Observations on Travel in China
Amy and I recently returned from having spent just shy of three weeks in China. It was an amazing trip, a bucket-list affair for certain, and I hope to return some day. We saw many amazing sights: Huangshan (Yellow Mountains), Zhangjiajie, Guilin & Yangshuo, Kunming, and Lijiang. What I’d like to share now is not so much those amazing natural sights, but some of my smaller observations and thoughts regarding travel in China from the perspective of a first time visitor
China is a big country
Our travels took us from Shanghai to Lijiang, which is roughly equivalent from Boston to Los Angeles, and that is maybe half the length east-to-west across China.
China’s rail system is fantastic
Travel via high speed (bullet) trains are fast and efficient. The U.S. could learn a great deal from China in the area of train travel. We never experienced a late train, not something I can say about Amtrak, where I’ve yet to experience an on-time train.
Food Culture
Chinese people enjoy food and for good reason, it’s delicious and very inexpensive. For dinners, we ate family style with four, sometimes five adults (myself, Amy, my aunt Betty, cousin Elizabeth, and at times one of our guides) and with drinks, our bill was never over $50. A quick lunch of noodles and a Coke would set you back $3. Other food observations:
Fruit and corn are popular snacks. Often you’d see a person snacking on corn on the cob. Not something I’ve ever seen in the U.S.
Snacks are more wholesome than in the U.S. See above: fruit and corn.
Diet soda is non-existent. Well, not completely, I did find one shop that carried Coke Zero; it was like finding a unicorn
Electric Vehicles
EV’s are far more common in China. The market seems so much more mature: several more brands and each branch having several models. Some noteworthy brands were: BYD (Build your Design), JeTour, OPA, Beijing, Leopaard, and Haval. Often times there designs were derivative: BYD had a model which looked very much like a Range Rover Evoque, and Leopaard looked like - well an FPace from Jaguar. It’s no wonder the US is taxing the import of Chinese EV’s, they would crush the US companies offerings - bye bye Tesla.
Safety
I found China very safe for travel. The train stations and airports had excellent security. Walking around cities at night was just fine: streets were well lit and there were no unruly people walking around (I’m sure there are sketchy neighborhoods like anyplace else, but one can avoid them). I wouldn’t put too much stock into China fear mongering, should you want to visit China, then go. Unless you’re looking for trouble, you’ll be alright.
Public Restrooms
If I have one grip about China, it’s the deplorable state of their public restrooms. Squat toilets are real, everywhere, and they suck. If you injured a knee (like my cousin did) they’re unusable, if you’re elderly and don’t have the strength to squat (like my aunt) they’re unusable. Also, the rooms were pretty damn dirty in most places. But worse that all of that, is the complete lack of toilet paper. Why? just why is that too hard to add to the upkeep of a restroom - we do it here in the U.S. For such a modern and efficient country is so many ways, their public restroom situation in inexcusable.
Summary
We had a wonderful time in China, met many friendly, courteous, and helpful people. We would gladly go again - and hope to do so in the near future.