Going to China soon - tell me something

[NewJeffCT]

My first visit, but going with a native. We're likely flying into Shanghai, spending a day or two there sightseeing and visiting a few relatives, and then hopping the train or getting a car to nearby Nanjing. I know Nanjing has the Nanjing Massacre memorial, the tomb of Sun Yatsen (sp?) and the Purple Mountains.

My in-laws in Nanjing are planning on also taking me to the Chinese equivalent of the Grand Canyon (sorry, forgot the name)

I doubt we can take it all in within 12-13 days - Great Wall, Beijing & Tianemann Square, Xi'an and the terracotta soldiers, the Shaolin Temple, Hong Kong & Guangzhou, etc, etc. Too much to do and too many places to see in that small amount of time.

Any recommendations? How was your experience in China?

Thanks

[Dirty Hippie]

1. I went to southern China 6 years ago

Beautiful, warm. friendly people.

Do not drink the water. Do not brush your teeth with it or include ice in your drinks. You can buy bottled water everywhere. My sister observed all of these precautions and still got horrible diarrhea so you may want to pack an RX just in case.

Without a guide I was able to shop by carrying a calculator. The shopkeepers would punch in the price of an item when I asked.

Have fun. China is a wonderful experience.

[NewJeffCT]

2. My wife won't allow me to shop in China

She thinks I don't know how to bargain, and that also if shopkeepers see her with an American, they'll assume we have money and won't negotiate as much.

[radwriter0555]

3. I LOVED IT!!!!!!! Went to Beijing last November and was so so so

pleased. I do believe I'm going back again in November for shopping.

See the great wall at Mutianyu; it's far far less crowded, the tram is AWESOME and you can take a toboggan back down!!! I had destroyed my knee the night before we left and that site was VERY easy to traverse even hobbled as I was. Say hello to the lovely camel who is very friendly and poses nicely for photos before you ride her... The souvenirs there are MUCH better than any I'd seen as well. I found some lovely carved panels for pennies.

Don't expect much of the food unless your relatives know their stuff. We literally had 1 good meal, but we hadn't gone there for the gastronomy. China chinese bears little relativity to American chinese food, although I would KILL to find their beef noodle soup here in Los Angeles.

The shopping in Beijing is PHENOMONAL. The Pearl market is 5 floors of retail heaven at wholesale prices. Top quality from names like the Gap, North Face; unbelievable knock offs or overruns by the best labels like Louis, Prada.. And the jewelry? HOLY CRAP!

IF you are there on a Sunday, you must must must must must hit the Dirt Market, on the outter ring, near the new Best Western Hotel. The most amazing shopping experience I've ever had, and it gave us a real visual in chinese life, to see the antiques and personal effects from yesteryear laid out for sale for pennies...

Bargain bargain bargain bargain bargain. If they tell you something is 1000 RR, offer 100. Always offer 10% of what they ask, and SMILE! The chinese are loving, humorous, eager, intelligent, kind, compassionate, considerate! As I said, I was quite hobbled and when everyone was so very kind and helpful.

ENJOY! Say "shay shay" a LOT, and "Knee How" whenever you greet someone! They LOVE it!

I'm so jealous!!!!!

[NewJeffCT]

4. thanks - good post

Unfortunately, my in-laws are not great cooks, though I have not met my sister-in-law in person yet.

I know a little more Chinese than 'knee how' and 'shay shay', including a few curses:

"hao" (pronounced "how") means 'good' or 'well', and "ni" (knee) is 'you', so the greeting 'ni hao'is literally translated as "you well"... however, if you answering the phone, say "weigh"

"boo yawng see" is "you're welcome" "Boo" before anything is a negative.

If somebody tells you something is 1000 RMB, you can respond by saying "tie doe luh" (too much) before you counter at 100.

Believe it or not, "mama" is the Chinese word for mother. Some things are nearly universal, I guess?

"May wan tee" is 'no problem'