Going to China

[harryviking]

18 hours ago, Bangkok Black said:

Febuary my wife and I will be going to China for 5 days.

It is a paid-for trip with flights, hotels and tours and part of a group trip.

I have applied and had my visa application approved.I just have to collect it on the 10th of Feb in Bangkok.

 

Has anyone here been to China recently? i have a few questions.

Did you change money in Thailand at Super rich or in China?

I have a Wise card, did you use your Wise card in China? Does it work?

Mobile phone, Does AISor DTAC work there? Or did you rely on Wi-FI ?

I am a UK passport holder and have a thai work permit, did you have any problems with immigration going/coming back to Thailand and in China?

 

Any tips and advice are welcome.

 

 

LOL! Eat some street food with oil from the gutter. Eat veggies soaked in poisonous water! 80Pct of the Chinese water is not suited for human use. Not even for use for pants! I guess only ignorant people goes to China on their own free will!!  😆

[impulse]

1 hour ago, BritManToo said:

4 hours ago, impulse said:

Be aware that they have a list of questions they ask everyone, every time.  It's not onerous once you realize that it's just their procedure.

They didn't speak to me at all, just waved me through.

 

Happens to me occasionally, too.  My point was not to get nervous if they do follow their procedure and ask some questions.  At first (post Covid), I thought they were really scrutinizing me.  But after about 4 or 5 entries, I realized they were reading off a script and not to worry.   I wasn't on any kind of hot seat.

 

They are all business and can be intimidating.  (Not unlike many Thai IOs).  Especially the IOs with limited English skills. But it turns out they're okay people.  Not hard to understand why, especially when they're welcoming visitors from too many countries to know all the languages. 

 

[thjames88]

19 hours ago, PomPolo said:

What is the particular reason you are going to China? I really haven't heard of many foreigners going there for a holiday, Hong Kong is probably a better bet if it is just that part of Asia you want to experience.

not sure thats exactly true  35 mil toursists to china and only 7m to hong kong (ex Chinese)  i lived in Hk 20 years and without Chinese tourists its a ghosttown   fyi same time frame  28mil to thailand   🤔

[Yellowtail]

Just now, thjames88 said:

not sure thats exactly true  35 mil toursists to china and only 7m to hong kong (ex Chinese)  i lived in Hk 20 years and without Chinese tourists its a ghosttown   fyi same time frame  28mil to thailand   🤔

Hong Kong used to be great, last few times I was there was enough. I would not go back unless the family wanted to go to Disney. 

[PomPolo]

2 minutes ago, Yellowtail said:

Hong Kong used to be great, last few times I was there was enough. I would not go back unless the family wanted to go to Disney. 

Yeah very true I used to like and visit with friends working there but you might as well be in a more expensive and robbing version of Pattaya in the centre of HK now if you are into nightlife.
As for stuff to do I went up the hill on that vertical train which was OK.  I think Disney opened after the last time I visited. 

But yeah the comparison stats on visitors, China receives on average the number of visitors equivalent to 10% of its population, Thailand receives visitors the equivalent of 60% of its population, I think I'll stay put here.

[zmisha]

20 hours ago, Bangkok Black said:

I am a UK passport holder and have a thai work permit, did you have any problems with immigration going/coming back to Thailand and in China?

1 hour before departure at Shanghai airport. They wanted me to show "valid visa". That time I did not know that Re-entry permit was the "valid visa" they wanted me to show. So I lost a lot of time solving this problem.

[connda]

20 hours ago, Yellowtail said:

I'm not a big fan of China, but it was okay the times I was there for work.

 

Did not seem very friendly, and the food kind of blows. 

You can say the same thing of New Yorkers.

[Yellowtail]

1 minute ago, connda said:

You can say the same thing of New Yorkers.

Anyone claiming the food in New York blows is delusional. 

 

What kind of food do you like? 

[renaissanc]

It's cold there now. I hope you like the cold. Just try to enjoy every minute. The Chinese people are friendly and there's a lot of beautiful scenery. Hopefully, the trip will include that more than shopping malls. Show the people compassion as life is hard for them. I wouldn't risk going to China as I've been too critical of the CCP online, and they've threatened to arrest people like me. I've backpacked around China before. It was tiring, but certainly worthwhile.

[sandyf]

On 1/30/2025 at 8:06 PM, Bangkok Black said:

Has anyone here been to China recently? i have a few questions.

Did you change money in Thailand at Super rich or in China?

I have been a couple of times, last time in 2019 for niece's graduation.

I would suggest getting some money before leaving Thailand. If not change at airport on arrival otherwise you may run into problems at a bank. When I tried they wanted social security details that I did not have available. My wife had a Chinese account in Thailand and transferred from there. Try and get small denominations, it is almost cashless society so if you do pay in cash getting change can be difficult.

Enjoy the trip, a real eye opener. Most from the west have preconceptions that will be blown away.

[Watawattana]

I've been to Mainland China a few times, and generally had a great time.  Paying for stuff is generally easier using an app like AliPay than cash, a VPN is useful so you can use the map and translation apps that you are used to, and a data plan is pretty much essential to help with these items just mentioned.

 

I found some of the cultural behaviours a bit odd, like taking 300% of what someone can eat from the buffet, then wasting it 200% of it.  Also doors not being held open and left to shut in your face, people on their phones walking around without a care for anyone else, groups of people walking on a sidewalk at a snail's pace taking all of it up and more selfies that you can imagine. 

 

But I've generally found people to be nice, friendly and helpful.

 

The one exception was Sanya (Hainan island), where I did not feel welcome at all.  But I worked out why in the end, on my last day there; the locals thought I was Russian.  When I got over that the locals turned back into being the normal friendly people I've met elsewhere.

 

Hong Kong is still an amazing place, but it is expensive and many people's opinion of the place has been stained by negative statements from politicians and the media.  In some cases the negative comments have some basis, but are generally not or are hypocritical.  Still one of the safest cities in the planet with great beaches and forest walks a short ride on the bus from the main city areas.

[Bangkok Black]

I have a Wise card and will be taking that and may also change some cash at swampy on the way out.

I have Torguard VPN

 

[Doctor Tom]

On 1/31/2025 at 8:13 AM, KhunLA said:

why do I bother sifting though hours of posts, just for 5 interesting ones.

I suggest that the OP doesn't  ask, if he/she/them is not going to like the wide range of replies that will come back. China evokes strong reactions from people, as indeed does Russia, both positive and negative.  My reply to the OP of, 'don't go', was heartfelt. I meant it. I hated almost everything about the country.  I hope he/she/them,  find it a positive experience.