Headed to China

[KFC ONE]

(MODS: Decided to repost this in Supershopper where there looks to be more traffic - please delete if necessary)

I'll be headed to China on a business trip next Tuesday and was looking for any info from anyone who has been or is there.

Flying on United into Shanghai (coach) - any good travel tips for surviving the long flight?

I'll have a day off in Shenzhen - Anyone have info on what to do? Is Luo Hu Commercial City worth seeking out?

Looking to pick up some Head Porter and Visvim items - Will this be tough to find? Better price than US?

What foods are a must?

Being a non-Asian how hard of time will I have?

Worth it to look for a new cellphone, camera or electronics at all?

I'll be there for 9 days but moving around a lot (see below)

Shanghai Oct. 17-19

Shenzhen 19-20

Guangzhou 20-21

Hong Kong 21-23

Xiamen 23-26

Shanghai 26

ANY and ALL info on traveling, shopping and eating would be appreciated!!

[Landy]

when flying, pick an aisle seat... if you can get an exit row, that's even better. wear comfortable clothes like sweats. no one is going to give a shit how fly you look on a plane. get up and stretch from time to time to avoid thrombosis. if you want, take the time to make friends with the flight attendents in the middle of the flight. they get bored as shit hanging out in the galley while everyone is sleeping. i got a bottle of wine and the offer to be bumped up to first class on my narita to hong kong flight after i made pals with them.

don't know where to go in shenzen. i heard its dangerous at nite so stick to tourist areas. luo hu is worth the trip for all the fake shit but sometimes you can find good stuff. just remember that in china, everyone is out to get your money and have no qualms rippin the shit off of you. being a gwailo just amplifies that. whatever price they name you in lo wu, quarter it and go from there. if they don't budge then just walk off, they'll eventually chase after you or you can just find a better deal elsewhere.

there's head porter there but probably fake. you're better off just going to hong kong to find real fancy stuff there but its gonna be pricier.

in shanghai, make sure you get the soup dumplings. you can get 16 for $2. pretty good deal.

dim sum in guangzhou and shanghai is excellent and very very cheap. try the laurel restaurant inside lo wu city but there's often a very long wait.

i would save the pricier shopping of goods and electronics for hong kong cuz at least you know its real there. in hong kong, go to a real electronics store like fortress. other places will just want to gipp you.

xiamen is great. check out the terracotta warriors.

if you want to know more about hong kong, do a search because i've already dropped mad knowledge on it there.

[xcoldricex]

luo hu commercial city is big and has a lot of knock off stuff (but you'll have to ask for the better knock off stuff and the ones that actually have logos of the bigger brands). but if you don't know the prices then you're bound to get ripped off. dongmen shopping district is where the younger kids go to shop. go get a good massage at a nice place (or a shady one if you're into that..) i'd probably just leave shenzhen and spend the day in hong kong as there's much more to do and shop for there (just take the train in- takes about 30 min.... if your visa allows you to reenter more than once)

don't bother with visvim, expect to pay at least $300 in HK for any given pair. headporter is abundant in hk but a little pricey.

look at electronics in hong kong. electronics are expensive in china.

eat shengjian and xiaolongbao in shanghai, dim sum in guangzhou (you can check out the guangzhou restaurant- oldest in GZ. never got around to eating there but my friend that used to work there said it's amazing), dim sum in hong kong. street food is great if you have a strong stomach- you can get lamb kabobs, roasted oysters with pineapple beer, lamb wraps, etc.

[KFC ONE]

Damn, Just what I was looking for!

Will check out the other posts for HK info!

Thanks for the informative responses!

Very much appreciated!

[Landy]

where you from coldrice? you pretty much on point. if you're an american in HK maybe i've seen you around. the scene is so small there.

[KFC ONE]

I hate to cross forum post but was unsure on where I would get the best response...

I'll be headed to China on a business trip next Tuesday and was looking for any info from anyone who has been or is there.

Flying on United into Shanghai (coach) - any good travel tips for surviving the long flight?

I'll have a day off in Shenzhen - Anyone have info on what to do? Is Luo Hu Commercial City worth seeking out?

Looking to pick up some Head Porter and Visvim items - Will this be tough to find? Better price than US?

What foods are a must?

Being a non-Asian how hard of time will I have?

Worth it to look for a new cellphone, camera or electronics at all?

I'll be there for 9 days but moving around a lot (see below)

Shanghai Oct. 17-19

Shenzhen 19-20

Guangzhou 20-21

Hong Kong 21-23

Xiamen 23-26

Shanghai 26

ANY and ALL info on traveling, shopping and eating would be appreciated!!

[xcoldricex]

oh yeah. while you're in shanghai try to get to a hangzhou restaurant (or if you have half a day off go to hangzhou - it's a 45min train ride). hangzhou food is a lot tastier than shanghai food in my opinion. try the dongpo rou, beggar's chicken, and west lake fish with a cup of dragon well tea.

oh and you should try to go to a hotpot restaurant in any of the cities you go to just for the experience. opt for the ying-yang style bowl that has both normal and spicy soups so you can try both.

[xcoldricex]

oh i'm from michigan. i was doing research in asia last year in shanghai, beijing, shenzhen, guangzhou, hong kong, taipei, seoul, tokyo, and osaka. i spent a month or two in most of the places so i got a general feel for the areas.

[KFC ONE]

Many thanks for all the help!!

I'm getting more excited for the trip than I was before.

Where would you guys suggest to shop in Shenzhen?

I'll be staying at the Novotel Bauhinia

[mwrenchd]

I haven't been since 2000, but wherever I went everyone was very friendly & mostly helpful, even with the language barrier. If you aren't going to have an interpreter or someone fluent travelling with you, some rudimentary Mandarin would be a very good idea outside of Hongkong/Shanghai.

Can't comment on shopping, as I was a student at the time and visited different cities than where you are going (except HK & Shanghai), but definitely try to haggle price on everything.

The most useful phrase as a (presumably?) white person is "bu yao".

Perchance, do you work for Yum?

Oh well, useless reply I know, but have fun.

[sushijerk]

China is a great place for international travelers right now, and as a foreigner you will be treated MUCH more nicely than say....a Chinese ex-pat. However, keep in mind that literally every stranger you meet will be looking to make a buck off you. Beware overfriendly strangers and avoid buying anything on the street. If you plan on doing any unsupervised traveling I would suggest picking up a Frommers/Lonely Planet guide Shanghai or Hong Kong. Tons of great info and suggestions on sight seeing/eating/getting around.

Authentic items from Japan like Head Porter will be hard to find in mainland China. Your best bet is Hong Kong, although I don't know any places off the top of my head.

I find that most authentic Chinese food isn't really to the taste of foreigners. However, since you are going to be in Shanghai I would definitely seek out some dim sum and soup buns. I would also ask around to find some suggestions for local street food. Typically there will be "night markets" where food carts congregate and you can try a ton of variety for very little money.

Personally, I would avoid buying high-end or name brand items in Asia. China has a heavy import tax on a lot of foreign made items so authentic "luxury" brands from a fancy flagship store will have a higher mark up than most American or European cities. On the flip side, there are a ton of great deals to be found on local items or well made imitation goods, but you need to haggle for them. As a foreigner, whatevere price that the salesperson cites to you for will be RIDICULOUS. Even if you want the item, don't be afriad to walk away because the salesperson will call you back and make you a better offer 95% of the time.

Electronics in China are no cheaper than what you can find here on the internet. There are good deals, but this is again mostly dependent on 1)knowing where to buy, and 2) your bargaining ability. Most Chinese phones are on a different band and won't work in the US. Unless you have a specific phone in mind and know that it is a global tri-band phone, I wouldn't be looking to buy one in Asia.

Tips:

1) Tap water is not drinkable.

2) Bring whatever meds you need with you because they will be hard to find in China. However, most high class hotels and Watsons convenience stores will have common over the counter items.

3) Tipping is not practiced in China.

[Konfucius]

Tip in Hong Kong though. Even though they already add the 10%, throw some money on top of that.

[Guest Fade to Black]

Tip in Hong Kong though. Even though they already add the 10%, throw some money on top of that.

yeah but not too much. I rarely tip over $3 HKD, NEVER over $5, regardless of what kind of restaurant it's at. I mean in some places that 10% can be killer as they charge you up the ass for tea, peanuts, sauce and all that. I've heard of people paying hundreds before they've even ordered a damn thing.

[KFC ONE]

Many thanks for all the helpful replies!

[retrored]

Went to Shanghai for business last winter and found that "streetwear" items are few and far between.

Bring a few GQs and you can get a suit you find in there made for cheap. You pick the lining and everything. It might not be Saville Row, but it's a great bargain for a good suit none the less. From my experience, 5 days is all that is necessary to get a custom suit made. They are more then willing to expedite orders, and this really is the land where money speaks louder then words.

[xcoldricex]

mods why don't you merge this with his other thread in superjetset?

[Landy]

Tip in Hong Kong though. Even though they already add the 10%, throw some money on top of that.

i've never heard of that. i've never had to tip in HK. even if you eat at a small cha cha tam or something, you don't have to tip. you don't tip cab drivers. the only instance i would think you would tip is when you're staying at a hotel or you eat at a "western" restaurant that doesn't automatically add a 10% service charge.

[xcoldricex]

yeah, i've never heard of tipping in asia.

[Kasper]

i've never heard of that. i've never had to tip in HK. even if you eat at a small cha cha tam or something, you don't have to tip. you don't tip cab drivers. the only instance i would think you would tip is when you're staying at a hotel or you eat at a "western" restaurant that doesn't automatically add a 10% service charge.

when i was there, i read in a couple travel guide that you had to tip a little bit. i kind of felt bad cause i didn't untill then. but then i ask a few locals and what i reckon is that 'tipping' is basically rounding up the bill to the next 5 or 0, so you never leave more than 4HK$, which is like 50 cents and not really tip IMO. i don't think every one does it though...

[beast]

when i was there, i read in a couple travel guide that you had to tip a little bit. i kind of felt bad cause i didn't untill then. but then i ask a few locals and what i reckon is that 'tipping' is basically rounding up the bill to the next 5 or 0, so you never leave more than 4HK$, which is like 50 cents and not really tip IMO. i don't think every one does it though...

Hi!

You are right. Unlike Landy, I only 'tip' when I am taking a taxi and I round up the fare to the next dollar.

But like Landy, I do not tip when I eat at those small eateries & they always give me the exact change.

[xcoldricex]

oh take the maglev train in shanghai just to say you did- faster than the shinkansen's in japan. it's not expensive and it's the fastest way to get into the (sort of) city. you'll still have to take the subway from where it stops though.