So, at long last, my anticipated study abroad trip has come!
On June 13th, I leave the paradise known as Santa Barbara and go to China until January 2. I am going as part of a University of California program, with some other students.
I arrive in Beijing first, where I will do a 2 month summer program at Beijing Normal University. There, I will do the intensive beginning language course in Chinese (1 full year’s worth in 9 weeks) because I had chosen to study Russian in college instead of Chinese.
After a break of a couple of weeks, it is off to Shanghai, where I will stay for the next 4 months at Fudan University, and study Globalization and International Relations.
So, China dopers, people who know the lay of the land, can you help out a 2001 alumni member, a boy who joined the 'dope at the age of 14, promptly made an ass of himself, (Oh, man, has this place evolved over the years, haha, if I had tried some of those posts I did back then now, I would have really been ripped to pieces) and after years of lurking has emerged to seek aid from you all?
What should I buy? What should I watch out for? What should I not miss? What will my spending be? I have a ton of questions, so I will bump this thread once or twice.
It’s been a real long time since I’ve been there (2001) but you are in for a wonderful adventure. I’d recommend watching the Food and Travel Channel episodes on street food for both Beijing and Shanghai.
Shanghai is an unbelievable juxtaposition of modernity, European colonial architecture and old school weird Chinese markets. Check out the art museum (the one shaped like a cooking pot). It will blow your mind. Splurge and have a drink at the top of the Grand Hyatt for a marvelous view. Wander into the lobby of the Hong Kong and Shanghai Bank. It’s spectacular.
I understand that things have changed a great deal since I was in Beijing, but make sure you wander about the hutongs, the narrow alleyway ghettos. I heard that a lot of them were torn down for the Olympics, which is a damn shame. The street food is fantastic, although I chickened out on the scorpions on a stick. I’ve been told it’s actually a bit of a tourist novelty.
From what I understand, you can get more than a haircut at the barbershops in Shanghai.
Welcome!!! If you are ever in or around Sichuan, let me know! I’ll be in your neck of the woods next month- maybe we can say “hi!” And if you are taking a vacation in Yunnan, I can give you some specific advice. I’ve been here in Sichuan for a year teaching as a Peace Corps volunteer.
Let’s see…advice…if you are not a small person, bring whatever clothes you plan to wear. Larger sizes can be difficult to find. Also bring enough underwear, because Chinese underwear sucks. Deodorant can also be a tough one to find. I’ve never been to Beijing of Shanghai, but I’m sure you will be able to find anything you need there, though western goods will be at western prices.
Read up on internet blocking and how to get around it. There are plenty of tutorials but they can be difficult to access from this side.
Tuttle’s Learning Chinese Characters is the most useful hanzi book I’ve ever seen. Also, make sure you wander the children’s sections of Chinese bookstores. There are tons of resources there for hanzi learners. The language is hard, but not impossible.
Anyway, most of my advice probably doesn’t apply to the big cities, where foreigners are surely less of a novelty and cultural differences aren’t as vast. I’ve been having a great time in China, though it’s been a lot more difficult than I expected. You’ll have a great experience and learn tons. Good luck!
Beijing is one of my favorite cities in the world. We took the kids there in March of 2007 for a week (and then on to Shanghai for a week) and it was definitely a highlight of my life. Before we left, I took 8 months of Mandarin from a native speaker in a class of 5 people. When I got to China, very few understood me except those in the shop who also knew English. The one phrase that everyone understood and was very helpful was “bu yao” which our kids even started to say. It translates roughly to "I don’t want it"and was extremely useful when we went to the Hongqiao Market (Pearl Market).
There are two huge black/gray markets in Beijing that we went to that were so much fun. Hongqiao was one of them (and I’m forgetting the name of the other one). I’m going to disagree with even sven on one point and that is we were able to find clothes of all sizes here. My partner is a stocky guy at 6’ 280 lbs and had no problem finding clothes there. Chinese sizes are different than American sizes so try on the clothes before you buy*. Most of the shopkeepers are teenage-twenty year old women who are hilariously aggressive as they literally pulled us into their shops. They also had the best bargaining catchphrases like “I thought we were friends” when we lowballed them for a couple t-shirts.
I’d also recommend eating the Peking Duck at Quanjude (there are multiple locations, we went to the oldest one). They wheel out the duck to you at the beginning and then cut off its head and start serving it. There are also side plates and our favorite was the sesame encrusted duck lungs garnished with fried scorpions. Bring your camera.
One small bit of advice that we found out the hard way, if you need cab, don’t bother when it’s raining. They’re usually all taken.
*I never saw a changing room so if you need pants/underwear, use the neck trick where you wrap the buttoned waist of the article around your neck and if it fits all the way around, it will fit widthwise at least.
Thanks! I’m really excited about the food! I wonder, about how much would an early-20’s guy spend on food in a week in these cities? There’s a cafeteria on the campus, but maybe I don’t want to go every day, for every meal.
I’d probably chicken out on the scorpions too, but hey, when in Rome, do as the Chinese do, right? I’ll definitely make sure to have that drink… maybe with my local barber ^^
Hi Even Sven!! I’ll definitely look you up when I get there, I have always enjoyed your posts, and who knows, maybe I’ll follow in your footsteps after I graduate. Can I PM you?
I have some friends in Sichuan, so, I’ll definitely be heading out to Chengdu more than once. I hear it is really great there.
I’m about 5’8 and 155 pounds, so I think I’m small enough. But yeah, I’m definitely worried about deoderant, I’m bringing a ton. About internet blocking, well, I’ve already become super paranoid that the the Chinese government is monitering my chatting with Chinese friends on QQ, so maybe I’ll just avoid that whole thing…
I’m sure I’ll be heading out into the country at some point, what’s it like there? What’s Yunnan like? Is the difference between the city and rural people really such a chasm?
Thank you!!!
Good advice! I already know “bu yao,” and a few other things, I’m sure I’ll get ripped off a lot but whatever. It sounds like you did it big a little bit, I wonder if I’ll have enough to do that too.
What kind of price should I pay for clothes? What if I want, like, an “Armani” suit?
Go to Quanjude… got it.
Thanks guys! Was there anything that you went to that you just regretted entirely? Is there some great experience I need to know? Talking to Chinese people, everyone in China is nice and every place is great. What do I need to watch out for so I don’t get in with a bad crowd?
Thanks again!
Armani in Shanghai costs RMB500 if you go to my shop. You can eat really cheap $5 per day if you really want to. My favorite breakfast costs RMB2.5 (a youtiao egg crepe thing) or about 40 cents.
The area around Fudan abounds with “student” type and priced restaurants. The Korean food out there is fantastic and cheap.
Let’s put it in perspective, you’ll like life a really well off student in the US for not a lot of money in China. Of course, if you want to live the Western lifestyle it will cost you an arm and a leg. But you’re young and looking for an adventure, so you’ll be the guy buying a case of beer for $5 so your college buddies can party down.
Quanjude is waaaaaay over rated. I much prefer the Shaghai style Peking Roast Duck.
Only thing I regret was getting Hepatitus. Ya, you might want to be just a little bit careful about where/how you eat. But hey, it was just once 20 years ago.
You have to try pretty hard in general to piss people off or be in a bad place at least in Shanghai.
Jesus H Christ, you’re single (whatever orientation) in Shanghai with a decent student’s budget … what’s not to like. Most people would call that paradise.
We all bought a lot of “name brand” clothing. Our daughter came home with purses galore from Louis Vuitton, Tod’s, Gucci, Prada, et al. Those were $20 a piece after bargaining. I bought some Tommy Bahama shirts for $10 each. Don’t be afraid to bargain hard but do it with a smile. You will want to check over the quality thoroughly and make sure that the one you wanted is the one that goes in the bag.
I’m heading to China (Wuhan) next month, too, and I’m just now looking into Visas. It seems that one cannot mail-in their visa application, rather it must be hand-delivered. The instructions for the application do mention that I can have a friend / relative / visa agent take care of this, too. What is your experience?
Please excuse the pseudo-hijack,… just wondering what you and others have done about obtaining Chinese Visas.
I’m not sure what your location is shunpiker, but we went to a local place in St Paul, MN called China Tribune which sent our passports, pictures, and visa applications over to the Chicago Embassy and we had them back in a couple weeks.
Go to the Chinese consulate website for your area. They used to have a mail in option. SF and LA both had an express service to turn in one morning and get back after lunch on the same day.
Whatcha doing in Wuhan? Head’s up that it isn’t the “nicest” big city in China and is miserable in the Summer.