07.23.07
Chinese Tourism
After a last second travel plan, I have been spending the past two days in Wuyi Shan, in Northern Fujian. Wuyi Shan is what I like to call a “scenic spot.” I am convinced that every Chinese province has a token “scenic spot” which is allegedly the most beautiful place in China. Visit Zhejiang and they will surely tell you about West lake. Go to Anhui and they will tell you about Huang Shan. Visit Qinghai and you will hear stories about Qinghai Lake, and on and on. From my experience, most “scenic spots” are worth a weekend trip, but certainly not a trip across the country. That being said, after three years in Fujian, I felt like I owed it to myself (and Fujian’s 32 million inhabitants) to check out Wuyi Shan.
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| Tourists in Meizhou Island (Fujian) standby waiting for instructions from the leader. |
One of my favorite things about visiting Chinese scenic spots is observing the other tourists. As China’s economy continues to grow and expand, more and more middle class Chinese are finding themselves with disposable incomes. One use for this disposable income is travel. The travel industry in China is quite young, and as most Chinese still don’t have the concept of a family vacation, the idea of picking up and visiting a new place for leisure is still a relatively new idea. Thus, generally speaking the Chinese are still quite inexperienced in this endeavor. Consider this conversation I had at an English corner, after my first big China traveling excursion in the summer of 2004. I had only been in China 3 months, spoke minimal Chinese, and did a three week solo trip to Xi’an, Chengdu, Kunming, and Xishuangbanna. After telling my university students about the trip here was the dialogue which transpired.
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| Tourists in Xiahe, Gansu eagerly wait to board the bus and get whisked off to the next destination. |
student: How do you know about Chengdu?
me: I read all about it in a book I bought in the US.
Student: How did you get to Chengdu?
me: I rode the train.
student: How did you get on the train?
me: I bought a ticket to Chengdu and showed the ticket to the lady at the train station.
student: Where did you get your ticket?
me: I bought it at the train station.
student: How did you know where the train station was?
me: I bought a map, found where it said “train station” and walked there.
My students were all amazed that a foreigner who didn’t even speak Chinese could make it halfway around the country by himself without getting injured, killed, or abducted by aliens. Part of the reason for this is that independent travel in China is still rare. Most Chinese tourists travel in herds organized by China’s ubiquitous “travel companies.” The herds can be seen at any scenic spot, and are a sight in and of themselves. A crowd of people all wearing the same colored hats follow around a tour leader who carries a flag of the same color. As they follow the leader, he shouts instructions at them over a megaphone. I have been warned several times by Chinese friends that I should travel in a tour group, and that independent travel is too dangerous. So far, I am not convinced.
Alan
said,
July 23, 2007 at 11:06 am
I would still be very careful if I were to travel in China alone. In 1994, a group of 30+ Taiwanese tourists were all butchered in Qianghu Dao (Thousand Isles Lake) of Zhejiang province for their money and valuable personal items. Local authorities did capture some perpetrators and executed them. Like Mexico and other Caribbean islands, China isn’t safe for foreigners to travel alone. You just don’t hear the scary stories. After all, these stories would be bad for tourism. We vacation in the Caribbeans a lot. Each time I would read on-line reviews of some resorts that we may stay at. To my surprise and thanks to the Internet, several 5-star resorts in Cancun, Mexico and other Caribbean islands had had murders happened in the not so disant past. But we all thought they were all happy Margaritavilles.
It’s funny that you mentioned about Wuyi Shan. In summer 1987 I spent 1 week in Wuyi Shan with 2 other American students. One of them was almost robbed on the train by two local pick-pockets at the Nanping Station. They used razor blades to cut my friend’s jean pocket where his wallet was kept. The train was jammed with people which made it hard to feel if someone was trying to snap your wallet. Thankfully, we grabbed the pick-pocket’s hand just when he was to get away with the wallet. I regret I was a Libertarian then. Otherwise, I would have given the guy a good beating.
Woaizhongguo
said,
July 23, 2007 at 12:10 pm
If there’s one thing I regret most after 8 years in China it’s the incredible lack of travel I have done within China through sheer bone idleness. However, in my defense, images of these masses of tourists does put me off completely and makes sitting on my sofa watching (for the 3rd time) episodes of The West Wing a lot more attractive.
tim
said,
July 23, 2007 at 1:00 pm
Each time I return from another of China’s “famous” tourist destinations, I mean to put together a highly sarcastic “Top 10 ways to know you’ve been stuck on a Chinese tour” post. Including, but not limited to, the microphone-toting
dao you, sea of matching tour hats, and single-file only approaches.
Be warned if anyone uses the adjective “famous” to describe a site in China. It’s really just a synonym for overrun.
Benjamin Ross
said,
July 23, 2007 at 2:02 pm
Alan-
I would disagree to your approach. I think what you are referring to are isolated incidents more than a pattern. Every year tourists are killed or robbed around the world in various places. Every year there are also many more people who are killed or robbed in their home towns, on the way to work, or even in their own houses. Personally, I feel safer from crime in China than I do in the US. This is because in China I am rarely in a situation where nobody else is present. Often in the US I find myself all alone, walking in the street or two my car away from the view of all others. In China, I can honestly count on one hand how many times I have been somewhere with no other bystanders. If there is something to be afraid of in China as a tourist (and probably most places around the world) it is probably car accidents more than anything, statistically speaking at least.
Matt Schiavenza
said,
July 23, 2007 at 2:15 pm
Alan,
Count me among the dissenters. Every country has had isolated incidents in which tourists have been butchered, and unfortunately bad publicity often depresses tourism for years because people are convinced a certain place isn’t “safe”. Bali, in Indonesia, is a primary example of this.
China’s pretty much as safe as it gets for a developing country. Of course, one has to use his wits, but the hassle factor in China is pretty damn low.
About the only thing about traveling in China that’s difficult is the language barrier, and often superhuman patience and resilience is required to push through. But dangerous? Nah.
Woaizhongguo
said,
July 23, 2007 at 2:43 pm
>
@Alan, this is utter rubbish! The main danger facing foreign travellers is being overcharged in restaurants and souvenir shops and 1994 is like a generation ago in Chinese terms – it’s a totally different China now.
You don’t hear about these stories because it’s bad for tourism?? Absurd. If 30 tourists got massacred it MIGHT be covered up in China but you’d hear about it from the victims’ home country.
I know many many friends who’ve traveled around alone and had nothing but smiles and people trying to practice their limited English on them which some may consider a terrible ordeal. Tourists everywhere are targets for pick pockets and petty theft and China is no better or worse for that, but that’s it.
Sin Cohen
said,
July 23, 2007 at 5:05 pm
Alan,
Sorry, but I too feel compelled to chime in with something of a rebuttal. (Don’t want to see this turn into a flame). While I appreciate your concerns and understand the need for caution, I have seen far too many people use safety as a reason/excuse for not traveling and exploring the world.
Regarding China, I can hardly think of a place I have felt safer (maybe japan). While I am always aware of and cautious about petty thievery or rip-off artists (one got me once in shanghai for a couple hundred RMB); any more serious crime would be almost unheard of, isolated and just as likely to happen while vacationing back home. It would surely be possible to find examples of heinous crimes against tourists in any country, but do they represent the norm? Should they affect your decision to travel there? In my opinion they should not. Raising awareness is great, but there is a fine line between cautionary tales and fear mongering.
As per my own experiences, I have just returned from a seven month trip which brought me all across china (as well as into HK, Vietnam, Thailand, etc). about 4 months of this trip was spent in China. I did nearly all my traveling alone, sometimes meeting up with old friends along the way but mostly making new ones as I went; and did almost all the travel overland (trains, buses, on foot and by mule). And in all that time, honestly, safety was never an issue.
This past trip, as well as several others I have taken in China, starting in 2002, and including almost a year I spent there from 2004-2005 have been amongst the most profound and important experiences of my life. Thus I am left very much wanting to encourage others to do the same if they have that chance. Only once did I join a group (big mistake), and travel on your own terms is far more enjoyable. Not to mention from your example, if 30+ Taiwanese were slaughtered, not sure thats an effective argument against traveling alone.
Oh and Ben, while there are still seas of red and yellow hats at any tourist spot (and there surely will be for a long time ahead), I am noticing a trend away from tour groups. On this past trip especially I met a lot of (mostly younger) adventurers going it alone or with a few friends. A lot of Chinese dislike the tour group way of travel as well.
canrun
said,
July 23, 2007 at 8:25 pm
Umm…would the guy in the first photo with his hat turned sideways like 50 Cent really fall into the “middle class” category? Oh, buy.
Yeah…he’s just keepin’ it real, aiight…
canrun
said,
July 23, 2007 at 8:28 pm
Oops! meant to say “Oh Boyeee!” Give him a clock where surely his key ring and mobile phone holder reside and…Presto!…Biz Mar Qi!
canrun
said,
July 23, 2007 at 8:35 pm
@ Tim
In all seriousness…Good Lord. August 2008 is gonna be a nightmare. The “red hats” have no idea of the ridicule that’s going the befall them. (Almost as amusing as the Japanese Paddington Bear hat that EVERY friggin’ female tourist wears!) Gotta run…lost my man-purse!
Jeremy Yeh
said,
July 23, 2007 at 9:21 pm
@alan
well,taiwanese r not actually foreigners to us mainlanders,so its kinda inappropriate to take it as an example in ur description of the dangerous situation foreigners would encounter with while travelin in china. and,the tourist attraction is called qiandao hu,which means thousand isles lake,rather than ‘qianghu dao’.
Alan
said,
July 23, 2007 at 11:31 pm
@Jeremy, pardon my pinying. I messed it up. For those of you who haven’t heard about this case (i.e. Qiandao Lake incident) in 1994, here is the wikipedia link.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qiandao_Lake_Incident
Good grief. I had no idea you guys would feel so safe traveling in China alone. Now what was the name of the DaimlerChrysler executive whose entire family (including 2 kids) were butchered at their home in Nanjing?
Oh, yes. Here is the link by the official People’s Daily (English edition).
http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/english/200004/05/eng20000405_38337.html.
I am not trying to give a sweeping generalization on safety in China with some isolated incidents. But you cannot be too careful. Maybe I am too paranoid. Oh, well.
Alan
said,
July 23, 2007 at 11:35 pm
For some reason, the previous link to People’s Daily doesn’t work. Here is what they wrote.
—————————————
Four killers of German Family to Face Fast Trial
Three of the four confessed killers of a German family in China face execution after a trial likely to take place soon, a police official said on Tuesday.
“They will be tried as quickly as possible – probably this month,” the official said from the eastern province of Jiangsu two days after automobile executive Jurgen Pfrang, his wife and two children were killed.
Four farmers, aged between 19 and 23 years from a community near the Pfrang villa on the outskirts of Nanjing, were arrested at the house after a security guard saw one clambering down a drainpipe and called the police.
Police official said one of the farmers was apparently outside when the killings occured in the early hours of Sunday morning and would probably face a long jail term.
“The other three will probably be shot,” he said, stressing he was expressing a personal opinion.
Police made a videotape of the crime scene for use as evidence in the trial, the official said.
Prfang, 51, who worked for DaimlerChrysler, his 39-year old wife, 14-year-old daughter and 12-year-old son were killed by the burglars.
It is the most violent crime against foreigners in China in these years.
Benjamin Ross
said,
July 24, 2007 at 1:08 am
Alan-
I know you’ve already taken a bit of heat on this thread, but I think you might have been setting yourself up for a few more low blows by misspelling “pin yin.” Just kidding. Reminds me of a time in second grade when my teacher sent the monthly class report home to our parents and misspelled the word “proofread.”
Alan
said,
July 24, 2007 at 3:59 am
Ben, thanks for pointing out the correct spelling of “pin yin.” I guess after living in America for so long, I just forgot all about my pin yin. But I can asure you this – I still read Kanji very well.
Alan
said,
July 24, 2007 at 4:01 am
Oops, not my good day of spelling. I meant to say assure.
ZL
said,
July 24, 2007 at 4:46 am
Alan,
I don’t think two horrific incidents in 13 years is cause for too much alarm. And of the two examples none would indicate that traveling alone is any more dangerous than traveling in a group or residing in an upscale gated community in China.
I actually lived in Nanjing at the time of the German murders and I personally didn’t feel in grave peril, much less so than I do in the US at any given time.
While there are likely more (likely less horrific) incidents that were not given as much press coverage, I would think that the percentage of tourists who experience major crime in China is negligible overall and would compare favorably to most other nations (developed nations included).
Laura Lee
said,
July 24, 2007 at 6:43 am
When I was in China (ten years ago), traveling is not very easy to manage. Buying a train ticket could take time and there was no round-way ticket then. Booking a hotel was tricky and calling a long-distance then was pricey. Almost no debit card or credit card at that time. You must carry enough cash all the time, which always made me nervous.
Perhaps because of that (and of course due to thousand years of history as well), the cities/regions in China are so different from each other — the cuisines, the dialects, the customs, the geographies etc etc — which makes traveling in China a lot fun. Up to this day, I still oftentimes recite to my friends my one-month trip to Yunnan Province in early 1990s, which is more than one thousand kilometers away from my hometown.
On the other hand, traveling in the US is much easier. This easiness probably also makes everything so uniform in the States (except for the geography, because I won’t treat the southern accent the same as a dialect in China) — you walk on a Main Street, and stop at a McDonald for lunch, pump some gas at Exxon-Mobile, and buy a gum at CVS … It is very easy to do since everything is so familiar. Yet, there is not as much fun as my old-day traveling in China. There are much fewer trips that I had in the States left me a deep impression.
I wonder that with the (rapidly) increased convenience and easiness to travel in China, will the traveling in China one day become more like that in the States — easy to do but less fun?
Chip
said,
July 24, 2007 at 8:53 am
Travel agencies can die for all I care. They steal all the tickets (particularly during holiday times), and essentually force you to buy through them. Even if you decide to use one for a tour group, you usually just end up being sent so such-and-such market where jewelry, electronics, or other stuff is being sold for high prices. Oh, and the stupid hats, loud microphones, and trash being strewn about everywhere. Just grab a map, and go where everybody else ISN’T going. Every province has TONS of beatiful places to see, but only a select few are chosen by the hat-wearing masses. The rest are ripe for the brave.
Woaizhongguo
said,
July 24, 2007 at 11:27 am
Do I need to point out the obvious fact that people are killed by intruders / burglars in the UK and certainly in the US as well, probably in greater numbers. That Nanjing incident was news in China BECAUSE it was so unusual. I remember reading in the paper in the UK one day that there were NO MURDERS in New York City for the first time in x number of years and THAT was news.
In the UK many people switch the white iPod headphones for black ones so muggers don’t know they are carrying an iPod. My brother advised me on a recent visit back to London not to use my mobile in public places because there had been a string of incidents where people had their phones stolen while in mid conversation – like that would ever happen here!
I just think Alan’s case so far is weak at best. And as another reader pointed out, 30+ tourists massacred – doesn’t that mean it’s not safe to travel in big groups and safer to travel alone!
I have to say I feel much safer here than I do back home and I certainly never considered switching my iPod earphones.
chinaqanda
said,
July 24, 2007 at 1:11 pm
just got back from a visit to LuShan in Jiangxi. Awful. Hate hate hate tour groups. Went to WuYi Shan in 2000. Lovely, very few tour groups. How things have changed.
2008 is going to be very interesting, but i suspect (strongly) that it will be presented as nothing but a resounding success by the domestic media.
canrun
said,
July 24, 2007 at 2:31 pm
“2008 is going to be very interesting, but i suspect (strongly) that it will be presented as nothing but a resounding success by the domestic media.”
Ya think?? (That would be sarcasm, dear 朋友)
Jet So
said,
July 24, 2007 at 2:51 pm
I think the real question remains, “Is SOLO independent travel too dangerous & unsafe?” If you’re a non-oriental foreigner, the most dangers one could face would be a possible theft of property to small-time pickpockets and the fee overcharges from ticket scam-artists and carrying bag Guidos that prowl around train stations. However, if the above assume you’re a Chinese from a different & distant province, the dangers could be undoubtedly higher …
Nevertheless, I believe that independent travelling in GROUPS (i.e. friends &/or family) is very much alive & kicking these days in China. Many university students and young graduates prefer this mode of travel instead outside the organised “cattle car” tours.
P.S.: Alan, that’s Hanzi in pinyin (Kanji is its Japanese equivalent).
Yu
said,
July 24, 2007 at 6:28 pm
I have done my share of travelling in China. Usually in groups of 2, 3, or 4. (usually including my husband and son), but I have done some trips without them too. I think speaking Chinese is very helpful when it comes to not being ripped off. But if you dont speak Chinese it is likely that you would pay more.
For example, most recently I went to Beijing. I needed to book train tickets back to Shanghai. I went to the front dest of the youth hostel I was staying at. The person there told me there was a 40 RMB charge per ticket for them to do the booking and get the tickets delivered for me. So I asked where I could book the tickets myself. The answer was right down the street. About 10 meters. And when I went there someone from the youth hostel was booking tickets for another guest at the hostel. They were ripped off.
A funny side note to that story was that we actually arrived at the train station too late and missed our train. I was able to again use Chinese and get on a train for which we did not have tickets and there were not any seats. People on the train were incredibly friendly. Some other riders let my son sleep in their room, and ended up letting another one of out group sleep int here too. There were 7 people in their 2 person compartment. Two adults willingly slept together so we could also have a bed. They also let us keep out stuff in their compartment. Nothing stolen and no axe murderer. Not only was China safe for travel, but random strangers were very friendly. The train staff also gave me and and the other person with us a “crew cabin” to sleep in. Crowded but better than other possibilities.
I ahve also done some other travelling in China. The worst thing that happened was the attempted theft of my camera in Yangshuo.
Overall, I think travel in China is quite safe. But you also need to use good sense.
Woaizhongguo
said,
July 24, 2007 at 7:10 pm
@Yu: So you didn’t get kidnapped by pirates and have your boat set on fire with you on it? If you listen to Alan you’d think this was something that happens all the time to unsuspecting tourists in China rather than once over 13 years ago.
The only thing I’d disagree on is that the 40rmb was a rip off. Hotels need to make money from things like drinks and other services and if some tourists didn’t know how to book tickets or couldn’t be bothered to go buy themselves. I’ve bought tickets on GZ from the hotel right next to the station simply because it’s easier than walking over and queuing up (yes I am lazy) so for me the extra 30 rmb or so was worth spending.
Although not 100% accurate, someone once said foreigners will spend money to save time while locals will spend time to save money, simply because they have more time than we do.
Laura Lee
said,
July 24, 2007 at 11:16 pm
Dear all,
One thing I like Ben’s blog so much is that the comments posted here have been very respectful to other posters, even though every now and then we disagreed. That makes a fundamental difference between this blog and the TIME blog — this is a place we can still communicate in a civilized way.
But this current topic seems to put too much heat on Alan. As Ben said earlier, “I know you [Alan]’ve already taken a bit of heat on this thread.” I even sensed a bit smell of ridiculing in some of the posters. Please, please be sensitive to our fellow poster’s feeling.
In Alan’s defense, I do not think what he said is way out of the line. I had been living in China for 26 years. There were (probably still are) many situations you need to be careful about. I think Alan just wants everyone to be a little more cautious.
To others: thanks for sharing the positive experiences in China. I have not done any extensive traveling in China for almost ten years. Your experiences ease my anxiety a lot about traveling in China.
Alan
said,
July 24, 2007 at 11:51 pm
O.K. O.K. I hear ya. It’s bad for me to over-generalize. If this were a debate, I LOST. I know I am tad paranoid about safety in China. But I also feel many Westerners have an idealistic view of China in general and of safety living in China in particular. I wonder if some of you would still be so optimistic about your safety in China if 24 Western tourists instead of Taiwanese tourists were murdered in Qiandao Lake. This has nothing to do with race from your or my ends in this discussion. But to those few thugs in China, they know they would have a better chance of getting away with crime when they murder some overseas Chinese than they would with foreigners. Any incidents involving overseas Chinese in China is still pretty much viewed as domestic incidents, whereas it would have been totally different when foreigners are involved. Maybe that’s where my deeply ingrained prejudice about safety in China comes from. Nevertheless, it looks like capital crimes against foreign tourists are not uncommon in recent years. Here are some incidents that I have found (thanks to Google) and listed chronologically.
I am not a China basher. I have a lot of money invested in China and hope to see a better and safer China. So be safe.
————————————————
Russian tourist murdered in China
[22.06.2007 14:52]
http://en.rian.ru/world/20070622/67633694.html
A Russian tourist from Primoriye was found murdered in a park in China, a police source in the Russian Far Eastern region said Friday.
The murder of the Russian woman occurred Thursday in the resort of Wudalianchi, in Heilongjiang province in China`s northeast, an area popular with tourists from Russia`s Far East.
‘June 20, the Russian tourist did not return from a health center. A search was made and her body was later discovered in a park. According to experts, she died from a knife wound near her heart. A criminal case has been launched,’ the source said.
Authorities in Vladivostok have made no comment on the killing.
This is the second murder this year of a Russian woman. In February a woman was killed and another injured following a robbery in the city of Heihe.
And June 19, a Russian woman was freed by Chinese police after being held for a $40,000 ransom in Mudanjiang by local criminals.
—————————————————
Three Japanese tourists murdered in China
28/10/2005
http://www.abc.net.au/ra/news/stories/s1493394.htm
Two men convicted of murdering three Japanese tourists 12 years ago have been executed in the northern Chinese city of Xian.
The Sanqin Metropolitan Daily reports, Cao Xiude and Hai Ting were put to death immediately after the execution order was issued by the Shaanxi provincial high court.
They were convicted of murdering the three elderly tourists at the ANA Grand Castle Hotel in Xian in 1993 and robbing them of some $US1,700 and other items.
Cao and Hai, from the southern province of Guangxi, were arrested last year after their fingerprints were traced.
————————————————
10/9/2002
British Backpacker Found With Throat Cut at Great Wall of China
http://www.buzzle.com/editorials/10-9-2002-27870.asp
A British man who was backpacking around Asia as part of an eight month tour has been found murdered in China. Tom Dawson, 24, from Fulham, west London, is understood to have been found near the great wall of China on October 2 with multiple head injuries and his throat cut.
———————————————–
Monday, 15 May, 2000, 09:19 GMT 10:19 UK
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/748879.stm
Backpacker murdered in China
Police in China are investigating the murder of a British backpacker who was stabbed to death while trekking with her boyfriend.
Relatives of Shirine Harburn, 30, of Crawley, West Sussex, have been told her body will be flown back to the UK later this week.
Ms Harburn was found stabbed to death on Paomao Mountain in western Sichuan province. The motive appeared to be robbery.
She had been travelling with her boyfriend, Colin Horsfield, who has been taken to the provincial capital Chengdu while inquiries continue.
The Foreign Office spokesman said: “Reports state she was stabbed 12 times with a small craft knife. The knife was found near her body.
Benjamin Ross
said,
July 25, 2007 at 12:10 am
I think the point Alan is trying to make is that you still have to be careful. Often as foreigners we feel untouchable in China because, as Alan pointed out, you would have a much better chance getting away with a crime against another Chinese than against a foreigner. However, this does not mean that things like this cannot happen. Here in Fuzhou, an friend of mine was killed when he was stabbed in a bar fight a two years ago. The details were all pretty sketchy, but what came out of it is that nobody is 100% safe, anywhere. An isolated incident is by no means indicative of a pattern, but it does serve as a reminder to be careful.
ZL
said,
July 25, 2007 at 2:26 am
Just a thought, but I think sometimes problems arise when foreigners are unfamiliar with the area they are in and don’t know where the “bad” areas are.
Even after living in Nanjing for awhile I moved to a townhouse just out of the city center, and it wasn’t until I had moved that people (mostly taxi drivers) would always tell me that I should be extra careful and it was not a good area. Seems that as a non-local I couldn’t really differentiate what a bad neighborhood looked like. It seems people would usually say the areas just outside the more downtown areas and near train/bus stations were bad areas. That and highways and any area that could be considered remote (i.e. mountainous areas). Not sure how much truth there is in that, but makes sense, the more people around the safer.
Just in case any foreigners are looking to visit the US and want to beware of bad areas, I’ll let you in on the secret of identifying, we have tell-tale signs, as Dave Chappelle put it, you can tell you’re entering a “bad” area by “looking out the window, see gun store, gun store, liquor store, gun store”
Woaizhongguo
said,
July 25, 2007 at 10:47 am
Yes, agree for the need to exercise caution and commonsense wherever you go and for sure, being white will not stop you from coming into harms way. It can even make things worse as I have certainly seen some envious Chinese men giving lao wai (with Chinese women swarming around) the evil eye in a bar.
But just yesterday an ex boxer was shot in a bar in London after apparently asking 3 men to put out their cigarettes, so I still feel relatively safer here than I do in my home city.
Matt Schiavenza
said,
July 25, 2007 at 2:55 pm
I’d say that the idea of solo independent travel, by anyone in any place, is reasonably new. I remember telling some friends of my parents that I intended to backpack alone in Europe and seeing their looks of concern. Wouldn’t that be dangerous? And this was in Europe in 2004, hardly an exotic and unknown destination.
Solo travel in China absolutely rocks, for reasons outlined above. Since very few people do it, it isn’t hard to find yourself in beautiful places untouched by tourism. Alas, the language barrier does impact things but even a little bit of Chinese goes a long way.
Jenn
said,
July 26, 2007 at 9:41 am
@Alan – 1994 was a long time ago. The only part of China I have heard anyone to have problems still is Xinjiang. And no one I know who went in the past year reported any problems, so maybe that is fading too.
@Matt S – I agree that you can find something interesting and beautiful places just outside of the heavily trafficked areas. However, I don’t necessarily agree that it is easy.
Chris & I have never done any group or organized travel. We always do independent. It can be difficult and irritating at times (when no train tickets are available or the clerk just refuses to sell them to you, when the cab driver takes you to the wrong place, etc) but I would be extremely unhappy walking around in a massive group with a screaming microphoned guide. Plus organized travel in China tends to go to, in my opinion, the absolute least interesting places.
Yu
said,
July 31, 2007 at 8:17 pm
I just want to point out that I am staying at a youth hostel, not a HOTEL. The room rate was like 50RMB per night per bed…. that they wanted to charge 40RMB for ticket booking did seem like a rip off.
But I guess if you dont speak Chinese, dont know where to get tickets, and don’t want the hassle, then it is probably a bargain.
I also think that comparatively speaking, travelling alone in China is safer than in the US. I mean I think the majority of women do not need to be too concerned about rape happening in China (but as a uni student I had to be concerned about it if I wanted to walk across campus at night). I feel the biggest hazard in China is theft. So I carry the cash I need for the day and lock my ATM card up where I am staying. I wonder if this is the safest thing to do. Has anyone heard of motel/hotel/hostel room theft or lock box theft. What is the safest way to take care of valuables (passports, extra cash, laptop) while travelling? Any stories or tips on theft prevention of these items?
danjo
said,
August 9, 2007 at 6:25 pm
During my first term in China:
Me: what will you do this May holiday?
my student: me and my friends wanted to go to Jiayuguan but two couldn’t go and there were only two of us, which is not enough, so we aren’t going anywhere.
Jiayuguan is three hours away on the same train line, and can be done as a day trip by someone speaking not a word of Chinese. Also, the May holiday is seven days long. When I did go to Jiayuguan with a friend, a 22-year old female, it was the second time in her entire life she had left her hometown.