Traveling in China is like watching a movie without subtitles.
Full of challenges and adrenalin. Of surprises and unexpected. And unpredictable.
But totally worth it.
I admit despite doing my share of prep, China managed to surprise me from the very first day! Or hours, to be more precise!
This blog posts highlights my impressions, most surprising moments and experiences in China lived as an independent tourist.
Spoiler alert: These aren’t your typical corner shops!
The toilet enigma in China decoded!?
Welcome to the world of the Great Nap of China!
High heels, competition and experiences in China
Lost in translation, but found in translation… eventually
Human (dis)connection in China
Real locals, lived experiences in China
Welcome to the future where cameras know … everything
China, land of contrasts
Spoiler alert: These aren’t your typical corner shops!
Part of our adventures in China was the convenience store. Back home in Europe, you pop into one and expect a sandwich, a croissant, maybe a yogurt drink – the unofficial breakfast survival kit.
In China? Not quite. Instead of ham-and-cheese sandwiches or pain au chocolat, you’re greeted with rows of instant noodles, vacuum-packed chicken feet or beef jerky and mysterious preserved eggs.
It’s like walking into an alternate breakfast universe where your idea of “essentials” doesn’t exist – and theirs are so unexpected you can’t help but laugh. And starve… or adjust. (Luckily, there’s lots of KFCs and McDonalds!) Food stores are rather small… ’cause in China when there’s a generous piece of land, they’d rather throw a skyscraper instead of a shop.
One of the biggest shocks for us carb-loving was the absence of bread. In China, the daily loaf is simply not a thing – rice, noodles, and buns rule the table (even for breakfast), while anything resembling a baguette feels like a rare exotic import.
Well, generally speaking, convenience stores are like the surprise in a Kinder egg! Everywhere, I used to discover goodies we don’t have at home. But in China? In China I missed chocolate (they have no chocolate – I only found sparsely Snickers and Dove!) … which made me crave it even more.
The toilet enigma in China decoded!?
We found ourselves in a Beijing metro station a few hours after landing. My daughter suggests she could use a bathroom. As we could not see one, we head for the security officers that swarm every station.
I knew English is not common in China. Did my homework, told ya!
-Toilet, please! goes my voice.
Only puzzled faces as I keep repeating over and over like a broken tape… until I start playing charades. Their faces suddenly brighten up and guide me to the “crime scene”.
Insider tip!: A few days later, a Chinese acquaintance suggests we use the word WC instead of toilet. Allegedly, similar to Chinese. Well, maybe you are lucky, and it works for you! Cause success rate was still 0 for us!
My experiences in China with toilets are one of a kind. Some other time, we get to the hutongs (old traditional Chinese neighbourhoods) for a guided tour. But before that, I need to wash my dirty hands …so I enter one of the numerous public toilets in the hutongs.
Alas, I am in shock: toilets have no doors (only in the hutongs, do not worry!) and hawking and spitting are as common as changing your socks. On top of it, there’s no sink (at all) in the hutong toilet! Can you feel my pain?
Except for the hotels, 90% of the toilets in China are squat toilets. Usually, there’s a picture on the door so that you know what you choose. Toilet paper is not to be found in each cabin, but at the general entrance. Make sure to grab some for your physiological needs!
Welcome to the world of the Great Nap of China!
It is fairly common in China to see people sleep at work. Head on the counter, sunk in their dreams.
While to me, siesta belongs to the Latin countries, in China it’s a different story. At first, I thought, it must be a commuting thing, bearing in mind the distances. Then, I found out that a good nap is considered healthy and smart.
Midday napping comes from the deeply ingrained cultural practice rooted in traditional medicine and the common practice of long work hours. For them it is a method of increasing productivity. Culturally, it stemmed from field work under intense heat and is associated with the body’s yin and yang shifts.
Apparently, around lunchtime, the body’s low energy needs to be restored to preserve its natural harmony. Chinese simply put their heads down and recharge right there at work. It’s practical, a little adorable, and honestly, we can’t help but admire the unapologetic commitment to mid-day rest.
Stretching exercises are other experiences in China nonetheless surprising. I am not talking about group tai-chis in the park, but mobility exercises practised carefree on the street. In the mornings, the streets of China turn into open-air gyms, with people of all ages happily stretching, swinging their arms, and doing mobility exercises as if the whole sidewalk were their personal wellness studio.
High heels, competition and experiences in China
When we arrived at our Beijing hotel, the receptionist smiled and, with the help of a translation app, proudly announced that we’d been upgraded free of charge. My brain was still buzzing with all things “China”, so I just nodded along and happily believed her – what a welcome!
Fast forward a few days to check-out, and suddenly she’s back, phone in hand, gently nudging us toward leaving a review. Of course, I gave them five stars – the hotel was genuinely great, and hey, free upgrade! What I didn’t expect was the sheer celebration that followed: a triumphant snapshot of my review, cheerful exclamations all around, and a victorious message sent straight to the boss.
Another example of adventures in China comes from the Great Wall. We had booked a tour through Get Your Guide. I felt like I hit the jackpot: it was the only sunset tour, which meant not just great pictures, but also lesser crowds. Damn, I was right!
However, the lady in charge with the tour both left us and waited for us at the bus stop. On the way, she explained something in Anglo-Chinese, hard to decipher. But anyway, in the evening, heading backwards to Beijing, she came to me claiming a good review “or my boss is gonna kill me”. Honestly, I was dumbstruck… so in reward she promised me a fridge magnet!
Both stories are upsetting.
Being offered a bribe (?!) in exchange for a review was unexpected and deeply incorrect. I paid both for the hotel and tour, so I find it important that the stars reflect reality.
Still, I think there’s a deeper message to extract: women in China are, to this day, a prolongation of men, being subject to persistent discrimination and inequality.
Lost in translation, but found in translation… eventually
English is the great “X” in your equation with China – the mysterious unknown you keep trying to solve. Hotels, restaurants, and even big tourist attractions all share one thing: a spectacular lack of English. Heaven forbid you need to explain something important! Even words like “toilet” or “passport” suddenly felt exotic!
But don’t panic – that’s where translation apps come to the rescue. Pick whichever you like, as long as it spits out something vaguely accurate. I stuck to voice-translation apps for speed, though the fun part came when my listener frowned. It was clear the app messed it up. Lost in translation, quite literally.
To be fair, I don’t want to sound like a full-time hater. During our experiences in China, we did meet some surprisingly good English speakers, just never in the places we expected. Not hotel staff and rarely in tourism… but a stranger in the Summer Palace gardens during a downpour, who kindly rescued us and walked us to the café like an old friend. Or the young guy in a massive Apple store in Shanghai, whose flawless English and sharp intellect left us wondering if we’d accidentally walked into a TED Talk instead of a tech shop.
Human (dis)connection in China
One of the most striking things about China wasn’t the skyscrapers or the dumplings – it was the people. Or rather, the way people weren’t together. From my past travels, I remember noisy Saturday night crowds, groups laughing too loud in the metro, and random street banter.
In China? Silence. The metro feels like a giant meditation hall where everyone is glued to their phones, gliding through life solo or in quiet pairs. Communism probably has its fingerprints on this “no chit-chat” culture – after all, sharing ideas is not exactly encouraged. Even the trains play along: no compartment doors, just to keep chats under control. 🙂 (I know…. I come from Romania, a former communist country!)
And when it comes to letting loose, our adventures in China told us not to expect a pub scene. Alcohol isn’t big here.
The few beers we tried were so mild (2% or less!) that they were basically sparkling water in disguise. Despite rumours of a wide variety of local spirits, we never saw a Chinese person drinking – let alone drunk. (Instead, in many restaurants we were given hot water!). Imagine an entire country where the Saturday night chaos is replaced by… a good night’s sleep.
Real locals, lived experiences in China
Chinese people are often warm, curious, and wonderfully polite – though sometimes in ways that look different from what we’re used to in the West. In big cities, they might seem reserved at first (eyes on their phones all the way on the metro), but once you start interacting, many open up with kindness and helpfulness.
It is not uncommon for them to ask for a picture together, or have kids wave and giggle. Altogether, it’s a mix of reserve on the surface, with plenty of warmth once you scratch through.
The Chinese are neatly dressed, but never flashy – style here whispers rather than shouts. Patriotism is another quiet but steady presence: we saw kids proudly waving little national flags, and metro riders in simple T-shirts marked with the Chinese flag right over the heart. It’s subtle, sincere, and somehow very moving – like fashion and identity stitched together with quiet pride.
Of course, not all our experiences in China were amazing. I recall the time we went for a hotpot, and the waitresses had a hard time speaking English, but found it appropriate to make a live with us struggling with the preparation of the food. Who knows, we may be famous without even knowing!?
If the metro is a silent place, everything radically turns on the street. Boulevards are an exercise of honks and ear shattering noise you might need to train for. It is mainly the screaming of the street sellers through all-over-loudspeakers that drives you nuts.
Welcome to the future where cameras know … everything
China is a land of a thousand eyes – or at least it feels that way. From narrow alleyways to massive city squares, cameras blink down at you like they’re just part of the scenery. After a while, I barely noticed them – they seemed as natural as traffic lights or street signs. That is, until we went bamboo rafting on the Yulong River and spotted whole clusters of cameras watching us float by. Nothing quite says “serenity in nature” like knowing Big Brother is enjoying the view too.
Security is the rule of thumb in China. You undergo a security check just like at the airport at every metro station, train station and tourist attraction. Of course, the security officers are a small slice of men in uniforms, but you’ll get used to seeing them walking relentlessly on the metro.
Streets are also swarmed with police officers of different kinds. Still, the most shocking was to see men with war training inscription on the uniform (at Tiananmen Square). Things are most serious in Beijing, while in other parts there’s a slight relaxation.
During our stay in Beijing, we accidentally stumbled into the general rehearsal for the huge ceremony marking 80 years since the victory over Japan – right in Tiananmen Square. At first, we hung around, curious and a bit excited to witness the preparations. But our curiosity didn’t last long: the police quickly appeared, waving their arms and shouting “Go home!”
China, land of contrasts
While I’ve heard several times that China is a land of contrasts, I come up with two examples to prove it.
On the one hand, there’s Suzhou, a city not far from Shanghai we took a day trip to. When we got down from the train in Suzhou, I was deeply shocked. We opted for this “Venice of the East” with tiny canals and charming aspect, having in mind a village. But as we reached the train station of Suzhou, we soon realized how mistaken we were. It is hard to comprehend that one name shelters a “village” and a “city” at the same time. My brain finds it hard to contain historic canals and wooden boats, glass buildings and underground system under the same umbrella.
On the other hand, the capital city, Beijing, plays the poor-rich contrast masterfully. Beijing hutongs are a faithful representation of traditional China and a must see for every visitor. Crowded narrow alleys and labyrinthine pathways, hutongs offer a glimpse into the life of the old Beijing. Even if hard to imagine, just round the corner there are modern buildings and skyscrapers, as if from another universe. In fact, they say hutongs disappear every year and their place is taken over by neighbourhoods of skyscrapers.
Have you been to China? Did you have any interesting or unexpected experiences? If so, I’d be more than happy to hear about them!
