A week in China - Where/What?

[SYD]

Not really off the beaten track, but maybe a flying day tip to Xian to see The Terracotta Warriors. Unique and amazing. EDIT - I see SYD already covered it

Maybe by train??

The Beijing - Xi’an train is still a good 4-5 hrs. We used points to fly to get a half day in at Xi’an before off to Bill and Ben (and friends) the next day. The train to Shanghai was almost 6hrs.

Spooky, but as I typed that, a report just came on ABC news about the TW exhibition now on in Perth!

 

[Flashback]

Not really off the beaten track, but maybe a flying day tip to Xian to see The Terracotta Warriors. Unique and amazing. EDIT - I see SYD already covered it

Maybe by train??

Don't worry.. I'll still make it from China to Greenland!

 

[anat0l]

For Xi’an, get to the warriors as early as possible. Even mid week, we were there fairly early but with thousands of our closest friends. Start with Hall 1 (the big one) and not as some guidebooks suggest doing them in reverse order. Downtown Xi’an is quite interesting and worth a half day/night.

Damn, too late. We booked the tickets through the portal online on their website, and selected an entry time at around the middle of the day.

Guess we'll be squeezed. Oh well.

The Beijing - Xi’an train is still a good 4-5 hrs. We used points to fly to get a half day in at Xi’an before off to Bill and Ben (and friends) the next day. The train to Shanghai was almost 6hrs.

We're going to take the train from Xi'an to Shenzhen. It works out to be about 9.5 hours. Fortunately we'll be in First Class (which isn't the best accommodations, that is instead Business Class ). Will be a very long day, but the flight there would have been at best just a little more expensive, and it's not like we had a lot to be done that day. Plus Dad has been aching to try a Chinese high speed train.

When Australians travel to other countries with high speed rail of any sorts, we sometimes view them with a sense of romance that native passengers don't have, i.e. the latter know it's all about cost and/or time, and that is that.

 

[BjJames]

Haven't set up Wechat Pay yet.

Was wondering - can one pay for things in China with Alipay without an active Internet connection? What about Wechat Pay? If no, then I guess I'll need to look into a local eSIM.



I look Chinese and I did take some classes when younger, but my Mandarin is terrible - accented, not tonally accurate and lost a lot of vocabulary due to lack of practice. Mainlanders will probably look at me either comically or with contempt because this Chinese idiot embarrassingly can't speak Chinese, and won't be helpful. Have downloaded the Chinese offline language pack for Google Translate; not sure if there's something else better to use.

WeChat Pay can be difficult for a foreigner to set up --- recommend the Alipay App and connect an Australian credit card or two, before you leave Oz. Sometimes a data connection might not work with the first card you choose, so it's good to have a back-up
.
You'll need an active internet connection .. there are local sims, but depending on the deal you can get from your Australian Telco for international roaming (don't forget to set that up!), it can be easier to use that, *IF* they give you a generous data allowance.

Don't worry about your rusty Mandarin (Putonghua) -- you'll get brownie points for trying -- certainly not contempt.

And make sure people know that you are Australian --- not "meiguoren" (American). We are much better regarded than our American cousins.
Phonetically in Mandarin, Australia is "ow-da-li-ya" (the political country) or "ow-joe" (the continent) ["ow" as in "how"] That's the spoken phonetics . in Chinese pinyin it is Aodaliya or Aozhou.
You might hear a local say back smiling to you "Daishu" (die-shoe) - that's "kangaroo" ! With that, you can a make a little charade like fun - and enjoy the exchange!

 

[elanshin]

WeChat Pay can be difficult for a foreigner to set up --- recommend the Alipay App and connect an Australian credit card or two, before you leave Oz. Sometimes a data connection might not work with the first card you choose, so it's good to have a back-up

WeChat pay has been no problems setting up post covid. Basically same requirements as Alipay. The only problem is having cash wallets on those. That need either a local to send you money or you need a chinese bank card. For just payment transactions foreign cards are fine.

Already prepped Alipay backed up by my ING Direct Orange Everyday debit card. Did a test paying for train tickets the other night and it works; after adding the mandatory 3% foreign card fee, works out to be about 3.5% against midmarket (cf. purchasing CNY cash or Travel Money Card debit foreign cash, which is 5%). Haven't set up Wechat Pay yet.

Was wondering - can one pay for things in China with Alipay without an active Internet connection? What about Wechat Pay? If no, then I guess I'll need to look into a local eSIM.

I believe active connection is needed as they verify payments often (enter pin, confirm etc). Look into roaming as well since that sorts out your firewall problems. eSIMs from memory aren't as common yet and getting a local number ws a foreigner is still semi annoying. (Need to go to big branches in main city centres to have a chance at someone that knows).

Main issues for Dad and I in China will be maps and language (especially, e.g. dining out). I've got Google offline maps for all our cities, plus I also got offline maps on Baidu Maps and OSM. So I should be covered there, even if I can't use them for navigation.

Don't rely on Gmaps at all in China. AMaps is ok but GMaps is deliberately wrong in China (Chinese government scrambling foreign mapping services). Apple works because theres such a huge iPhone uptake in China.

Baidu maps however is quite fine if you can work out the Chinese.

I look Chinese and I did take some classes when younger, but my Mandarin is terrible - accented, not tonally accurate and lost a lot of vocabulary due to lack of practice. Mainlanders will probably look at me either comically or with contempt because this Chinese idiot embarrassingly can't speak Chinese, and won't be helpful. Have downloaded the Chinese offline language pack for Google Translate; not sure if there's something else better to use.

I think if you make it obvious you're Australian, the fact you tried is usually pretty good for them.

Post automatically merged: Today at 1:28 AM

We're going to take the train from Xi'an to Shenzhen. It works out to be about 9.5 hours. Fortunately we'll be in First Class (which isn't the best accommodations, that is instead Business Class ). Will be a very long day, but the flight there would have been at best just a little more expensive, and it's not like we had a lot to be done that day. Plus Dad has been aching to try a Chinese high speed train.

When Australians travel to other countries with high speed rail of any sorts, we sometimes view them with a sense of romance that native passengers don't have, i.e. the latter know it's all about cost and/or time, and that is that.

Don't forget to get to the HSR station (and the correct HSR station) early especially for your first time. It took us a little while to figure out where we need go go and trains start "boarding" the platform around 20mins before departure. Basically think of it like an airport but with slightly less security.

 

[RB]

I thought the 2 Trip Reports by woodywren earlier this year were excellent at promoting off the main track. I am not sure how practical it might be to try those areas on your own South West China and Luang Prabang (followed by a cruise from Shanghai to Japan). Another trip within a trip. | Australian Frequent Flyer and Xinjiang adventures. Deserts, grasslands and glaciers. | Australian Frequent Flyer

 

[SYD]

Look into roaming as well since that sorts out your firewall problems.

Yes, I mentioned over on the eSIM thread that something like Optus or Vodafone $5 daily roaming actually is very handy because you’ll get plenty of data to use since most hotel wifi is next to useless.

eSIMs from memory aren't as common yet

There’s plenty of China coverage from all the usual eSIM providers plus many others.

If you don’t have a roaming data bundle from your local telco, I’d recommend getting double the eSIM data you usually buy.

and getting a local number ws a foreigner is still semi annoying. (Need to go to big branches in main city centres to have a chance at someone that knows).

No need for a local number with AliPay.

Don't forget to get to the HSR station (and the correct HSR station) early especially for your first time. It took us a little while to figure out where we need go go and trains start "boarding" the platform around 20mins before departure. Basically think of it like an airport but with slightly less security.

Xi’an Bei is huge and very modern, albeit a bit of a hike out of town. Just look for an entrance with someone to manually scan your PP and away you go. I don’t recall seeing any English on the departure board but we could see our train number and matching time.

At the boarding gate, there’s a dedicated line for manual scanning of foreign PPs before heading down to the platform. There should be markers to stand next to for the correct carriage.

Can’t comment on the old Xi’an station just outside the walls.

 

[elanshin]

If you don’t have a roaming data bundle from your local telco, I’d recommend getting double the eSIM data you usually buy.

I meant from getting a Chinese telecom esim. I think when they mentioned local that's what they meant.

No need for a local number with AliPay.

Actually there is. Half the miniapps still won't work with foreign numbers. Some of which I would consider highly useful like Meituan which delivers food/goods.

 

[markis10]

We're going to take the train from Xi'an to Shenzhen. It works out to be about 9.5 hours. Fortunately we'll be in First Class (which isn't the best accommodations, that is instead Business Class ). Will be a very long day

I normally go Business class at peak times, the lounge access and priority boarding make a big difference, but for 9 hours the premium is probably not worth it. My journeys are usually an hour or so to Shenzhen.


If you are wondering about food the G trains have 1 or 2 dining cars usually with minimal seating, best to take back to your seat. Food can also be preordered on the official website, and from late last year can also be ordered on some trains using a QR code on your seat, it will be delivered in around 30 minutes.

 

[SYD]

I normally go Business class at peak times, the lounge access and priority boarding make a big difference, but for 9 hours the premium is probably not worth it. My journeys are usually an hour or so to Shenzhen.

I would have loved to have gone Business but Xi’an to Shanghai was over A$500 ea v ~A$250 ea for First when I booked a few months ago. Mind you, buying a standalone one way economy plane ticket was about $500 (full Flex Y, no discounts). So good use of miles!

Here’s example pricing for the train next month (and duration, 6h 15m is the fastest option).

If you are wondering about food the G trains have 1 or 2 dining cars usually with minimal seating, best to take back to your seat. Food can also be preordered on the official website, and from late last year can also be ordered on some trains using a QR code on your seat, it will be delivered in around 30 minutes.

There was a complementary snack and drink handed out in First.

 

[anat0l]

Probably deserves its own thread, but there is a new rule for powerbanks on Chinese domestic flights (so far, may be extended to international flights).

No power banks are allowed on board unless they bear the CCC (or 3C) certification; that's Chinese Compulsory Certificate, typically only found on goods sold in China (because said mark is required to sell these goods in the Chinese market).

Any power banks not bearing the mark or convincingly bearing it will be confiscated, regardless of any other global certifications.

This really sucks for me because I have a Medistrom Pilot 24 Lite power bank that is used to power my CPAP whenever I either fly long haul or are in places where a power socket might be scarce or sketchy. It is still reliable but obviously not CCC certified. Which means either I need to buy another bank suitable to power a CPAP that is CCC certified (unlikely, and also expensive, like my Medistrom); take a chance on taking it (not likely to work and will be confiscated); or accept there will be a couple of times that I can't use my CPAP (viz. especially on board).

Since I'm flying into and out of HKG and long haul flights are likely when I'd take out the Medistrom, I could also find a way to leave the bank in Hong Kong and pick it up on my way back before I fly out back to Australia. That requires either luggage storage (expensive for 11 days) or knowing someone who lives in Hong Kong.

 

[moa999]

power banks are allowed on board unless they bear the CCC (or 3C) certification; that's Chinese Compulsory Certificate, typically only found on goods sold in China (because said mark is required to sell these goods in the Chinese market)

Very unfair to foreign tourists.. as even stuff that would have CCC in the Chinese market might not for export.
Of my two purchase this year one has a CE (Europe) and a few other marks, the other has FCC ID.

 

[elanshin]

Very unfair to foreign tourists.. as even stuff that would have CCC in the Chinese market might not for export.
Of my two purchase this year one has a CE (Europe) and a few other marks, the other has FCC ID.

Then again they've never thought about foreigners and tourists when implementing something. That only comes after a whole bunch of them runs into issues with whatever new roadblock they set up.