive. It never hurts to pay a little more than the lowest price, and it might make all the difference to a poor merchant whose monthly rent or food costs may be little more than your purchase price. In the west, sales are often advertised with big percentage numbers on the windows, showing you the actual discount. In China, the tell-tale sign to look for when bargain hunting is 折 (zhé), which tells you what fraction of the original price you pay. For example, a 20% discount would be displayed as 8折.

Bogus goods

China has a reputation for forging almost anything, and it is not entirely undeserved. Almost anything you buy might be bogus. Luxury goods such as jade, expensive ceramics and other artworks, antiques or carpets are particularly risky. Unless you are an expert on whatever you want to buy, you are quite likely to get sold low quality merchandise at high prices. For such goods, is usually best to deal with a large and reputable vendor; you may not get quite the bargains an expert could find elsewhere, but you probably won't get cheated either. Most of the "antique" furniture available are replicas. Much of the "jade" is either glass or low quality stone that has been dyed a nice green; some is even plastic. Various "stone carvings" are actually molded glass. The "samurai swords" are mostly either inferior weapons mass produced for the Japanese military and Manchurian soldiers in World War II or Chinese copies. At the right price, such goods can be a very good buy. However, none of them are worth anywhere near the price of real top-quality goods. Most CDs (music or software) and DVDs in China are unauthorized copies. The ones that sell around a dollar US and come in cheap paper envelopes are absolutely certain to be bogus. Some of the ones at higher prices with better packaging might be legal copies, but it is hard to tell. A good quick check is to simply look at the credits on the back of the DVD case. If they don't match the movie, it is obviously fake. Fake credits even appear on very respectable looking packages in larger stores. In stores, it is usually acceptable to ask the owner to test the DVD to make sure it works and has the correct language soundtrack. Probably the best way to avoid bogus discs is to buy at one of the larger bookstores or department stores; most of these have a CD/DVD section. Prices are around US$2-5. There are a lot of apparently silver coins in China. In the 19th century, the emperor decreed that foreigners had to pay for all silk and tea in silver, so there are hundreds of Mexican, US (the US even minted a special silver "trade dollar" just for this purpose), French Indochina, Chinese and other silver dollars about, mostly dated 1850-1920. Unfortunately, most coins on sale now are counterfeit. In tourist areas, nearly all are bogus. Items with big worldwide brand labels sold in China may be bogus, especially expensive sporting goods like brand name running shoes or golf clubs. By no means all are bogus; major companies do market in China, but some will be unauthorized or downright bogus. There are a number of sources of these.

• The most common variant comes from a Chinese firm that gets a contract to deliver, say 100,000 shirts to BigBrand. They have to actually make a few more than that because some will fail quality control. Maybe 105,000? What the heck, make 125,000. Any extras will be easy to sell; after all they have the BigBrand label. So 25,000 shirts — a few "factory seconds" and many perfectly good shirts — arrive on the Chinese market, without BigBrand's authorization. A traveler might be happy to buy these — just check carefully to avoid the seconds and you get exactly the shirt BigBrand sells for a much better price.

• However, it doesn't end there. If the factory owner is greedy, he goes on to crank out a bunch more. Only now he doesn't have to worry about BigBrand's strict quality control. He can cut a few corners, slap the BigBrand label on them, and make a great profit. These may or may not be a good buy, but in any case they are not what you would expect from BigBrand.

• Finally, of course, some other factory may be cranking out utterly bogus "BigBrand" shirts. On these outright forgeries, they often misspell the brand name, which is a dead giveaway.

• If possible, try on the item you are buying. The sizes are very erratic and not consistent. Something that may be a size XL in the USA can be anywhere from an L to a XXXL in China.

One traveler found a reversible jacket with "Adidas" on one side and "Nike" on the other. This might be an interesting curiosity, but it definitely is not a genuine example of either brand (This editor found a pair of socks in Guangzhou with the same problem). There are two basic rules for dealing with expensive brand name goods in China.

• First, you cannot just trust the brand; inspect the goods carefully for flaws. Check the spelling on labels.
• Second, if the deal seems too good to be true, be very suspicious. China makes a lot of good cheap products, but a hundred dollar "Rolex" is utterly certain to be bogus.

Bogus goods can cause legal problems. Selling "pirate" DVDs or forged brand name goods is illegal in China, but enforcement is lax. It is generally much less lax at customs for travelers' home countries. Customs officials will seize "pirate" DVDs or bogus brand name goods if they find them. Some Western travelers have even reported having to pay hefty fines after being caught returning home with bogus products.

Western goods

Areas with large expat communities like Beijing, Shanghai and Shenzhen have local stores catering to those communities. See the individual articles for details. There are also several foreign-owned supermarket chains that are widespread in China — American Walmart, German Metro, French Carrefour and Japanese Jusco. All have some Western groceries. Metro is probably the best of these; in particular it usually has a fine selection of alcohol. The Taiwanese chain RT-Mart (大潤發) may also carry imported goods.