Backpacking in China: our first impressions

We had said that we wouldn’t start our world tour with a country like India, just to ease into things gradually. But I don’t know what we were thinking when we checked China as our first destination. Maybe we thought: “They did host the Olympics in Beijing, so it must be fine” or “Out of a billion inhabitants, there must be some English speakers.” Well, in terms of culture shock, I can assure you we got our fill! Here are our first impressions of this trip through China with our backpacks.

Backpackers are not common in China

As soon as we got off the shuttle that took us from Beijing airport to the city center, we quickly understood that locals didn’t see white travelers with backpacks every day. We literally felt like two aliens.

Everyone turned to look at us as if we had stepped out of a video game. Most of the time, they were laughing, so nothing too bad. But once we left downtown Beijing to get to our couchsurfer’s place, it obviously intensified. An English-speaking Chinese person (rare enough to mention!) even kindly approached us to ask if we needed help or if we were lost because he had never seen travelers in the area. Anyway, we were still happy to arrive at our host’s place.

They don’t speak English

If you come to China, don’t expect to be able to speak English, even in the most touristy place you can find. It’s simple: whether at the metro counter, the train station, or even at tourist attraction booths, nobody speaks English. So even the simplest task becomes complicated. Try buying a SIM card for your phone using hand gestures – not exactly easy!

We also tried to buy train tickets by ourselves to a not very frequented place… Passersby directed us to an “English-speaking” counter, but let’s just say we didn’t have the same understanding of the word “English-speaking.” So we returned without train tickets that evening and needed our host’s help to manage. There’s actually a lucrative business around train tickets for tourists in China – be careful not to get ripped off too much. Thankfully, Chinese people are usually willing to help, but we’ll talk more about that below.

The Chinese alphabet

Another difficulty: the Chinese alphabet! We who are used to checking the internet for transportation, for example, quickly face a small problem. All the good websites for checking schedules and booking train tickets or cheap flights in China have no English versions. So, we’re again dependent on our couchsurfer to give us a hand. But we won’t always have a bilingual person to help us. And then, we risk paying a premium for tickets by going through English-speaking sites.

In short, traveling in China is really not simple when you don’t speak the language, and we discovered that after just one week.

Chinese children are kings

We noticed that Chinese people adore their children. I don’t know if it’s a legacy of the one-child policy or something else, but it’s clear that children have their parents wrapped around their little fingers. Especially in tourist areas, marketing is fully focused on children. If you can convince the child, you’ve generally won.

Another surprising point about children is that they pee and poop in the streets. It’s not uncommon to see very young ones with pants that have holes between the legs… It’s certainly more practical (and more eco-friendly!). But for us, freshly arrived from Switzerland, we were always surprised to see this on every street corner.

Facebook doesn’t work in China

We were warned, and thankfully so! The myth of the Great Firewall of the Internet is completely true. And indeed, without using a VPN, it’s impossible to access Facebook from Chinese territory. A VPN that works very well in China is ExpressVPN. We still use it today, even outside of China, and are still happy with it.

They take photos constantly

Don’t ask me why, but our Chinese friends love taking photos. They take them everywhere! I have the impression that it’s a way for them to prove they were at a specific place. You should know that in China, 99% of tourists are Chinese. So, since it represents an important moment for them to visit their capital (or elsewhere), they immortalize the moment, a hundred times a day.

I interpret the fact that we are asked about ten times a day to be photographed with Chinese tourists in roughly the same way. Depending on which region they come from, they may have never seen European backpackers before. But it’s still very amusing; some redouble their imagination to manage to be in a photo with us. They think we don’t notice their tactics to slip behind us and take photos, haha.

They have an improbable look

I would say that in China, looks matter little. Only the practical side counts. We’ve lost count of the number of people we’ve crossed paths with wearing multicolored umbrella hats, caps that also serve as visors for riding scooters… The men also tend to lift their T-shirts halfway and walk around with their bellies exposed in the streets. As for the ladies, they compete to wear the most elevated or flashy flip-flops. In short, it’s a permanent spectacle in the streets!

They have special manners

By special, we mean that spitting and burping are two national sports. Here, the more noise you make, the better. You need to get your spits and burps from deep in your throat! And the most amusing thing about all this is that you can indulge in this little pleasure anywhere. We’ve already experienced this in the metro, at restaurants, and on the bus. Everything is allowed.

To go further, we have also published an article at the end of our stay about Chinese habits.

They are helpful and smiling

This is probably the most important thing, and it’s what we remember for now. Every time we had problems (mainly because of the language), someone spontaneously offered to help us.

Whether it was the newspaper vendor who kindly installed our Chinese SIM card (you can imagine that confirmation texts in Chinese are difficult to understand) or the two young people who helped us choose a book on California for our couchsurfing host’s birthday, we always had help! It didn’t necessarily advance the situation as at the train station to buy train tickets, but it always came naturally and with a smile. And that, that feels really good!

So there you have it, our very first impressions of China. It’s not always easy for us, but we’re learning a lot and are wowed. Next step, we’ll tell you about visiting Beijing (Summer Palace, Forbidden City) and how we walked completely alone on an incredible section of the Great Wall of China.

And you, have you ever been to China during your travels?