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This is a great time to visit China if you're a little adventurous.
As a person who has organized 20 since 1994, I am an advocate of the guided tour for a short visit. They're efficient and make maximum use of limited time. The typical China tour includes Beijing (Forbidden City, Great Wall, Temple of Heaven), Xi'an (Terra Cotta Warriors) and Shanghai (China's modern side).
For those with more moxie and time, China offers a long list of enticing destinations on paths not yet heavily beaten. The visitor will find a deep and rich culture, good accommodations and endless shopping at reasonable to joyously low prices.
China has invested considerably in its infrastructure. Airports are shiny and efficient. The railway system is what America had for passengers 60 years ago. The trains run frequently and mostly on time. There are sleepers and comfortable seats. In a nation of 1.3 billion they are often crowded on the most popular routes and during holidays.
Traveling by train gives the traveler a chance to mix with the people. They'll treat weigoren ("outside country person") with a mix of deference and politeness. Food is offered. Chinese lessons are given. Smiles and laughs are frequent.
Many people outside the major centers still regard foreigners as curiosities. I've been asked many times to pose with eager Chinese in photographs. Fantasy satisfied -- now I have had the celebrity experience.
Chinese people are busy taking pictures of everything and everybody, a measure of the country's growing prosperity. Another of the anomalies one encounters on the other side of the world is a sight not see in the West anymore: rolls of fresh film for sale around major tourist places.
Prepare for friendliness. Prepare also for frustration. Despite the government's push, it's still hard to find English speakers. We're told children are learning English from elementary school onward. However, during a recent trip to Beijing I stopped several young people asking directions and not a single one understood me.
Tourist services are sadly lacking. Stepping off the train or plane in a major Western center the traveler quickly finds a tourist center offering advice, maps, suggested itineraries and other help in all the major languages.
Sadly there is no equivalent in China even at the prime tourist spots. We visited Xi'an, home of the famous terra cotta warriors. In the ever-seething mass that is a busy Chinese train station, the only aid as offered by the untrustworthy touts who wanted primarily to separate us from our money.
In a way, the underdevelopment of tourism is part of the charm. You still have the increasingly rare feeling of being in front. The lure of the exotic and the thrill of discovery are palpable. Places of interest are not yet overdone.
To fully enjoy China's culinary delights you must become adept with chopsticks. I was surprised recently in a Beijing restaurant to find a fork on the table. Outside the capital and big tourist hotels you'll not see Western utensils. Eating with chopsticks puts you into the mainstream of society. It is especially important should you have the great pleasure of sharing a meal with Chinese people.
Food is sometimes termed the national obsession. Only the hip modern crowd in the biggest cities tends to mix at bars and clubs. The vast majority of Chinese socialize over meals. A typical Chinese meal begins with a long discussion between the person ordering and the server. Dishes are selected for balance of types, flavors, and color.
The cold appetizers arrive first, starting the parade of dishes. Each new arrival invites discussion and critiques. Large groups eat at a round table with a lazy Susan in the center. As the ever-growing and changing cast makes its way around diners take morsels with their chopsticks.
You'll know the feast is over when two or three steaming tureens of soup arrive. Chinese believe this aids digestion. Hot water or tea is the usual meal accompaniment for the same reason. There are usually no cold drinks (you don't want ice anyway; the tap water is not potable).
When banqueting with locals toasts are frequent. Although nondrinkers can substitute the temptation to join the jollity is strong. Your Chinese hosts will toast you again and again with beer and the native baijiu. Good form requires you take a drink and "Gambe!" means "bottoms up." Polite sipping will get you through but spirits of the moment might burn their way through your resistance.
Many pleasures await the traveler ready to dive in. China will assault your senses and challenge your ingenuity. Ultimately you'll step away from the table full, happy, and already looking forward to the next meal.
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