Is the language in china a probelm for a toursist when visiting shanghai and bejing?

Question

Hi I'm travelling round china, visiting shanghai, bejijng and macau independently and was wondering if ther laguage is a real prob when in the cities? and if anyone has any suggestions to mak the most of my time there.. htanks

Answer 1

a lot of the younger generations in the cities know some english, so that might help, but the older generations know very little. take along a phrasebook with you...such as the lonely planet mandarin phrasebook...also try to learn a few short phrases that could help you get around.

examples:

ni hao = hello
ni hao ma? = how are you?
hao = good/okay
pianyi yi dianr = a little cheaper (for bargaining prices)
dui bu qi = im sorry, excuse me
tai gui le = too expensive (for bargaining)
wo jiao ____ = my name is______
ni qu nar? or ni qu na li? = where are you going? (for a cab)
fangjian = room (for hotel purposes)
wo yao qu _____ = i want to go to ________
xie xie = thanks
xie xie ni = thank you
bu yong xie = no need to thank (similar to you're welcome)
wo yao ______= I want _____

you can subscribe to some podcasts that offer free mandarin chinese lessons. it can be a great tool when it comes to pronounciation.

also make sure you pick up a business card from your hotel, and keep it with you at all times. if you take a taxi, then you can just show them the hotel card and they will know where to take you. this is very important!

also try to stop into some bars or places that expats hang out at and check to see if they have any free copies of "that's beijing" or "that's shanghai"...these are great magazines that have listings of bars, clubs, restaurants, and various events going on in that city...it's an english publication whis is great! you can also check out their website at: http://www.thatssh.com/ and http://www.thatsbj.com/index.php?a=28&b=150.

i hope this helped a bit, good luck and have fun! china is absolutely amazing!

Answer 2

Travelling in China without speaking Chinese is a definitely a problem, but less so in the big 3 (Beijing, Shanghai & Guangzhou). Note I didnt count Taiwan and HK, don't tell anyone. Despite what Olympic propaganda will have you believe, the country's still not really set up for the foreign tourist trade. Outside of your Hotel/Hostel or other specific areas, you may find info hard to come by. Though a lot of the younger residents will speak a little English, this will fluctuate depending on where you are. Beijing, for example is f*cking huge. The downtown area, bar street, embassy district, and of course the student area (reprazent the Wu!) shouldn't be too much of a problem, but the vast areas in between potentially will be.
But being in a big city, these problems are certainly not insurmountable. Just be prepared. Ask a chinese friend or the concierge of your hotel to write in chinese and pinyin the address of the place(s) you want to go, and definitely don't forget to keep the card of your hotel or the address of the place your staying (again, chinese & pinyin) in your back pocket at all times. Unlike rural areas, city folk won't point and stare, and will only occasionally take your picture if you ask them for directions. But they'll be polite about it.
SIM Cards are available for 50rmb ($6US) pretty much everywhere; this, a 100rmb recharge card and a working cell will do wonders for your feeling of security.
Now to the fun stuff! Beijing is much cooler than Shanghai! Just one man's opinion obviously. But definitely check out:
Shopping:
Pearl Market (Hong Qiao Shi Chang)
Silk Market (Xiu Shui Shi Chang)
Bars/Clubs:
Bar Street (Jiu Ba Jie) - just follow a white face and you'll soon find some hidden gems in the back streets of Beijing.
Lush (Wu Dao Kou Cheng Tie Zhan Dui Mian) - the home base of the foreign student population in case you need some cheap burgers & beer and need to speak english for awhile.
Happy travels!

Answer 3

you'll be fine, especially in macau...
in shanghai & beijing, there are expats who speak english, & some locals do speak some basic english.

in shanghai & beijing,
if you take the cab, make sure you get the hotel staff to tell the driver your destination, & whether he knows how to get there (shanghai & beijing is a hugh city, & roads are changing almost everyday, due to new constructions).

if you are taking a cab back to the hotel, make sure you have the hotel business card, so that the driver can read in chinese without further misunderstandings.

in stalls other than shopping malls, you must bargain REAL hard to get a good deal...if they ask for US$30, you say US$10...or lower.

some have 'funny' habits, like wearing p.j in public area- the bund/ shopping malls.
some may spit though, but its under control now.

in shanghai, you may visit:
1) nanjing road
2) yu-yuan
3) the bund

in beijing, you may visit:
1) the great wall of china
2) forbidden city
3) the infamous tiananmen square

in macau,
OMG, it's a very colonial place to visit...i love it! so romantic!!! and the food too...try the portugese tarts, & the pork bun...yummy!
places like a 400year old temple (kuan Im temple), st. paul cathedral is a must!
also, you can try the casino, like the sands...BUT ITS BAD BAD CUSTOMER SERVICE!!! rude!!!!
anyway, if you reached macau, there are legal agents who will ask you if you want an individual tour in the city for $100 (pataca) for 3 places, you may want to consider it.

Answer 4

Beijing is full of students who will want to practise their English with you - I used to do this myself ! Especially around Tiananmen square we would offer to gude people around . However , the majority of people in Beijing do not speak English. In Shanghai be more careful of "friendly" people and use your common sense. I would say it was safe to follow young people in Beijing but not in Shanghai . You will not be harmed but they may be after your money .However I think more people do speak English/American in Shanghai because it is an important business centre.
Make sure the hotel you stay in is staffed with English speakers. When you leave the hotel take a hotel card in Chinese so you can get back via Taxi. If you have never studied Chinese then it is no good attempting to speak it using a phrase book .No one will understand you. Better just to point to the phrase in the book. You will find it very frustrating. My boyfriend was a visitor many times. On his first visits before he could speak Chinese he found it very frustrating. But he does not regret going.

Answer 5

I agree with everything ME says.

Lonely planet mandarin phrase book is great. but they speak cantonese in HK (the symbols are the same so any litterate Chinese person should be able to communicate)

def ask younger people for directions etc, they may be shy at first but do usually have a good command of Englsih. -- not much hope with older people unfortunately.

do try to learn a few key phrases - not that difficult and your Question words before going, it helps alot as does knowing the numbers and hand gestures associated with them -all in the phrasebook. You'll need them to bargain for everything outside major supermarkets. also too expensive accompanied with an aghast expression!

really good idea to keep the hotel business card with you but make sure its in Symbols not English alphabet (latin alphabet - im not sure of correct name) as most taxi drivers will only be able to recognise symbols - the other is just taught in kindergartens.

Enjoy your trip, make the most of it, the Country is changing so fast, it'll never be the same as the way you get to see it this time.

Answer 6

If you are staying around tourist areas, you will not have a problem. If you want to go to other parts, you might have a little bit of a problem. Make sure you get the address of where you want to go to written in Chinese. Taxi drivers have told me some funny stories, when people try to explain where they want to go useing gestures - like the one that took his fare to the airport when they were flapping their arms like wings - turned out that they really wanted to go to a roast duck resturant.
A phrase book is also helpful. Lonley Plant's book on China is really good!

Answer 7

When I go to Yahoo! China, the things that would be the chinese letters just show up as squares on my computer. Oh well! I wouldnt be able to understand them anyway!

Answer 8

Hi, I'm a Chinese myself, from taiwan. actually, i think you could always find imformation centres in big cities. And if you can speak mandarin, there's no problem getting around the city. hey, my mail box is [e-mail], if you've got any problems, tell me. maybe I can help you.
P.S I think English maps are avaliable.

Answer 9

You would not be facing any major difficulties as a lot of people are educated and in the city area u wont have a problem.

Answer 10

alot of the people , especially students speak good english in the big cities, nut rural areas is unlikely. Because beijing is hosted the olympics, they have increased there english speaking capacity.