ARRIVING IN CHINA... absolute culture shock.

抵达中国，绝对的文化冲击

If you are traveling to China for the first time there are A LOT of things you need to know before you go! It is not the kind of destination you can just decide to visit on a whim, especially if you are unfamiliar with the important apps you need to get around and basically function. So to help you learn from my experience, I documented my flight from Colombo, all the way to Guangzhou! If you have any other travel tips for China, please put them in the comments down below!

如果你是第一次去中国旅行，那么在你去之前有很多事情你需要了解！中国不是那种你可以一时兴起就决定去的目的地，尤其是如果你不熟悉你需要用到的重要APP。所以为了让你们能从我的经验中学习，我记录了我从科伦坡一路到广州的行程！如果你们有其他关于中国旅行的建议，请在评论区写出来

以下是外国网友的评论：

Chinese-Canadian

Have fun in China.  I just came back from  a two week trip in China with my teenage daughter.  It was the best trip that we ever took!

祝你在中国玩得开心。我和我十几岁的女儿在中国旅行了两周，刚回来。这是我们最开心的一次旅行

IkinAustralia

China is a beautiful country ,friendly people . I used to live in shandong ,Qingdao city

中国是一个美丽的国家，人民友好。我曾在山东青岛住过。

martinwhetter6041

I lived in China for 13 years and liked it a lot. I never had a problem traveling within the country or internationally. The food is great, the culture is very interesting and I met some nice people. Hope you enjoy it.

我在中国生活了13年，非常喜欢中国，在那从来没有遇到过问题。那里的食物很美味，文化也很有趣，我遇到了一些很友善热心的人。希望你玩得开心。

dongmingliu55347

I am a Chinese living in US also recently visited china. You can use your phone to pay everything. If you use cash, street vendors may not have changes. It’s also quite safe in the night to wander around. Most college students know some English and you can communicate through a translation app. Most people also like to help if you approach them. Hope you have a great time there.

我是在美国生活的中国人，最近也来过中国。你可以用手机支付一切费用。如果你用现金，街头小贩可能没有零钱找。晚上外出也很安全。

大多数大学生都懂一些英语，你可以通过翻译APP进行交流。如果你向他们求助，大多数人也愿意提供帮助。希望你在那里玩得愉快。

Li-kg8bg

Lady, if u have any problem in China, try to ask police, or ask Chinese teenagers, cuz it's the duty of Chinese police to help any citizen and foreign guests, and most old Chinese dont know any English, but the young teenagers must learn English in school

女士，如果你在中国遇到任何问题，试着去问警察，或者问中国青少年，帮助公民和外国游客是中国警察的职责，大多数中国老人不懂英语，而青少年在学校必须学英语

waikeiauyeung2725

Agree that asking police to help if you need anything, literally anything in China. They may even help you to buy a lunch if you can't communicate or pay by e-payment to the shop.

同意，如果你有任何需要，就请警察帮忙，如果你语言不通或无法使用电子支付，他们甚至愿意帮你买午餐，

bengaltiger1289

China is so misunderstood in the media of my country England.  There is never a positive headline, thanks to people like you for shining a much needed light on this beautiful country

英国媒体歪曲中国，从来没有一个正面的标题。感谢像你这样的人照亮了这个美丽的国家。

abirbo

 Can't express how eager I am to see China through your lenses! Having lived in China for 2 years (ya quite small time!) I can guarantee that you will have a different view of the country (compared to what you may have come across on mainstream media) after you have explored the cities and the people.

无法表达我是多么渴望通过你的镜头看到中国！我在中国生活过2年(时间真短)我可以保证，在你探索了她的城市，接触了她的人民之后，你会对这个国家有不同的看法，与你在主流媒体上看到的截然不同

jobyoppo2237

I'm extremely excited that you've come to Guangzhou. I've been living here for more than six years, so it's wonderful to see you arriving here.

I don't have any particular suggestions, but I hope you'll explore the old city area of Guangzhou and savor some authentic local delicacies.

你来广州，我非常激动。我在这里住了六年多了，所以很高兴你来这里。我没有什么特别的建议，但我希望你能去广州老城区看看，品尝一下地道的地方美食。

2ndeye115

If you're flying to China for the first time, it's best not to take flights that arrive late at night or early in the morning, as there will be few people to help you and many of the shops at the airport will be closed. Secondly, the first night you should stay in a large, well-known hotel that is easy to find. It is much more difficult if you arrive late at night and are still looking for small, unknown hostels.

如果你是第一次飞中国，最好不要乘坐深夜或清晨到达的航班，因为没有什么人服务你，机场的许多商店也会关门。其次，第一晚你应该选择一个大的，有名气的酒店，很容易找到。如果你深夜到达，还找不知名的小旅馆，那就很麻烦。

TheCbins

You will have a great time and have your eyes opened. I have lived here for 18 years and am blessed to have had this opportunity in my life. Take the train from GZ south station to Yangshuo, it is a must destination.

你会玩得很开心，也会大开眼界。我在这里生活了18年，很幸运能有这样的机会。从广州南站坐火车到阳朔，这是一个必去的目的地。

samq1004

Good for you for giving China a chance.  I hope you really enjoy your time there.  I love going to China.  I probably travel there  every 4 -6 years.

你给了中国一个机会，这是好事。希望你在那里过得愉快。我喜欢去中国，大概每4 -6年去一次。

davidellis5141

Hi Alina ! I can't wait to see your adventures in China & am happy your research resulted in a relatively positive start to the excursion. Good Luck with the internet !

嗨，Alina ！我迫不及待地想看到你在中国的旅行，我很高兴你做的攻略给这次旅行带来了一个好的开始。祝你好运!

smashsmash5866

Everything went well because you are a smart traveler.  Preplanning is the plan.

一切都很顺利，你是一个聪明的旅行者，提前计划就是最好的计划。

fongponto

girl! thank you for all the tips - ill hopefully be visiting the country this or next year....

Enjoy your stay and have a really good time!

美女，谢谢你所有的建议-我希望今年或明年能去中国，祝你玩得愉快!

yiqiwang

In China, people are friendly and willing to help.

中国人民很友好，乐于助人。

shonen84

Omg, your adventure mirrors my own. I thought I had prepared well for my trip to Beiing, after having visited Hong Kong. I was also lucky to have printed a lot of stuff in Mandarin. I did find policemen helpful. I got separated from my mom in the subway, but police officers really helped us out. Enjoy your travels in Guangzhou!

天啊，你的经历和我一样。我以为在去了香港之后，我已经为我的北京之行做好了充分准备。很幸运的是我印了很多中文资料。我发现警察很能帮得上忙。我和妈妈在地铁里走散了，警察真的帮了我们大忙。祝你在广州玩得愉快!

Gee604

I’ve always been intrigued by China. Have fun there, I’ll live vicariously!

我一直对中国很感兴趣，祝你在那里玩得开心，我会感同身受的

nathansun9874

Welcome to China, Alina! We are delighted to have you here in Guangzhou. We hope you enjoy your stay and have a wonderful time exploring our beautiful country. We look forward to seeing your videos about your experiences in China, and we wish you all the best in your future travels. May your journey be filled with joy and discovery!

欢迎来到中国！我们很高兴你能来广州，希望你在这里过得愉快，在我们美丽的国家度过一段愉快的时光。期待看到你在中国的经历，并祝你在未来的旅行中一切顺利。愿你的旅程充满快乐和惊喜!

donkeykong8792

Guangzhou is one of the major cities, definitely not an odd pick like you thought. Guangzhou is also the birth place of Canto food where you can have the most authentic dim sum experience. Anyways good choice!

广州是主要城市之一，绝对不是你所想象的那么奇怪的选择。广州也是粤菜的发源地，在这里你可以品尝到最地道的点心。无论如何，是个不错的选择!

bravesl6666

I’m from China, and I believe that in cities like Guangzhou, there are many young people who can speak English. However, elderly people, who often didn’t receive a good education, usually don’t speak English. Additionally, if you have enough time, I recommend visiting my hometown, Kunming, also known as the ‘Spring City’ in China. It’s the terminal of the Lao-China Railway. Kunming is located in Yunnan Province, one of the most famous tourist destinations in China, ranking third in popularity.

我是中国人，我相信在广州这样的城市，有很多年轻人会说英语。而老年人往往受教育程度不高，通常不会说英语。

此外，如果你有足够的时间，我建议你去我的家乡昆明，也被称为中国的“春城”，也是中老铁路的终点站。

昆明位于云南省，是中国最著名的旅游目的地之一，受欢迎程度排名第三。

bisarubandari

Love to see new and new people learning the reality about China. Thank you for sharing your moments Alina.

- From the Netherlands

我喜欢看到越来越多的人了解中国的真实情况。谢谢你的分享。

——来自荷兰

shawnlu9637

Best wishes from Toronto, have fun at China, it will be very different for sure, but exciting.

来自多伦多的祝福，祝你在中国玩得开心，肯定会很不一样的，但令人兴奋。

Peichen01

A Level8 pretty girl. Enjoy your trip Alina, and always have a translator app ready on your phone

大美女，好好享受你的旅行吧，在你的手机上下载一个翻译应用

silveriver9

China is not that different, except it is much more efficient and digitized.

中国也没有什么不同，除了效率更高，数字化程度更高。

davidng407

OMG!  I live in NY. I don't think any young lady would be safe at 2 am in most cities.  I am glad you were ok.  I heard it's very safe there.

天啊，我住在纽约。我认为在大多数城市，凌晨2点年轻女士在外面是不安全的。我很高兴你没事。我听说那里很安全。

RoyFJ65

Last year we went to China in October with my family, we travelled to six cities via bullet train and planes and it was the best ever experience for us. Definitely going back.

去年10月，我们和家人一起去了中国，我们乘坐高铁和飞机去了6个城市，这对我们来说是一次最好的经历。一定要再去。

andrewcheng5655

I just came back from Shanghai. we have no problem of using cash in paying tax, food in big restaurant or street markets , transit and everything and we get changes as well. At first , people are telling us we would have problem paying without the app. It is not the case. It only cost us six dollars which is less than one US dollar to travel 23 stops( a very long distance) in Shanghai MTR, very cheap.

我刚从上海回来。我们坐出租车、在大餐馆或接头摊位吃饭、其它交通出行都用现金支付，能找零钱。一开始，别人告诉我们，如果没有下载支付应用，就无法付费，但事实并非如此。坐上海地铁23站(很长的距离)只花了我们6元，不到1美元，非常便宜。

thlim1460

I’m from Malaysia. Congrats on braving yourself to step into a foreign country especially when you’re a westerner and there’re every reason you should not go into China if you had listened to the western media.

Arriving in an unknown place is always expected of a world traveller. It is only when we experience such new cultures and new customs that we find how lacking we are of knowledge, experience and views of the vast environment that are exsting across the world. I believed that at school most Northern Americans learnt at school that countries outside Northern America are not worth knowing about.

我来自马来西亚。祝贺你勇敢地踏入一个外国，尤其是当你是一个西方人，如果你听了西方媒体的报道，你有充分的理由不去中国。

一个周游世界的人总是期望去一个未知的地方。

只有当我们体验到这些新的文化和新的习俗时，我们才会发现我们是多么缺乏知识、经验和对世界各地存在的广阔环境的看法。

我相信在学校里，大多数北美人在学校里学到的是，北美以外的国家不值得去了解。

thuyanhnguyen111

You're courageous and very open-minded. Hope you will tell people here in  Canada that the Sinophobia will prevent us to discover so many interesting things in China.

Never been in China yet, but I'd love to. Don't speak Mandarin either so it will be a great challenge and will learn tips from you.

你很勇敢，思想也很开放。希望你能告诉加拿大人，恐华症会阻止我们在中国发现这么多有趣的东西。我还没去过中国，但我很想去。我也不会说普通话，所以这将是一个巨大的挑战，我会向你学习在华旅游攻略的的。

7hx89

Yeah can imagine being alone in a brand new country and trying to sort things out is extremely stressful. A few facts that can alleviate your anxety. 1. China is the safest country on this planet and most people are friendly and eager to help. 2. Alipay (And wechat pay) are 100% accepted in any payment situation, more useful than cash and much more so than credit card 3. There are many free Wi-Fi hotspots in metro area and all airports that allow you to make VoIP/VoLTE calls to your hotel and local contact, or local 911 service (110 instead of 911) for emergency support. So aside from emotional impact there is nothing to worry about.

是的，可以想象一个人在一个完全陌生的国家，试图理清事情是非常有压力的。

以下几点可以减轻你的焦虑：

1. 中国是这个星球上最安全的国家，大多数人都很友好，乐于助人。

2. 支付宝(和微信支付)在任何支付情况下都是100%被接受的，比现金更好用，比信用卡更好用。在市区和所有机场都有免费的Wi-Fi热点，允许您拨打VoIP/VoLTE电话给您的酒店和当地联系人，或拨打当地110服务(相当于911)以获得紧急支持。

所以除了情绪上的影响，没什么好担心的。

Shin_Godzilla7289

Thanks for showing a real and beautiful China!

谢谢你展示真实美丽的中国！