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Traveling around China can be one of the most amazing adventures that a person could ever go on in their life. China is the world’s most populous country but there are so many different ethnic groups and cultures contained within the country that you can literally spend a lifetime seeing all that the country has to offer. One of the shocking things about China to those who have traveled around a good part of the country is just how many big cities full of skyscrapers actually exist within China. This is especially amazing when learning more about the history of the country and discovering that this big rise in China’s economy and infrastructure is relatively recent.

Whether your purpose of going to China is to vacation and experience new things for the short term or move there for business for the long term China has so much to offer a person. The people are friendly but their culture is complex enough that you will be constantly analyzing social situations to make sure that you did the right thing. That might not sound like a lot of fun at first but when you get the hang of the culture and social norms it will feel very good when you realize that you just did the right thing without even thinking about it.

The boom in China has been a long time coming and things are still rising for the country. So whether you are looking at China as a traveler or an expat there has never been a better time to go to China. Go and see the country for yourself while there is still more room for expansion and there are still areas that you can visit that are unspoiled. Happy travels!

Traveling in China can be a great experience as there is so much that we can learn about their culture and it is such a vast country that so much time could be spent there trying to learn about everything. Things in China are vastly different to what we are used to though and that can sometimes cause problems for people who are not used to traveling or are not accustomed to Asian customs and traditions. Hopefully a short list of the top 10 tips for traveling to China should help to keep you from getting into trouble while you are there.

1.       Don’t ever pay the asking price – Unless you are in a store with a fixed price then don’t ever pay the full price that is offered to you. Bargain for a better price, you will get it cheaper and be more respected by the locals for knowing how to bargain correctly.

2.       Tipping is not the norm – Feel  free to tip if you got great service or plan on going back there again, but tipping is not expected and no one will be mad if you don’t tip.

3.       Watch your wallet in public – Violent crime is not overly prevalent in China but there are many pickpockets in crowded areas that will be off with your wallet before you know it. Keep it in your front pocket to be safe.

4.       Go shopping – Things in China are cheap, the products are actually produced there. Watch out for fakes but make sure to do some shopping. Getting a suit or jacket made is incredibly cheap as well so take advantage of that while you are there.

5.       Learn a bit of the local language – Depending on where you are the language can change drastically. Mandarin is usually a safe, universal bet and knowing how to say a few simple things like “please”, “thank you” and “how much?” can mean all the difference in the world.

6.       Eat Chinese at every meal possible – The Chinese food you will get in China is much different and much better than the Chinese food that you get in the states. Make the most of it while you can.

7.       Be patient – Things work a lot slower in some areas of China than they do in your home country. Spending some time in Asia will teach you to be a more patient person. Yelling at the waitress or secretary and telling them won’t help the service to go any faster – in fact it might ruin all chances you ever had of getting served.

8.       Don’t be uncomfortable if people stare at you – In some areas of China they have never seen a westerner outside of movies and TV. There are no ill intentions if someone is staring at you, they are just curious. Just go with it.

9.       Do not drink the tap water – There may be some areas where the tap water is drinkable but never assume. Bottled water is cheap and it won’t make you sick. Don’t take the risk.

10.   Buy a SIM card – Cell phone providers around Asia are usually prepaid and very cheap. Buy yourself a local SIM card so you have the means to contact someone in case of an emergency or a traveler that you met the day before.

Lijiang is prefecture level city in the Northwest section of the Yunnan Province of China. The city has an area of 8,193 square and a population of 1.24 million people. This is much lower than the average city in China which normally has upwards of 8 million people within the city limits. The city replaced the former Lijiang prefecture which no longer exists today. The city is located in the northwestern section of Yunnan and also borders Sichuan. This is the region where Qinghai Tibet Plateau and the Yunnan Guizhou Plateau meet.

Due to the city’s low latitude but high elevation, Lijiang enjoys a mild subtropical highland climate. During the winter mild days can be expected with nights where the temperature will drop below freezing coupled with both the driest and sunniest conditions of the year. Summers in Lijiang are known to be warm and damp with the rainy season being from June to September.

Even though it is a fairly small city, Lijiang is fairly well connected with the rest of the cities within the city. The Lijiang airport is just 28 km from downtown Lijiang and there is an airport shuttle service that is available in the downtown section of the city. The airport was opened in 1995 and still can’t handle international flights but has connections to Kunming, Xishuangbanna, Beijing, Chengdu, Guiyang, Xiamen, Chongqing, Shenzhen and Shanghai. Flights between Kunming and Lijiang leave every day and the flight takes only 30 minutes. This is compared to the bus service between the two cities that takes 8 hours and the train that has overnight and two day options.

Probably the biggest claim to fame for the city of Lijiang though is the world famous Old Town which has become a UNESCO Heritage Site. The history of the town goes back 800 years and at one point was instrumental for trade on the old tea horse road. The Old Town in Lijiang is famous for the neat and organized waterways and bridges.  What sets Lijiang apart from other Chinese cities is in the architecture, culture and history of the traditional residents there.
There are three different old towns in Lijiang all of which are listed by UNESCO. This includes Dayuan Old Town, Shuhe Old Town and Baisha Old Town. The first two have already started to see their fair share of tourists and have been somewhat commercialized over the years but if you are looking for a much more authentic experience you shoud still be able to find it in Baisha Old Town. The town is famous for the Naxi Hand Made Embroidery Institute which is a school for Naxi embroiderers.

The Baisha Old Town years ago was the center for silk embroidery in the Southwest of China and was the most important stop on the Ancient Southern Silk Road. It is a good feeling to know that even after many centuries some of the traditions that were alive in a simpler time can still be held onto today.

Ningbo is a seaport city that is located in the northeast of Zhejiang Province in the People’s Republic of China. The name of the city translates roughly to “serene waves”. It is one of the oldest cities in China dating back to 4800 BC and was at one point known as a trade city on the silk road over two thousand years ago. After that it became known as a major port during the Tang Dynasty and then a major port for foreign trading in the Song Dynasty.

The area of Ningbo covers an area of 3,616 square miles that includes a total coastline of 971 miles with 490 miles of mainland coastline and 481 miles of island coastline. Ningbo features a humid subtropical climate with humid weather and four distinct seasons with winters that can become very cold. The city has a total population of 7.6 million people of which around 3 million of them live in the urban sections of the area.

Located just south of Shanghai, Ningbo is a very important port city and the export industry of the city dates back as early as the 7th century. As Ningbo exists today it is a major exporter of electrical products, textiles, food as well as industrial tools. For some time Ningbo was isolated geographically from the other major cities. Then in 2007 the Hangzhou Bay Bridge was built which cut the commute time between the two port cities down from four hours to a much more manageable two and a half hours.

The economic activity in Ningbo in 2009 reached US $60.8 billion which was down by 10.4% when compared to the sales figures of 2008. Exports that year totaled US $38.65 billion with imports totaling US $22.16 which is down 16.6% and up 3.1% respectively from the previous year. One of the things that Ningbo is famous for is the Si Lan Nong Xiang flower that is used for drying cloth. 2008 exports of the flower were responsible for 3% of the economic growth of Ningbo.

While Ningbo might seem like a normal city at first glance it is actually anything but. Ningbo has the same authority as provincial governments for economic administration and the port is second only to Shanghai in terms of annual throughput in China. Unlike Shanghai however the port is deep water and is capable of handling vessels that are up to 300,000 tons. With a little bit of work and tweaking of their systems it could be very soon that Ningbo beats out Shanghai as the port with the most annual throughput in China.

Ningbo isn’t exactly known as a tourist destination although there are a few things to do to pass the time if you find yourself in Ningbo for a while. The Tianyi Pavillion Museum is arguably the beast tourist attraction in Ningbo and it is said that it contains the oldest surviving library which dates back to the 11th century. The Baoguo Temple is the oldest wooden structure in Southern China that is still intact and is just 15 km north of Ningbo city.

Dalian is an important city as well as a seaport in the southern section of the Liaoning Province of Northeast China. It is the second largest city in Liaoning with only the capital city of Shenyang being bigger. Dalian now acts as a regional financial base and international shipping center and logistics hub for Northeast Asia.

Dalian is one of the most heavily developed industrial areas in all of China and consists of both Dalian proper and Lushunkou. According to historical reports there is a city called Dalny on the south side of the Dalian Bay that was designed by the Russians. The area has a monsoon influenced humid continental climate and has humid summers and cold, windy, dry winters.

Despite being heavily developed the area has made great strides in protecting the earth and the environment. In 2001 the United Nations Environment Program awarded the Dalian Municipal Government for outstanding contributions in protecting to environment. The air in the area has been rated as either Class II (Good) or Class I (Excellent). The water quality of the offshore marine space also remained stable overall.

The area of Dalian is home to 6.13 million people and most of them speak standard Mandarin because of the people from the city being from many different locations throughout China. Among native Dalian people the Dalian dialect is used which is a part of the Jiao Liao Mandarin subgroup. Most native Dalian people are poor fishermen and farmers who came from Shandong Province during a large population movement. A unique fact about the Dalian dialect is that there are some loanwords from Japanese and Russian. This is a very rare occurrence for a Chinese language as it represents the history of foreign occupation.

The area of Dalian was voted in 2006 to be the most livable city in China. The city which used to be a main agricultural center has since turned to heavy and light distribution industries as a means of expanding the economic growth. Outside of that they are also getting involved in the financial and IT industries where there are many Chinese banks and IT companies although several foreign IT companies from America, Europe, India  and Japan have all set up operations within the city.

While far from the most popular tourist spot in the country, Dalian still manages to see its fair share of tourists. It is much more popular among domestic tourists than it is with foreign tourists although the majority of foreign tourists visiting Dalian tend to come from Japan, South Korea or Russia. There are some amazing beaches to check out there which could be one of the reasons that the city was voted as one of the three best tourism cities in 2007 along with Hangzhou and Chengdu.

Having such a diverse mix of residents the city has provided facilities for people of all religions with 27 Protestant churches, 2 Catholic churches, 10 mosques, 31 Buddhist temples and 7 Taoist temples as well.

Kunming is not just the capital but also the largest city of Yunnan Province in Southwest China. It is a prefecture level city and is also the political, economic and communications center of Yunnan as well as the seat of the provincial government. Several universities, museums and galleries all work to add some culture to the area. The economic importance of the city stems from its geographical location as it is near the border with other Southeast Asian countries but also serves as Southeastern China’s transportation hub, connecting by rail to Vietnam and by road to Burma and Laos. Modern prosperity started to exist for the city when the railroad from Hanoi was built in 1920. Development has been happening at a rapid rate for the city with roads widening and new buildings going up all the time.

Kunming is an extremely diverse area as far as Chinese cities go with nearly half of the ethnic minorities in China making a presence in the city. The majority like many other cities are the Han Chinese which make up a very large percentage of the population. The dialect of Kunming is very similar to that of Sichuan and Guizhou but makes use of the third tone much more than standard Chinese. There are also many terms that are only used in Kunming dialect.

The cuisine of Kunming is taken from Yunnan culture and mixes fresh ingredients with mild spices and herbs which works to give the dishes a good amount of flavor even if they are lacking in some of the bite that is present in the dishes from the surrounding areas. Mushrooms are featured in many of the dishes as they grow in abundance in the area.

Tourism is a decent industry for Kunming as the city is well known for its historical and cultural sites. The nice and easy climate, diverse ethnic customs and unique array of plants and animals make it an even more attractive destination for tourists to visit and over 24 million domestic tourists visited Kunming in 2007 with 800,000 foreign tourists stopping by annually.
Compared to other cities in Southwest China, Kunming has some real advantages economically. The abundant natural resources, booming consumer market and the pleasant climate all work together to make Kunming’s economy number 12 out of all of the Chinese cities.

Popular industries in Kunming are copper, lead and zinc although the iron steel industry has been greatly expanded upon. The salt and phosphate mines that are located in Kunming are among the biggest in all of China. The city is also a center for engineering as well as the manufacture of tools, electric machinery and automobiles.

The city definitely has a lot of really good things going for it and on top of all of it there are huge efforts to make the city as eco-friendly as possible. All of the things  that makes up this city are part of the ingredients of a well-designed city that is comfortable to live in.

Suzhou is a large city that is positioned just Southeast of Jiangsu Province in Eastern China and is also adjacent to Shanghai Municipality. The city has over 2,500 years of history and relics from the past are still being found there to this day. The city has become one of the top tourist destinations in China thanks to the city’s canals, stone bridges, pagodas and gardens. The city is also instrumental for China’s silk trade and the city is often referred to as the “Venice of China”.

Many things come together to make this city as popular as it is. One of the first would be the gardens of which one of them was added to the list of the UNESCO World Heritage Sites in 2000. If you are a fan of seeing gardens of all shapes and sizes then you will definitely not find yourself bored while in Suzhou as there are enough to keep even the biggest garden enthusiast busy for quite some time. Some of the gardens are even tied in with Chinese legends so you can get a bit of culture while seeing the gardens at the same time.
If gardens are not your thing then you might be a lot more interested in checking out the temples that the city has to offer. You have many temples on offer to you while staying in Suzhou, all of which carrying with them a long history and boasting some amazing architecture.

Unlike most other areas of China you can actually get around certain areas of Suzhou by navigating the canals. Pingjiang Road and Shantang Road are full of history as they are 800 years old and 1,200 years old respectively.

The city has really done a great job at setting itself up to be a tourist hub so even if none of those things appeal to you there should still be a handful of other activities that you can partake in while in Suzhou.

Even though there is some industry going on in Suzhou it doesn’t seem like it is being pushed as much as some of the other cities in the area but that works to give the city a more relaxed feeling overall and is a great place for people who want to unwind a bit but not be too far from modern amenities.

Many things that are staples of Chinese culture and art originate from the area of Suzhou like Kunqu Opera, as well as many different types of handicrafts and the people of Suzhou specialize in paintings and calligraphy too.

Suzhou might not be the bustling business capital that some people out there might be looking for but that is one of the city’s attractions. There is certainly enough other stuff to do in the city to keep you busy but at a slower pace. Getting offered a job in Suzhou could be a great opportunity as there are still things going on but at a much more relaxed pace compared to other Chinese cities.

Qingdao is a major city that is located in the Eastern section of Shandong Province in Eastern China. The name of the area translates to “Green Island”. Qingdao is a major seaport and naval base as well as an industrial center and is the site of the Tsingtao Brewery. The longest sea bridge in the world, called the Qingdao Haiwan Bridge connects the urban area of Qingdao with the Huangdao district. Qingdao was named as China’s most livable city in the year 2009 which has worked to boost the reputation of the city immensely.

The estimate for the population of Qingdao is around 8 million of which 3 million live in the urban areas of Qingdao. The other 5 million live in the other surrounding areas and cities of Qingdao. The living standards in Qingdao are among the highest in China which is thanks to the strong export economy as well as the high family wages within the city. There are 38 Chinese ethnic minorities living in Qingdao which only makes up for a total of 0.14% of the total population. There is however a very large Korean community in Qingdao with a reported 100,000 Koreans living in the area, making it the second largest Korean community in China with Beijing having the most at about 200,000 Koreans.

Qingdao has seen some very rapid development over the years which has done a great job at increasing the average quality of life for the people living there. The average annual growth rate for the area is 18.9 percent and in 2006 the city’s GDP reached 42.3 billion. The city has also been ranked as one of six “golden cities” by the World Bank out of 120 Chinese cities that were examined.

Outside of China, Qingdao’s claim to fame is their Tsingtao Brewery which was founded by a collaboration of German and British investors in 1903. Tsingtao has become the best known export beer from China. Many other companies have also set up factories in Qingdao like Haier, Hisense and Epiphone.

One thing that is usually immediately noticed by first time visitors to the city is that the architecture is a nice blend between German and Chinese styles. This coupled with the German roots and the community of Korean expats gives Qingdao a very unique feeling while you are there. The city is in the process of being renovated but there are a lot of efforts to keep the old city area intact with traditional buildings.

In Qingdao the local accent of the Qingdao is used which separates them from the people of the nearby Shandong Province. The city government has been trying to promote standard Mandarin and most educated people can also speak Mandarin in addition to their native tongue. Some of the younger people have even learned English and have the ability to carry on a conversation with foreigners. In fact, around the city, seeing business and traffic signs written in English is becoming a more common occurrence.

Xiamen is a major city that is located on the southeast coast of the People’s Republic of China. Xiamen and the areas surrounding it are the ancestral homes to large communities of Chinese in both Southeast Asia and Taiwan. In the 19th century the city was a treaty port and one of the four original Special Economic Zones and was opened to foreign investment when China began the economic reforms in the early 1980s. The area enjoys educational and cultural institutions that are supported by the overseas Chinese and the city has been ranked as China’s second most suitable city for living.

Xiamen is actually comprised of Xiamen Island and Gulangyu Island as well as a part of the rugged mainland coastal region that is located on the western bank of the Jiulong River. The other four districts of the city (Haicong, Jimei, Tong’an and Xiang’an) are all located on the mainland. The 2010 census report puts Xiamen’s population at 3.5 million which is significantly lower than many Chinese cities and areas. This is double however when compared to the census that was taken in 2010 as the annual population growth was 5.57% for the period of 2000 to 2010.

Xiamen has a strong and varied economy which has attributed to it being one of the most desirable places to live in China. The primary economic activities include fishing, food processing, tanning, shipbuilding, textiles, machine tool manufacturing, telecommunications and financial services. The city has been able to align itself with 162 other countries for economic and trade relations and they benefit from foreign investment particularly from Macau, Hong Kong and Taiwan. A total of 356 projects with foreign investment had been approved within the city in 2008 for a contractual foreign investment amount of US $1.89 billion.

The China International Fair for Investment and Trade is a show that is held every September in Xiamen and has been a great tool to attract foreign investors into China’s mainland for years now. Another part of Xiamen that has worked well to attract many foreign visitors is the excellent infrastructure for their roads, railways and ports which raises the level of trust between the city and foreign investors.

Xiamen isn’t directly known to be a tourist destination but the beautiful scenery and tree-lined beaches do make it attractive to those that manage to find their way out there. Gulangyu, which is also known as Piano Island has become a popular weekend getaway for tourists and locals alike and still offers views of the main city.

The language spoken in Xiamen is a dialect of Southern Min, also known as Hokkien. It is also known as Amoy although the Amoy dialect has no official status within the country. For all government business the official language is Mandarin.

This relatively low populated area is a great are to start exploring as it has a lot on offer and many of the features and infrastructure that people tend to look for in a home away from home.

Wenzhou is a prefecture level city in southeastern Zhejiang Province in the People’s Republic of China. Wenzhou was historically known as a prosperous foreign treaty port and to this day has still kept that image intact. The area is in a mountainous region which helped to keep it isolated from the rest of the country for most of its history. As a result, the local language and culture is much different from that of the neighboring areas. The area is also known for its citizens leaving to go to Europe or the United States, often opening up successful businesses in their new countries. In fact, the biggest Chinese community in Europe, in Milan is mostly formed by families who came from Wenzhou over the past 100 years.

Wenzhou has a population of 9.1 million and the majority of the people speak Wu Chinese which is the spoken language of most of the neighboring regions. However, the isolation of Wenzhou has caused the spoken language to evolve into a dialect that has been described only as “notoriously eccentric”. People from all areas of China reportedly have trouble understanding the dialect of those from the Wenzhou area as a result.

As is true of most areas of the People’s Republic of China, most of the residents are not religious or they are atheists. Of those that claim that they are religious around 80% are Buddhists and there are many Buddhists temples located throughout the area. Lately though there has been rapid growth in the Christian community and it is estimated that 15 – 20% of the city is Christian. Since the Wenzhou people are highly ambitious and English is important to their international endeavors, some church services in the area are even being offered in English.

Even as an isolated area Wenzhou has still been responsible for some great minds over the years including scholars, poets and over 200 mathematic professors. Some common names that the city is referred to as would be the “Home of Swimming in China”, “City of Chess” and “City of Poetry in China”.

While being isolated from the rest of the country might seem like a negative to most people the natives of Wenzhou have used it as an opportunity to become more independent and not reliant on the government. This has allowed them to become much more successful in business and many books have been written about the business sense of people from Wenzhou. Wenzhou is known as the first area to launch a market economy as well as having the most active and developed private economy in China. The people of Wenzhou have survived adversity despite little to no help from the government.

In many other areas being isolated would work to stop the people from advancing themselves but the people of Wenzhou are a unique breed in the way that they have used their lack of advantages to their advantage. These hard working people definitely deserve everything that they have worked so hard for.