First Visit to China

First Visit to China

Author
Discussion

GallardoOwner

Original Poster:

873 posts

200 months

Tuesday 15th July 2014
quotequote all
Unsure of this should be in business or travel !

We have been buying from China for more than 20 years and have a good understanding of buying , importing etc but have never actually visited.

I though it was about time I went out and wanted to get some advise on travel from any regular visitors.

1) I have around 5 suppliers to visit spread over a wide area, I want to make the trip as quick as possible and do not want to get caught out with transit times etc, Do folk arrange all travel themselves or do travel companies exist that sort your entire travel plans for you, ie : I need to go here , here and here, whats my route etc, if so any recommendations of such companies.

2)Travel money, do you just carry a small amount of currency and depend on cards ?

3)Translation : Most of the factory owners I deal with do not speak English but their staff do so would translate for me, Is it worth having a Chinese travel companion for translation just to get about for the time out there ? If so any agencies out there to recommend.

4) Any other advise, who to fly with, business, premium economy etc, best way to travel once there ?

THANKS ALL !

GallardoOwner

Original Poster:

873 posts

200 months

Friday 18th July 2014
quotequote all
nobody can help me on this frown

IATM

3,778 posts

146 months

Friday 18th July 2014
quotequote all
i would be interested to hear about experiences too if anyone can help me and the OP

paul0843

1,914 posts

206 months

Saturday 19th July 2014
quotequote all
Hi gallardo owner.
I visit 5-6 times a year..
Make sure you get your visa organised in good time.
You will need a letter inviting you from one of your suppliers.
I always fly in with cathay through Hong Kong.
Regarding internal flights,I use ctrip,a Chinese travel service.

A Chinese travel companion is the ideal thing.
The problem I find with many of the factories I deal with is that
they thing they understand what you mean but may not.
My business is always centred around the xiamen area,and I pay my translator
$100 a day,which they find very generous..
Be prepared for Chinese food which is very different to what your used to.
I always take a few snickers bars for emergencies.
With money,try and carry a bit of cash. Credit cards ok for hotels.

Any other queries,please let me know

Paul

mattdaniels

7,353 posts

281 months

Saturday 19th July 2014
quotequote all
IATM said:
i would be interested to hear about experiences too if anyone can help me and the OP
Immigration in Guangzhou has a big sign listing what you can't bring in to the country. One item is semen. Don't try and be funny and offer to give yours up to the nice lady in the uniform. They don't have much of a sense of humour.

burwoodman

18,709 posts

245 months

Sunday 20th July 2014
quotequote all
Stay in a big name hotel, the good is very good. Don't eat 'Chinese' food. It's ste

Alexandra

370 posts

191 months

Monday 21st July 2014
quotequote all
GallardoOwner said:
Unsure of this should be in business or travel !

We have been buying from China for more than 20 years and have a good understanding of buying , importing etc but have never actually visited.

I though it was about time I went out and wanted to get some advise on travel from any regular visitors.

1) I have around 5 suppliers to visit spread over a wide area, I want to make the trip as quick as possible and do not want to get caught out with transit times etc, Do folk arrange all travel themselves or do travel companies exist that sort your entire travel plans for you, ie : I need to go here , here and here, whats my route etc, if so any recommendations of such companies.

2)Travel money, do you just carry a small amount of currency and depend on cards ?

3)Translation : Most of the factory owners I deal with do not speak English but their staff do so would translate for me, Is it worth having a Chinese travel companion for translation just to get about for the time out there ? If so any agencies out there to recommend.

4) Any other advise, who to fly with, business, premium economy etc, best way to travel once there ?

THANKS ALL !
1) It would help to know which provinces you need to visit.
2) Cash is easier whilst you're out and about. Cards are fine for big stores, hotels, flights/trains etc. Use cash to barter when shopping.
3) If you're going to Beijing or Shanghai there are English signs in the terminals and main streets. I can't help here really as I'm usually doing the translating...
4) You can book travel with sites like http://english.ctrip.com/ and http://uk.omegatravel.net/

Stick to the rules you would use when visiting any developing nation. Know the phone number of your embassy and emergency services. If you get into difficulty don't be afraid to find a police or soldier. Try and stick to restaurants that have a crowd. Don't worry about people staring at you, and try and hide your frustration at the lack of manners. Carry around a pack of tissues.

DSLiverpool

14,670 posts

201 months

Monday 21st July 2014
quotequote all
Do they still clear their nasal passages I'm restaurants - sends me sick!
Op - if you see a Lobster Galleon on the menu it's worth having!

GallardoOwner

Original Poster:

873 posts

200 months

Wednesday 23rd July 2014
quotequote all
I need to get to several places, I dont know if they work on postal / Zip codes etc as the details I have may be a bit vague for planning a trip,

I would be going to Yancheng City Jiangsu Province, Wenzhou City, Suzhou City, Oubei Town Wenzhou City, Lishui City and Shandong

Im pretty sure I would need some type of China travel expert company to set my route and plan if I fly, train, car from each location.

AB

16,969 posts

194 months

Wednesday 23rd July 2014
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http://www.travelcounsellors.co.uk/gb/leisure/

These guys can sort from start to finish.

AB

16,969 posts

194 months

Wednesday 23rd July 2014
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Should have said, speak to Gaynor Pickard.

Willber

545 posts

168 months

Thursday 24th July 2014
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Depending where you need to be, I flew in with China Southern on one of their Dreamliners - Heathrow to Guangzhou, saves messing about at Hong Kong. Once I had checked into my connecting flight from HK to Guangzhou only to be told there were no seats on the plane, we got vouchers for a coach instead - never again!

I have used www.chinacarservice.com several times, the website looks dodgy but it isn't. They have prompt drivers and will only charge the card once the journey is complete and email you an invoice straight away. Comms are excellent also.

Booking.com app is a good thing to have on your phone, I used mine to contact the hotel to let them know we would be late arriving - had a reply within 30 mins.

Taxi drivers will try and rip you if they turn the meter off, but it is still not a big deal so do not worry if it happens. I paid a taxi driver £90 to drive us around for a whole day - bargain in my opinion.

Hope that helps a bit.

maser_spyder

6,356 posts

181 months

Friday 15th August 2014
quotequote all
Hope you got this sorted.

Hope this doesn't sound daft, but, you really need an agent out there to make this easy.... Travel in China for the non-initiated can be a bit of a nightmare (as you're probably about to find out!).

Big cities are relatively easy. Off the beaten track is much more difficult on your own, even when you speak a smattering of the language.

AlexIT

1,482 posts

137 months

Tuesday 19th August 2014
quotequote all
Apart from all the excellent advices above, my only suggestion is do-not-attempt-to-drive.

The driving style is quite... let's say... peculiar.

maser_spyder

6,356 posts

181 months

Tuesday 19th August 2014
quotequote all
AlexIT said:
Apart from all the excellent advices above, my only suggestion is do-not-attempt-to-drive.

The driving style is quite... let's say... peculiar.
Foreigners aren't allowed to drive in mainland China, for a very good reason. hehe

The only way you can drive is to get a Chinese license, by taking the theory test and doing some paperwork. You need a long visa (three months minimum) as well.

The driving isn't that bad once you get used to it, the worst but is forgetting all your China habits when you come back to civilisation. smile

AlexIT

1,482 posts

137 months

Tuesday 19th August 2014
quotequote all
maser_spyder said:
Foreigners aren't allowed to drive in mainland China, for a very good reason. hehe
I didn't know that, bit sounds sensible biggrin

Edinburger

10,403 posts

167 months

Tuesday 19th August 2014
quotequote all
burwoodman said:
Stay in a big name hotel, the good is very good. Don't eat 'Chinese' food. It's ste
Oh I'd disagree - most Chinese food is good if you have an adventorous palet!

maser_spyder

6,356 posts

181 months

Tuesday 19th August 2014
quotequote all
AlexIT said:
maser_spyder said:
Foreigners aren't allowed to drive in mainland China, for a very good reason. hehe
I didn't know that, bit sounds sensible biggrin
The exception, for some odd reason that you can google yourself (it's something to do with a 1948 international agreement on driving licenses, when China technically didn't exist), is Belgian license holders, who can immediately swap their Belgian license for a Chinese one, just a paperwork exercise.

Realistically, if you really want a China license, you can just pay for it. The bribe and fees is around £650 plus a trip to Hainan or Harbin (the last two places with corruptible officials). smile

AlexIT

1,482 posts

137 months

Tuesday 19th August 2014
quotequote all
maser_spyder said:
The exception, for some odd reason that you can google yourself (it's something to do with a 1948 international agreement on driving licenses, when China technically didn't exist), is Belgian license holders, who can immediately swap their Belgian license for a Chinese one, just a paperwork exercise.
Or it might be due to the fact that belgians drive as bad as chinese?
biggrin

Oh... I find food in China very good even in some not-so-western styled places

maser_spyder

6,356 posts

181 months

Wednesday 20th August 2014
quotequote all
Mermaid said:
Was planning a visit to either China or Japan. This thread has been helpful, going to Japan. wink
Two very, very different places indeed.

For anything remotely like a holiday (with culture), Japan is the way to go. I love China, but (a couple of places aside), I would never go on 'holiday' there. It's a fascinating place, but incredibly tiring if you're not used to the culture.