| Some great tips! I'm not a China travel expert, but have some suggestions: Tip #9: Ask a friend to buy you a prepaid mobile phone card from China Mobile/China Unicom. Bring your own GSM tri-band mobile phone (you may have to have it "unlocked" before you come), and pop the SIM chip into your phone. I find it incredibly important to have a mobile phone so you can schedule meetings, make dinner plans, etc. Everything is last-minute and fast-paced in China, you want to be reachable on your trip. (Also, if you have a Blackberry, I have found GPRS Blackberry support GREAT in China, just sign up for an international plan before you leave). Tip #10: Ask a friend to buy a IP Phone Card. International calls are very expensive in China. It seems like IP Phone Card is the cheapest way to go. (Maybe WJS has some more tips). Tip #11: Bring ATM cards, ideally on multiple networks. My main US bank account is on STAR/PLUS network but not on MAESTRO/CIRRUS network. I was stuck at the Hangzhou airport once with no cash and a useless ATM card...lucky I could get cash advance from my MasterCard! In my experience, Bank of China is on MAESTRO (the symbol that looks like MasterCard). Maybe someone can survey the big ATM networks and tell us travellers which ATM networks are most useful... Tip #12: Carry more cash than you are used to. In the US, I carry very little cash because I use credit cards all the time. In China, everyone carries a ton of cash and there is a good reason for it. So get a money belt, don't let yourself be pickpocketed, but also don't run out of money because you assume that ATMs are everywhere and credit cards are accepted everywhere. |
7 Tips to Travel to China This Quarter