I Love China! It’s such a stunning country, the people are friendly and kind, and there is so much to see such as the beautiful pandas of Chengdu, camping on the Great Wall, Disneyland Shanghai and beautiful Hangzhou.
I Love China, It’s such a stunning country, the people are friendly and kind, and there is so much to see such as the beautiful pandas of Chengdu, camping on the Great Wall, Disneyland Shanghai and beautiful Hangzhou.
Many people worry about getting around China without speaking the language. Chinese (Mandarin, Cantonese and all the dialects in between) is one of the hardest languages to learn, ever. But China is such an amazing travel destination. Don’t let your lack of ability to speak Chinese hold you back from having the adventure of your life!
Before we get started, you need to know two things.
#1 DON’T’ blame yourself for not being able to speak Chinese. Chinese is SUPER hard to learn, especially for those from non-tonal language traditions (English included). The writing is totally beautiful, but entirely undecipherable.
#2 Absolutely DO NOT let it hold you back from travelling to an incredible, dynamic, thousands-of-other-adjectives country. China is worth a visit, or two or three, for as long and as far as you can afford.
SO what is the ultimate solution? Well, the answer is that it isn’t easy but it can be done and it may well be easier than you think. This article is meant to help people who may find themselves in China or in any country where they don’t speak the language, or when options of learning it are next to impossible.
The following list of tips can help a person who doesn’t speak Chinese or much Chinese survive more easily.
# 1: GET YOU BARINGS STRAIGHT
Download the Google Translate smartphone app.
For Black belt Features – Go to Settings, Manage Offline Services, and download Mandarin so that it can work even when you don’t have internet. This lets you translate from English into Mandarin characters that baffled locals that you will encounter can read. Download the Pinyin keyboard onto your smartphone, so that they can respond to you in their own language.
Download maps of any city you will be in.
Outside China: Google maps can be used extensively.
Inside China: Baidu Maps is the way to go.
There are always several options available online; try to look for one which includes subway/metro information, tourist attractions as well as English and Chinese characters.
Remember that Google, Gmail, Hotmail and Facebook (as well as Instagram, Tumblr and any blog, including this one) are all banned in China. If you have become accustomed to using Google to search for, say, “best duck restaurant beijing”; consider searching that on other sites such as Bing or Baidu, and saving a screenshot to your phone (or print it if that’s how you roll)
Hire a Car from the Airport.
If you’re a bit worried about finding your hotel and don’t want to have to deal with taxi drivers who don’t speak English, consider hiring a car through Blacklane. This company employs drivers who speak English in cities all over China, like Beijing, Shanghai, Xi’an, Hangzhou and more. They’ll pick you up in a nice car and make sure you get where you need to go. This is perfect for families or business trips, and you can hire them throughout your travels in China when you just want a nice driver to make your travels a little easier.
Use TripAdvisor’s detailed City Guides.
These are amazing – they work in conjunction with your GPS (if you have one on your phone) to locate you, and help you navigate when in any city. Also helpful when trying to find hotels, restaurants and sights. GPS works on flight mode too, regardless of whether or not you have a cellular network connection.
Take a Hotel Business Card.
Most hostels and hotels have a card at the front desk. This card should have the address in Pin Yin Chinese and Chinese characters. It may even have a little map! Always, always, always take a card. Take more than one! You can just show the card to a cab driver, and he’ll know exactly where to take you.
“But wait, how do I get to my hotel from the airport in the first place?”
Good question! Make sure you have the Chinese address saved in an email on your phone before you step off the plane or train. It is therefore best to make all bookings through a trusted third party website like: AirBnB, Ctrip, Hostelworld or Booking.com. When making a booking, you should receive a confirmation email that normally has the address in both pinyin and Chinese characters.
TRAVELLERS INTERCONNECTING BETWEEN CHINA AND OTHER COUNTRIES: Keep in mind, if you don’t have a Chinese SIM card or international phone plan be sure to load the email before you leave WiFi, or take a screenshot with your phone. The last thing you want is to arrive at your destination with an email that’s not loaded.
Don’t let Chinese public transport throw you off!
Don’t let Chinese public transportation scare you! While the bus is a little difficult because everything is in Chinese, the subways list all the stops in English. I’ve actually found the Chinese subways to be much easier to navigate than those in London!
Travelling on long distance trains? WRITE DOWN YOUR TRAIN NUMBER, TIME AND DESTINATION DETAILS WHEN BOOKING YOUR TICKETS AT THE STATION. The people at the train ticket counters are usually super helpful and should understand what you need. If there are issues with asking for the tickets then you can show the paper with the written information on it – you can also screenshot (if you’re using an app). You can also take pictures of the train you want and share that too.
#2: CHOOSE YOUR RESOURCES
Bring a notebook and pen, or flashcards.
People along the way – like helpful hotel staff – can write down the name of where you want to go in Chinese so you can show it to taxi drivers, bus conductors, and random people on the street who look friendly.
Carry a small phrase book.
Mandarin-English phrase books can be invaluable. These will usually have expressions written in English, Chinese pinyin and Characters. You should always attempt to say what you want in Chinese first using the pinyin as a guide. If people don’t understand you can point to the characters for the word.
Haggle with a calculator.
For those of you traveling to Shanghai, Beijing, or Shenzhen, you’ll definitely want to do some shopping. The bargaining markets (more like malls) in these cities are insane! You’ll find souvenirs, fake designer goods, custom-made clothing, makeup, knockoff perfume, suitcases, jewelry and much, much more. Even if you’re trying to get a small souvenir at a market stall in the Chinese countryside, be sure to haggle for a lower price.
Research the History Before You Go to Tourist Locations!
Heading to the Terracotta Warriors, Summer Palace or Forbidden City? Research the history before you go. While these places sometimes have signs in English, they usually don’t make any sense. While this can be absolutely hilarious on snapchat, it’s not that great for learning about China’s 5,000 years of ancient history.
# 3: INVEST IN AMENITIES
Buy a cellphone
If you have problems with using the phone from home, then this would be a really important investment. It doesn’t need to be an expensive phone. A cheap 200 RMB phone might be the best investment you make in China. With a cheap cell phone you can save text messages that you can use later, use airtime to call or send text messages, and download important local apps.
Gaining access to a Virtual Private Network (VPN)
This will ensure continued access to Google etc., but that will only help if you have a mobile service that can access data while you are out and about. Make sure you check the legalities behind this step as you cannot download a VPN when in China, or when you do, your VPN may randomly stop working in between. This is a grey area for foreigners!
Stock up on some important products
Use empty packages. An empty box can speak for you. If you’ve run out of something you can take the empty package to the store. This is especially good for medicines, food and drink items. Showing a person at a store or pharmacy an empty box is usually a lot quicker and easier than struggling with them not understanding what you’re asking for. You’ll also be certain that you’ve gotten the right thing.
#4: MINGLE
Use the Hostel / Hotel Tours.
Want to go to the Great Wall but you don’t want to deal with the long-distance public bus ride hassle? Book a tour through your hostel or hotel. Sometimes these tours can be very convenient. They may also be the only feasible way to get to places outside the city without a car.
If you don’t speak Chinese and actually want to enjoy your day, this may be the best way to go. If you’re staying at a hotel, and think the price is a bit high, check out a local hostel and you may find more budget-friendly tours. A normal day trip costs around 200 kuai ($30 USD). Some can be cheaper or more expensive depending on what you’re doing and how high the entrance fees are.
Ask if anyone speaks English:
Seriously, just ask people if they speak English and generally if they don’t a kind English speaking Chinese person will come over to help. Don’t under-estimate the kindness of strangers.
Make friends with other foreigners who speak Chinese
There are many foreigners living in China who are studying Chinese or working as an English teacher. If they’ve been in China for a while odds are they can speak a bit of Chinese. Depending on why you are in China it should be fairly easy to meet them. Many of the foreigners you meet will offer you help if you need it.
Practice your sign language
When I first came to China, I went inside a small shop to buy some chocolate and get rid of some change. The package didn’t have the price written on it, so I gestured a “how much?” sign to the seller and waited for him to show me with his fingers how many yuan I had to pay. He pointed at me with his index finger and raised his thumb, as if forming a gun with his hand. I stared for a while, and finally decided to ditch the change and gave him a 100 yuan bill instead. Later on I asked my Chinese friend why the man pointed a finger-gun at me. She said it meant eight, and laughed about it for the next week.
Tip: The signs for numbers are the same from one to five, but different from five to ten, so be sure to learn them!
Stay Patient!
Finding yourself in a new country where you are suddenly both illiterate and unable to speak or understand people who are speaking to you can at times be frustrating. It can also present you with a few challenges you may never have previously imagined. In many cases you will still be able to communicate with the people around you but doing so may take a bit more time than normal.
In that respect it’s very important to pay attention to body language. For example, if you show someone an address and know how to ask where the place is – then stand back and watch what they do with their hands and you will find that you can infer much of the information from the gestures they use while telling you the location.
#5: LET PHOTOGRAPHY GUIDE YOU
Another trick is to take a photo or screenshot of what you’re after – if you want to see a panda, then take a picture of a panda. If you can’t find what you need, use photos to help you communicate. This is a foolproof method if all other forms of communications fail.
And food
Never underestimate the power of photography when choosing food items in an unknown country, and ESPECIALLY if you can’t speak the language! It is perfectly acceptable to act like locals and look around at what everyone’s eating. It is also acceptable go up to the restaurant staff and say “I want this” whilst pointing at someone’s food. You can do something similar by pointing at someone’s dish, holding up one finger, and then pointing at yourself. You can also point at the pictures on the walls if there are any. Keep in mind, the pictures on the wall may not accurately reflect the dishes available.
#6 Don’t be Afraid to get LOST!
Remember that you are human. You, my friend, are programmed to be an expert on giving out, and reading, body language and other non-verbal cues. In the days of text and Twitter, try to re-engage those skills and try and try again. One thing that never works? Saying what you are saying in exactly the same way but louder, slower and closer. Remember that you are surrounded by humans: the locals are avidly friendly, and very interested in foreigners. They will do their best to help you.
But seriously? …
Get a little lost, and discover just how great a communicator you really are. No one truly needs language to travel – it’s respectful and courteous and all that – but when push comes to shove, you have all the instincts, skills and sensitivity to communicate to other humans from other countries. Humans are all same….same but also different.
And last but NOT least, don’t forget to enjoy the experience and have fun!!
We Hope you have enjoyed this guide, which may not only be used in China, but the same principals would apply in ANY non-English speaking country!
Have you travelled around China in a similar way? Are there any more points you can suggest? Do you have any interesting stories of your travels you can share with us?
