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Ever since writing the post, a week after arriving in China, I decided that I needed to follow it up with my opinions when I left the country, after 7 weeks there. This has worried me ever since, as I knew full well how difficult it would be to write. I would be walking a very thin line between getting my point across and just plain ranting. This is probably a give away that all was not perfect here in the Far East, not for me anyway. I arrived aware of the challenge in front of me, it was this challenge that attracted me to go travelling in China in the first place. I craved something different, something new. Whilst China wasn’t my cup of tea, I certainly can’t say that everything was bad. Stress levels hit a new high and kept rising from there, but it was certainly a memorable time. I was ticking things off my bucket list and at the same time I wanted to be anywhere else in the world. I feel it’s best to break it down into different sections as I did with the first post. This way I will get my opinion across, without turning the post into a full-on declaration of war against China, fingers crossed anyway!
To read my original post from my first week in China, click here
Currency Converter – 10CNY = €1.25/£1.15/$1.45
Accommodation
The quality of the hostels was one of the plus points. After the Kunming incident, that I spoke about in the first post, I stuck to hostels, avoiding guest houses and it was the right choice. Most were clean and well kept. The majority offered cheap laundry and some even sold very cheap beer. What was strange was the other guests present. Backpackers, such as myself, were few and far between. A very high percentage of residents were of Chinese nationality, some travelling through, others staying long term. Either way, they were far from the budget travellers I was used to meeting. This led to, on occasion, myself and my girlfriend being the only Westerners in residence. A few of the hostels didn’t offer mixed dorms, which was also a bit different, but not a deal breaker in any way. The hostels that kept genders separated tended to be a bit different than the ones with mixed, at least in the male dorms. People sitting or lying on my bed was not uncommon when I came back from a day exploring, something which was quite frustrating. Smoking was not uncommon either, especially in the ensuite bathrooms, with no fan on at times. Guests even lit their cigarettes in the room on their way out, because clearly, they couldn’t wait any longer. With Beijing maybe being the exception, other Westerners seemed to travel more with large suitcases than backpacks. It seemed like they were bringing their whole life with them with no intention of ever returning home. The hostels also seemed to lack atmosphere, not the end of the world once the showers and air conditioning worked and everything was clean.
Transportation
This is one of the biggest pluses of the country. Every city I visited, except Guilin, had a fantastic underground train service connecting the entire city and for so cheap too. For as little as 2CNY and as much as 8CNY, it was possible to travel anywhere that you wished to go. For longer journeys, across the country, the trains ran with impeccable efficiency. So much so that I never arrived as much as a minute late. Tickets can be booked online, which is highly necessary and advised, as they book out well in advance. This was a problem for any sleeper train that I wished to book. At times I tried to book 3 weeks in advance and no beds were available. All we could get were hard seats and, after hearing some unpleasant stories about them, I thought it best to stay away and we travelled through the day. Collecting the tickets at the station was, for the most part, chaotic. However, that didn’t come as a surprise. Give yourself plenty of time and it will be smooth enough. Travelling through the day can cost you close to 560CNY though. When you are travelling every 4 or 5 days, this adds up. The sleepers are not much cheaper, but you have the added bonus of saving on that night’s accommodation and aren’t “wasting” a day on a train. Unfortunately, this is just the price you pay for the one thing the country has that runs smoothly.
Language Barrier
Without a doubt, the biggest obstacle in front of me when I arrived in China. In a country where there is more than one language spoken by the locals, who at times can’t even understand each other, I had no hope. I can admit that this was one hundred per cent my fault, but that didn’t make it any easier. Of course, you learn to get by the best you can. What other choice do you have really?
Food
This is where the language was a real problem. In places like Vietnam, for example, you may see things like Pho or Bun Bo Hue on offer. Now I don’t speak a word of Vietnamese, but I know what these foods are and I know what I am ordering. This is not the case in China. Let’s just say the menus are much harder to read, more so if there aren’t any pictures. Fast food became my new best friend, especially after getting off a long train in a new city. It was just easier, less stressful and, on most occasions, cheaper to eat there. The food in China is such a tricky one. Most of the risks I took, choosing something random at a local hole in the wall, didn’t pay off. This, at times, made me feel like not bothering at all.
However, I love to eat cheap and eat locally. I got the impression that most of the older style eateries were making way for newer fancier restaurants that taste worse and cost more. What makes my culinary experience here so strange is that, whilst in the grand scheme of things I found food here to be poor, I also had some of the most amazing meals of my entire trip here. Yang’s Dumplings in Shanghai served perfect steaming parcels of pork at the low price of 8CNY for 4.
In Xi’an, I didn’t go a day without eating at Fan Ji La Shi. Here they sold Rou Jia Fo which is commonly known as Chinese Hamburgers. Juicy pork stewed in an old Chinese master sauce of herbs and spices pulled and placed in a crispy bun. At 10CNY they were a steal. For the same price, the same establishment served the tastiest bowl of noodles I have ever had. Biang Biang Noodles are handmade noodles that are long and thick, similar in size and stature to a belt. They were topped with the pork mentioned earlier, Chinese cabbage and some of that preserved pork gravy poured over them. I’m drooling now just thinking of them!
Traffic
It is not just China that has crazy traffic. However, in no other country have I ever felt that if they crash into you it’s your own fault. This is a country where ambulances don’t get right of way and are even beeped at for being stopped and helping a crash victim. (This happened in Guilin, unbelievable!) I have seen kids hit by bikes crossing the road and even though the bike might stop for a second, it is clear they don’t really care. ‘Get out of the way, I deserve to go first regardless of the rules’, seems to be the mindset behind driving here. In fact, this can be said for the approach Chinese people take towards pretty much anything.
People
Have you ever walked into a room and everybody either stares at you or begins openly talking about you? No? How about a train? Still no? Go spend some time in China, I can assure you it won’t be long before this happens. They will go as far as pointing at you from two feet away on an escalator, talking among themselves. They will point at their eyes and nose, then they’ll point at yours and laugh. Maybe you are ok with this, I was too at the start. After 7 weeks I had reached the end of my tether. Being made to feel like an animal at a zoo for the smallest things, like sitting on a park bench and taking a drink of water, was infuriating. The fact that this happens in places like Shanghai, a city full of Westerners, is crazy. I don’t get it. It’s plain rude and very unsettling! Actions like this at home would only be described as one thing, and I hate to say it, racist.
On one occasion, while sitting, enjoying ice cream, I realize the woman two feet away from me is having her friend take our picture without consulting me or even letting me know. In a world where money matters and the rat race is in full flow, Chinese nationals seem to be intent on doing what they want, when they want. Once this doesn’t negatively affect their own family or friends, then they don’t care. A simple need to be first makes them rude and ignorant. They will push you out of the way to go through a ticket machine first, only to stop at the other side in no rush at all. Not letting people get off the train before shoving to get on was logic-defying. As was running in front of cars to get across the road, children in hand, nearly causing an accident. Then waiting on the other side for a family member.
Of course, this is not everyone, but on any normal day, you are sure to come across thousands and thousands of people. It is only natural that the huge amount of rude and ignorant ones will stay long in the memory.
Tour Groups
Anyone who has visited popular tourist attractions, especially throughout Asia, will have had some sort of experience with Chinese tour groups. All in unison, loud and chaotic, following a guide with a big stick/flag, getting in the way of anyone around them and not caring a little bit about it. Unfortunately, this is about 1% of them, the rest are travelling around their own country. Everywhere we went there were a huge number of tour groups. All battling for the best picture of the same thing and of course the opportunity to see what they want to see before anyone else. It created chaos. The Terracotta Warriors, as amazing as they were, was like a war zone at times. There was no order or patience being exhibited by anyone. It turned me off going to places like the Forbidden City, in Beijing, after I was told that there was a similar situation.
Hygiene
You know that disgusting sound of someone clearing their throat, dragging up phlegm and spitting? This is the sound of China. Everywhere you go, you hear this noise. It doesn’t even have to be outside either. The floor of a train station or a shopping centre, I’ve seen them spitting here as well. It’s disgusting and there is no need for it. It’s one of the many examples of lack of hygiene in this country. The toilets are another. I can deal with squat toilets, it’s not a problem. But not providing toilet paper or any other way of cleaning yourself is crazy. As is the lack of walls and doors, on occasion. Usually, the hostels were OK, as were the higher end shopping malls. Apart from that, I tried to avoid all others. The smell of smoke and urine in them all was disgusting too.
Another big area where hygiene is an issue is with children, specifically toddlers. Too young to be toilet trained, but apparently too old to wear diapers. Children would wear clothes with holes in the front and back. If they need to relieve themselves in any way, parents would just hold them out and let them go. Busy trains or the middle of the street, it didn’t matter, it was not uncommon to see this!
Regrets?
To be honest, I don’t think I have any! I am not one for regretting things that happen on the road. It is all an experience and changing this would mean losing some of the really special moments that have happened. I did think that instead of going into Hong Kong for a second visa I would have done 30 days in China and ended in HK, flying out of there. This is as much a financial reason as anything else because China was not cheap. Crossing back into China from Hong Kong was difficult. It was like a switch was flicked crossing the border and everything I disliked began happening immediately. The spitting and staring, that had not been in any way present during my week out of the country, were suddenly back to haunt me.
Whilst it is possible to eat for little and hostels are reasonably priced, the transportation costs around the country are huge and this can really blow your budget. When it comes to value for money, I think it was a lot of money spent on a lot of stress and maybe it wasn’t worth it. But I wanted to go to China. To see the good, the bad and everything in between and I am glad I did that.
Will I Return?
I always thought that this would be one of at least two trips to China. The first would allow me to see the cities and famous attractions that I really wanted to see and the next would be to visit more of the natural wonders dotted around the country. Now, after leaving, I can’t see myself ever returning. Without a doubt, China is fast becoming the most powerful nation in the world, nothing will stop this. The people are getting more and more opportunities and seem to be earning more money year after year. The quality of life is constantly improving. Whilst this is great for them, the character traits that I disliked so much are only going to become more and more obvious. This insatiable need to be number one. The consumers market where they want to spend money and do so in an attempt at showing off that they have it. Allowing their children anything they ask for, is creating a generation that is spoilt rotten with no discipline, respect or basic manners!
I know that if I ever decide to go back, I will regret it. Every country has its pros and cons and for me, the cons column is a lot-lot longer here than any country I have travelled to previously. The best thing about travelling is that we are spoilt for choice, there is always somewhere else to go, so why would I return to a country that I struggled to find any charm in. Of course, travellers will come to China, as many have done in the past, and somehow fall in love with it. This is just one traveller’s personal opinion. As long as I can remember, I have always wanted to go to China and whilst I am glad I did, it is certainly a no from me!
To read more about my time in China, including a trip to The Great Wall, click here.
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I appreciate how candid you are in this blog. I have friends who worked in China for a few years and they returned with similar sentiments, one of them giving up the bar he owned just to leave it all behind. Ultimately it’s the people we meet on the road that makes travel great and when this aspect of it is negative, it detracts from the experience. Great post and good handling of some delicate subjects.
I felt the same way in Hong Kong, which was just a taste of what you experienced. This was a great read and very honest.
Thank you!! YOu are certainly not the first person who has said this about Hong Kong to me. It’s crazy, I had the complete opposite experience there and found the country very welcoming. It’s strange that two people can have such a different experience in the same city.