Visiting China/HK/Taiwan

I was just there in March (exactly those 3 places).  Here's my blog.  The trip starts here:  http://wewaitzfornoone.blogspot.com/2012/03/long-journey.html Then, work you way up through the days. 

I wish I could say anything about the language barrier, but the truth is we spent the first week with my sister-in-law who grew up in Taiwan and the second with my sister in an Expat area and later with a tour guide.  So, we didn't have to do any figuring out on our own until Hong Kong, which was easy.

My interpretation of interactions:  Chinese people act differently from me, no matter the country.  What Westerners may see as "rude" is just how they do things, for instance shoving in line.  I just went with the flow.  I stood my ground if someone tried to budge on me, but I didn't go all Ugly American on them if they did it anyway.   I'll never forget in Paris when I was trying to look at the Venus Demilo and an older Chinese guy physically moved me aside so he could get his picture.  I'm told anyway... that's how they get through life. It's crowded and you fight for space.  Everyone was VERY nice overall and accomodating.   I said hello and thank you a lot (my only Chinese words) and they seemed to satisfied with that. 

Taiwan is like China-light.  I hope that doesn't offend anyone, that's what my SIL said.  The immigrants took the best stuff with them (food, art, etc) and left behind the not as nice things.  Their standard of living is a bit higher, I thought.  There were very very few people in Taiwan who were non-Asian.  We saw 1 single black person.  We stood out a lot. Look at the blog and you'll see a group of big/tall very white folks, including my brother-in-law who lives there with his blond pony tail.  At least you won't have that problem!

Taiwan:  (really read the blog, but some highlights):  In Taipei, I REALLY enjoyed the gondola ride past the Zoo up to this mountain town.  It's the gondola to get to the zoo, so I presume easy to find.  We took a driver for one day and the highlight of that trip was Yehliu Geo Park.  Taipei was fun to walk around and you must visit the night markets for dinner or just people watching.  Personally I enjoyed going into 7 Eleven.  Are your chopsticks up to speed?  We didn't use anything but chopsticks or spoons in Taiwan.  The national museum as well as Chiang Kai Shek's memorial (and grounds) in Taipei were also excellent. 

China: We were in Shenzhen (a quick ferry ride from HKG) and nothing special. We took a couple days trip to Guilin/Youngshou.  That was SO COOL.  If/when I go back to China I am definitely do the Beijing/Wall/Terracotta Warriors tour.  It's a big country, where will you be?

Hong Kong:  Our trip was short, but going to Victoria Peak was worthwhile for the view.  Another fun thing was taking the double-decker bus to Stanley Market.  These are easy to find. I would have put the gondola to the Big Buddha as #1, but the gondola was under repair when we were there. I heard that's good.    HKG was like New York City in its vibe, but just a lot hiller.  Oh, you MUST take the Star Ferry to Kowloon and see the street scene there.  We timed that so we were across Victoria Harbor from the city after dark.  There's a music/light show, but it's not worth waiting for unless it works out.  Just the view of the city, across the water, is breathtaking.  Again, read the blog!

Have fun. I'm happy to answer more question. I got some good advice from BT before I went, too, so hopefully others will speak up.

Oh, a couple logistics tips that I learned:

1.  China operates mainly in cash. Plan to use the ATM a few times.  Surprisingly, that worked great for me.  But I have become so used to whipping out the Visa, I was suprised.  The biggest bill is 100 rmb and that's like 12 bucks.  So, if you pay for something expensive it's rather silly. 

2.  You can't guarantee in China that you can buy something you forgot, like decent toothpaste, earplugs, or other pharmacy items.  Be very prepared.   You can, however, buy new Beats brand headphones, Nikes and cheap replacement sunglasses on every corner

These were not problems in Taiwan or HKG.   

Thanks for the feedback, I look forward to reading your blog.

I'm quite aware of the Asian sense of - or lack of, really - space. My Hong Kong relatives took a while to figure out you don't need to shout to be heard in Canada...but it's a habit of living in a crowded, densely populated city! When I worked at the CN Tower, it didn't get through to Asian tourists that we didn't have to pack the elevators so tightly. Thanks for the reminder...your reply made me laugh, because I forgot aaaaallllll about the personal contact. I've been living in Vermont for a while, so I'm used to wide open spaces.

As for chopstick skills, I was raised on chopsticks. Even my husband is quite adept with the chopsticks. I can. Not. WAIT. to eat in China! We are all adventurous eaters. I just hope we don't get food poisoning.

Thanks also for the tips on cash...I never use cash here, it's plastic, plastic, plastic. I do notice my parents and the older generation in my family is all about cash...must be a holdover habit from when they lived there. Can't wait to read your blog tonight! Thank you so much!

That gondola ride in Taiwan sounds right up my alley. Making my list...

Let me know if you come to Beijing!  My family and I are currently living here... we've been here about 1 year.

You will definitely need cash, most of the places you go will not accept plastic.  If they do, it will be visa/mastercard.

100 RMB is close to $17 not $12. 

I can't comment much on the things in south China or HK/TW.   If you're on the mainland, you'll be blocked from most social media sites on the internet, and many google services.  Just something to think about if you're using Facebook for your main form of communication.

As for the tatoos, I've seen a few here and there.  Never any "sleeves" or anything like that.  IF you don't mind being stared at, then by all means let them show.  But people WILL stare.  Since you are asian-looking, yes, people might treat you differently.   If you were white, they'd probably just write you off as a "crazy laowai"   Since you're traveling with a laowai, then you might be OK.

If you speak cantonese then you'll likely do OK in the South.  People in the north will probably treat you a little different, but not too bad.  It's a dialect just like any other and there's all sorts of baggage that comes along with that in China.

Hone your bargaining skills.  It's hard to determine sometimes which markets are OK to bargain and which are not.  In almost every market, you need to cut the price in half and stay there.  Some markets you can cut the starting price by about 70%.  The thing to remember is that as long as the person is still talking to you, you're at a price they're willing to accept.... or at least very close.  If they stop talking, you're too low.  Don't keep increasing the price unless they walk away.

Since you look Chinese, people are going to speak to you in Mandarin, most likely.  They do this to my daughter all the time.  You'll need to learn "Ting bu dong"  (I hear, but don't understand) 

Rosetta Stone is great... if you have the time (and want to spend the money) to work on it 3 or 4 times a week until April... you will learn a lot! 

If you have any more specific questions about Beijing or Xi'an (we went there last fall) then let me know, and I'll do my best.

I used to live in Hong Kong for a few years. It was too long ago to give you detailed bars and restaurants but the night life is clustered on a street called Lan Kwai Fong in Central. A bit raunchier but still full of color is an area called Wanchai thats worth a look. HK is a great city for just walking around. Food street is a not to be missed during the day. A good way to see the city is just to hop on the trams and take the star ferry across the harbor.

China is massive but one of my favorite trips was to Guilin. Thats the area where you see the clusters of short pointy mountains in the mist. There are great day trips you can take up the Li river that are very scenic.

Enjoy.

Thanks for the tips! Beijing is definitely a must see. Tiananmen Square's events in 1989 are my (sadly) one of the earliest memories of world events when I was a kid. I want to see Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City with my own eyes.

I am one of those people with sleeves...so I suppose I will have to get used to the stares. Funny you mentioned what your daughter says...one of the things I'm really good at saying is "I can understand you but I don't speak well."

As for media, I am happy to unplug when I'm on vacation, so I'm not too concerned about facebook and so on. I won't bring my phone or laptop. Just my cameras and maybe something to back up all my photos.

Thank you, I look forward to street food mmmmm! I have no set tour plans for HK, and I have some relatives there, so I'm sure there will be lots of walking and exploring. I definitely want to see some scenic areas in China, so I'll add Guilin and the Li river to my list to research. Phew, lots to think about.

DougRob, hope you're getting good info here.

This is most important for men traveling alone, as the "hook" is usually a young, pretty girl wanting to "practice her english" while you have some tea.  My family and I have never been approached.

DougRob, if you need anything while you're in Beijing, let me know via PM.  I'll do my best to help you out.  Beijing can be a little tough to adjust to, if you're not used to the big city.  But it's not too bad once you get the hang of it.

I'd like to hear what you thought about Xi'an if you wouldn't mind.  I had planned a trip to China to include Beijing, Forbidden City, several parts of the Great Wall and taking the train west to Xi'an.  The trip was going to include stops in Hong Kong and Taipei as well.

I envy your trip GreenMtnLabbit.

IMHO, the Terra Cotta warriors are unbelievable.   The whole family was in awe of the scale of the effort required to create something that amazing.  It took a few hours to see the whole thing.  The city itself was OK.  The old city wall was pretty cool, as were the drum and bell towers.  2 days is probably enough time to see everything that is interesting in Xi'An, unless you're a real history buff.

In theory, there is probably enough time to take the night train from Beijing, see everything in Xi'An, and then take the night train back to Beijing.   We ended up flying to Xi'An and then taking the night train back to Beijing.  We had an entire room (4 beds for the 5 of us) which may have added to our enjoyment of the train.

Make sure that when you're planning your trip, that you are NOT traveling over a Chinese National Holiday.  It makes everything SO DIFFICULT.  There are people everywhere. 

I lived in Taipei for a year, Beijing for almost a decade, traveled many times to Hong Kong, though not very recently. As for China, Beijing is culturally interesting but not particularly user-friendly in terms of climate, traffic, etc. Very spread out; lots of scams. If you do go, the Forbidden City is definitely worth a visit. If in running withdrawl, go early AM to my old stomping grounds, the Old Summer Palace, and run around the lake!  Yuyuantan Park is also popular with local runners and clubs. My personal favorite in China is Yunnan Province--everything from tropics to Himalayas in one province, more of a laid-back vibe than the northern cities, and probably the best food in China. Frankly, don't set your hopes too high on food--I had few memorable meals in my years there; hygenic standards tend to be low; many restaurants tend to prepare things very bland for tourists. You might get more authentic stuff if you're ethnic Chinese. I found I most liked the ethnic minority foods--Muslim and Uighur foods in the north, Dai food in Yunnan, and the fresh vegetable and tofu dishes in the rural south. The food in general seems to get better the further south you go.

Taiwan--great food, esp. at the night markets. You can find food from all regions of China, at least in Taipei.  Personal favorites include the National Palace Museum, Yangmingshan National Park right outside Taipei (killer road and trail running), Lugang (small historical city on west coast), Pingtung and Kenting in the far south, the whole east coast, the train up Alishan and the cross-island highway over the mountains. In my opinion, it's a beautiful island and very underrated as a destination.

Hong Kong--Again, great food! I really like the breakfast foods--interesting mix of Cantonese and European. Love the Peak Tram and the trail around the peak. Endless shopping.

As for language, most people in mainland China have quite limited English, so any effort at Chinese will be appreciated. There is kind of a double standard for Asian-looking people and whities--I remember when my Filipina friend visited, people always told her she should work harder on her Chinese (she has some Chinese ancestry but speaks none). But if I so much as said hello, I'd be praised for my "excellent Mandarin". (In fact I speak and read it fluently.)  There are lots of visiting overseas Chinese so I don't think people will make a big deal of it. As for tattoos, the north and rural areas tend to be more conservative--you might consider covering up there. People in Beijing, Shanghai, and definitely Hong Kong and Taiwan have probably seen it all already!

Enjoy your travels and yi lu ping'an! (Picked up some Cantonese from HK movies but I've forgotten how to say that in Cantonese.)

That ould be "yut lo ping on" in Cantonese 

I grew up in Hong Kong, although I had left since college (over 20 years now).  I still visit every year to see my parents and friends.  HK is still home.  The following is someplace to visit I recommended for a fellow BTers some time ago:

The (Victoria) Peak, in HK Island. From the Admiralty MTR station, walk through the shopping center to the Peak Tram terminus. Take the Peak tram to the top and from there you'll see the poster-scene of HK. There are restaurants and stores at the Peak terminal but they tend to be kind of tourist-y.

Night markets in Mongkok. Street hawkers and outdoor small stores between Tung Choi Street, Sai Yeung Choi Street and Temple Street. Can be very crowded.

The Po Lin Monastery in Lantau Island. See how the Chinese pay respect to the Buddha. You can join their vegetarian lunch at the dinning hall (open to public) with a donation. You may ask the Buddha for your fortune, too. You kneel in front of the Buddha and shake a container full of bamboo sticks until one drops out - that's your furtune. Then you look up the number on your stick and go get the text - usually written in the form of a poem or verses. Then you'll have an interpreter to explain it to you. But I doubt the interpreters know much English.

There is a wide variety of food in HK, from all over the world. Since you live in Canada, you are likely to have access to similar style restaurants. 

Tsui Wah is a joint that opens 24 hours, serving typical HK breakfast / snacks and meals. Cafe di Coral and Fairwoods are almost identical joints owned by competing brothers. Also very typical fast dinning hall-type food, as an alternative to McD here in the US.

Peking Garden is highly recommended to tourists, but I think it's very tourist-y. Not bad, but a bit pricey. If you want northern-style Chinese food, I recommend the "American Peking Restaurant" (very ironic) in Lockhart Road, Wanchai. Old restaurant, used to serve American sailors in the 60s (Wanchai was famous for Suzy Wong and night lives back then), hence the name.

Nam Ah (literally translated to South Asia) restaurant on Leighton Road, Causeway Bay, HK Island is good choice for Singaporean and Malaysian food. Hoinan Chicken over rice is a famous dish. Most Asian food in HK are quite authentic.

In Hong Kong, all signs are bilingual.  Cantonese is the main dialect but most people speak decent English you'll have no problem even if you don't know a single Chinese word.  Nowadays most HK people know Mandarin as well. 

Thanks for all these suggestions! I'm am getting so much more excited! I grew up speaking Cantonese, and I can still understand it perfectly, I just sound terrible when I speak. Hopefully people will be kind enough to forgive my strong Canadian accent.

I love these insider suggestions from the people who live in Asia. I can't wait to go!

GreenMtnLabbit - 2013-01-23 4:50 PM

D.K. - 2013-01-23 4:43 PM

In Hong Kong, all signs are bilingual.  Cantonese is the main dialect but most people speak decent English you'll have no problem even if you don't know a single Chinese word.  Nowadays most HK people know Mandarin as well. 

My husband is going to be SOOO happy to see English signs. Actually, I speak Cantonese but can't read. I'm going to be happy to see English signs!

Yeah, the English signs in HK really make sense.  Unlike in Mainland where I saw the sign for "Washroom" in English is "che suo" (phonetic translation of the Chinese words).  I laughed when I saw those signs.