Before coming to China I did a lot of research. A lot of it was wrong, a lot was right.
- Cash IS king in China. As of today, while you get a slightly favorable rate for AMEX Travelers Cheques (630RMB = 100USD vs 635 for AMEX) the difference of one dollar per hundred dollars is hardly worth the HUGE hassle you will have trying to change them. Bring crisp and totally undamaged 100 dollar bills to change over if you want to bring cash.
- ATM cards - I was warned that American ATM cards do not work in China. This is simply not the case in major cities and tourist areas. I would stick with major banks like Bank of China but I found no problems withdrawing cash from ATM's. Your bank will charge you a fee so the cash alternative is probably better.
- No one speaks English. This is not true but if you function under this assumption you will be better off. Your cab driver won't speak English. The hotel staff at the front desk will know enough English to help you, but barely. Your tour guide will speak enough English to understand about 60% of what you are saying if he or she is good. My tour guide in Beijing spoke excellent English but didn't know any idiomatic phrases. Learn to avoid using any sort of colloquialism with your guides unless you are like me, and want to teach them the idiom.
- Bargaining - this is the life blood of street vendors and tourist shops. The advice given to me by friends before leaving was very sound. Whatever they say, counter offer it by 3/4! If they tell you something is 100 RMB laugh and offer them 25. The laugh is very important. Make the negotiation good-natured. Tell them that you already bought one for that price or that you are down to your last 25 RMB or whatever you like. They don't speak English so it doesn't matter. EVERY Chinese merchant carries a little calculator. They will type the price on it. They will counter offer, you will counter offer again, and then maybe one more time and you will probably buy the item for about half of what they originally started with or less. DO NOT BE OFFENDED OR AFRAID THAT YOU WILL OFFEND THE MERCHANT. Bargaining is part of the culture. You look like a big moron if you pay the asking price, and frankly you are getting hosed if you do so you pretty much are a moron.
- Do not bargain for food or in regular retail stores - like chains. This should be obvious but unless you are buying fruit at a stand, you don't bargain in a restaurant nor do you bargain for a new Chinese iPad.
- "Hello?!" You will hear this shouted at you everywhere you go. My advice? Ignore it totally. If it is so in your face, you can't - just put your hand up and wave the person off. They don't have anything worthwhile to offer you that you can't get from someone who is not going to be pushy. If you want to be a bit more polite - I don't advise this because it will only generate more attempts to sell you something - try "bu yongle. Xie xie" which means "No, thank you." Bu yongle would be sufficient.
- Try the food. It's really good. The whole, dogs and cats thing - while true - is not really an issue. Food is actually not that exotic in China but it is very fresh and very good. If you don't want to eat dog when you are in southern China - I certainly didn't - then don't. If a place looks dirty it is. A Dutch expat told me that in Beijing about 80% of the eating establishments are totally fine. Of the 20% that are not particularly clean about half of those will really make you sick.
- High-velocity impacts. Chinese people drive automobiles with a gleeful reckless abandon. They also drive bikes, motor scooters, rickshaws, dirt bikes and ten ton trucks. The rules of the road are simple: I'm coming through, and I will warn you with a beep. If you don't yield, I guess I will eventually have to. Basically every Chinese driver plays a game of chicken with every other Chinese driver. Spare me the stupid Asian stereotype. People who drive in Beijing and Shanghai are hardcore. I drove a taxi in Boston and I'm impressed. So the advice? Be wary about crossing the street and expect to be beeped at by everyone. Also, since you are China try to be Buddhist about it when you are riding in a car. Don't pee yourself. Remember that you should wear your seat belt. No one does in China by the way, nor do they worry about holding toddlers in their laps while driving a scooter through rush hour traffic. I only saw one motor vehicle accident when I was there. Probably involved a white person but I could not be sure, my driver was too busy racing up the outside of the on-ramp, trying to get onto the highway in central Shanghai.
- Low-velocity impacts. These are much more common-place. Chinese people DO indeed not stand in lines, nor do they give way when they walk. Move forward. Don't be offended when someone violates your personal space or bumps you lightly. Don't expect an apology. I was led to believe that walking in China involved body-checking but it is simply the same rules that apply to driving. I'm trying to go there, you are trying to go there, whichever one of us manages to get their first, will. No reason to discuss it any further. "Excuse me" is not a phrase a Chinese person would understand in the context you use it so don't bother - it just makes you look weird. Maybe one rule: age garners respect. An old woman or old man should be given the right of way, but don't make a big deal about it. Expect people to stand right in your way and not move, nor acknowledge you as you wedge yourself past them. They will do it to you.
- Wear a money belt. This advice comes directly from the first. Cash is certainly king in China, so don't keep his majesty in your back or even front pocket. I had my dummy wallet stolen in Xi'an in the underground walkway and whoever did it plucked it out of my cargo shorts pocket where I was reasonably sure I would see the offender. I had the equivalent of forty dollars in there. My remaining thousand in spending money, credit card and passport were all wrapped securely around my waist under my clothing. You need your passport if you are stopped by the police for gun running so be sure you don't leave it in the hotel safe.
- China is really safe. You notice how one idea leads to another? China is not a high crime country. People walk the streets without the fear we have in America. Why? I think a big part of it is that Chinese people by their very nature are non-confrontational. They are actually very loud and boisterous in some situations but not in the mean-spirited way that many westerners are. So the other side of the coin, of course, is that China has a strong and rather harsh legal code in addition to thousands of years of respect for government authority. So basically, people will steal your wallet, try to charge you way too much for a shirt, and generally engage in the sort of petty larceny they can. Violent street crime? Simply does not exist. Part of this, I think, is that Chinese people have a tradition of living communally in a village. Urban life in Chinese cities often reflects this communal aspect. People congregate on the street at night, smoking, talking, playing games and eating. They take walks late into the night with their lovers, friends and spouses. I'm sure this is not the case in the upscale housing I saw on the outskirts of all the cities I visited, but in the area around your hotel it is. The police are certainly extra-sensitive about anything happening to a foreign tourist in the country.
- Tipping. I have no idea. Can't help you. I'm told that tipping is not expected yet some people expect to be tipped. Do you tip in a Chinese establishment that caters to Chinese people? No. Do you tip the bellhop? I don't know. Do you tip the waitress in the hotel bar? I left 5 RMB on the table after she served me two beers and a bowl of peanuts. She never came to pick it up while I was there and I finished uploading pictures for another thirty minutes after settling the tab. Do you tip the cabbie? Naw. Do you tip your tour guide? Yes, it is mandatory they work for tips. What? Yeah. So when in doubt - if you are engaged in a Chinese endevour then don't tip. If you are dealing with touristy people then you might want to tip. Maybe. Sorry, I really can't help you.
- China kinda smells in the summer. Just warning you. Chinese people don't smell per se but city streets often do. But you know what? New York smells pretty freakin' bad. Have you smelled it lately? So hot summer days and dense urban environments cause stuff to stink.
- Toilets. Now that was a segway. Chinese people believe that the way you poop and for ladies the way you pee is downright unhealthy. You should squat. Like they do. Maybe they are on to something or maybe it is like the "cold-liquid making you fat theory" that causes beer to be served warm in China. Anyway. ladies if you drink a lot of said warm beer, you may have to pee in a local bathroom. The Forbidden City has a "five-star bathroom" so if you need to go, you won't need to squat over a porcelain hole in the floor - assuming you are in roughly the middle of the Forbidden City at the point you have to go. This means in Shanghai you are out of luck. Hotels all have western-style bathrooms but I found that is about the only place you can expect to find a western toilet for your behind. I planned my bodily functions accordingly so I would never have to use a toilet for the old number two and as a guy, number one is not an issue in a Chinese toilet. In really nice places other than the Forbidden City, there was usually one "Handicapped" toilet which was actually a western style throne. Ha. Oh, yeah. Bring some toilet paper with you. None of that either.