Going to China!

Hello there!

I go to university in Canada but my dad works in Beijing. Thus, I usually visit him (and my mom) during the winter/summer breaks.

Abridged Guide to China.

First:
1. Pollution isn't as bad as you have been led to believe. Yes, sometimes it is, but sometimes we have clear blue skies.
2. Go to Shanghai if you have a chance. It's more "Westernized".
3. Depending how adventurous you wish to be, I would generally advice you to not go to tier 2 cities and below (e.g., stay in Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen, Hong Kong). The reason is because a lot of these people in tier 2 cities never see non-Asians and you might get a lot of stares. You will feel like a parade monkey and you WILL be asked to take pictures. In tier 1 cities, city residents (not migrant workers or recent migrants) won't give a damn.

If you're in Beijing:

1. Palace Museum (Forbidden City). Go there when there is no smog. When you're on the second floor of the second gate, you can see skyscrapers all over which is very nice.
1b. Go to the adjacent parks of the Palace Museum. Also, Summer Palace.
2. National Museum of China. 5000 years of history.
3. There are shopping districts everywhere. Ask a local to find good "western" shopping center. One I would recommend is Wangfujing. Generally, you will find these all around the Forbidden City (aka first circle; you will know what I mean once you get there). Everything is expensive except the food. Go there for the food! Go to flea markets to get your clothes if you really want to buy them. Ask a local for "non-western" shopping districts.

Dating for foreign females (just for the curious):

Three tiers in the dating circle.

1. Elite Chinese. They are a real catch if you're a gold digger. They can ditch out serious dough and generally have a western education and western style (assuming you're going for a guy younger than 28). They're generally like the old European aristocrats with a lot of GaunXi. Depending on the age, they will be more open to date foreigners and can speak English.

2. City residents (hukou is in tier 1,2,3 cities) and university students. AKA middle class (or soon-to-be). You also have a chance with them. However they probably won't be fluent in English. Also, they will most likely date a Chinese girl.

3. Migrant workers and no higher education. No English. White females have a chance.

Chinese society is incredibly class-based. This is essentially like 17 - 19th century Europe. The same applies to dating. If you're white, you're already considered a tier 2 class. LOL.

Beijing is a wonderful city as it has both historical significance as well as modern night life. This is compared to shanghai where it's mostly nightlife and not as much cultural sightseeing as Beijing.
The air quality is better in shanghai, though. Shanghai nightlife is arguably better than beijing's, as well as locals' social attitude.
Summer is hot and winter is very cold in both cities. I was in Shanghai last summer and it was the hottest summer in recent history....i was taking showers three times a days on several occasions. Regardless, you will for sure enjoy your time there. Good luck!

dottest69 wrote: Yeah im going on summer for 3 months, i heard that is really hot here ^^ also i have to take care of my skin because of polution
Im going with my friend, on au pair exchange. I hope we will do this and some family will take care of us

I have been to Italy, France
I want to tell you I can Chian better than Italy and France Europe city is not very modern southern European economy is really bad In fact, thousands of teenagers can't find jobs

Dont forget to bring a face mask.

recycle poop in appropriate marked green bin whenever possible

Hahaha!!! He should sit on the bin for non-recyclable trash!

haha love you guys :DD very useful tips!!
i hope to meet new cool friends as u in Beijing

When you are in the restaurant try asking what is inside the dish before ordering. If you don`t understand Chinese at all and if possible bring someone who can speak Chinese. Ordering by picture in China can be a bit too adventurous. They have a lot of veeery delicious dishes(Jiaozi, Baozi for example), but if you order by just pointing at pictures you can end up with some veeeery interesting and very unusual dishes, apart form the fact that sometimes some things look like it`s vegetable, but it is meat...

And try looking up if your bank has a possibility of withdrawing money in Beijing, since some banks don`t have a branch in China or in Beijing, so change your bank beforehand.

P.S. And bare with the fact that you will be looked a lot at and asked to take pictures with random unknown people, since you are a foreigner. Not so bad since you are not blond, but still a loooot even in Beijing

Why not use 2 weeks of your planned time in China and visit Singapore? U can easily fly to Phuket Thailand, Bali Indonesia from here... just 1.5 hours flight!

BTW, China, Korea, Japan is lovely too

sanlitun is my fav place for pickup!!that club in front of vics is called mix(full of chinese,,few foreigners)50yuan for entrance including girls

vics and element charge 100,,but many foreigners there

in sanlitun village,there is one called migas and a roof bar,,1st bar,,they are pretty good!!!


clubs and bars in wudaokou are pretty good and also cheap,,it is becoz of people there are students,,not rich kids..



what a shame,,foreign girls in sanlitun are pretty old for me,they are graduated ,and more than 25,,,very few young girls,,,,
next semester,i go to wudaokou to pickup,yahoo!


any chinese in beijing??come and join us.