China

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aarkh_sl

shitlord
23
1
Anyone have survival advice for China?

I'm in the fortunate situation of being able to do whatever I want for the next 1,5 years, and I figured I might go to China because hey, why not. I've been looking for places where I could train Tai Chi and hire a private tutor to learn enough of the language to get by, and then travel around the country for a month or a few. I'm not very concerned with comfort, and like travelling on the cheap.

I'm not a big city person, but Yangshuo and Kunming look interesting as places to start with. The rural setting in Yangshuo looks gorgeous, but it seems extremely touristy. Anyone have experiences to share on either location, or any other information or stories about China in general?
 
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Fyro

Golden Squire
127
0
If you are going to travel around you might need more than a few months. Especially if you are going to learn the language (Mandarin not Cantonese, eh?).

As to the terracotta- it wasn't really that cool. There was a fuckload of people milling about and we were basically paraded through, like cattle.

The idea of the terracotta and the history behind it- is much cooler than the actual place. Hard to really feel anything special with that many people clustered around you. Unless you are into Disney World-esque shit.
 
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aarkh_sl

shitlord
23
1
Aye, I have January 2013 to August 2014 for myself, so time is not a major issue. I'm likely not going to spend the entire time in China though, but I don't have a schedule I need to follow.

I tend to dislike places that are overrun with tourists because of the whole Disney World thing. I've lived just outside Paris for 3 years for example, and while I love the atmosphere of the city, it's not because of Louvre or the Eiffel or whatnot. I'd rather get stabbed than go climb the Eiffel again(3 times so far...).

In general, I've had some of my most memorable and random travel experiences in places with few to no tourists/white people, where not all locals see you as a walking ATM. Though being stared at gets a bit tiring. :p

Any tips for things that must be seen, done or eaten?
 
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Fyro

Golden Squire
127
0
aarkh_sl said:
Aye, I have January 2013 to August 2014 for myself, so time is not a major issue. I'm likely not going to spend the entire time in China though, but I don't have a schedule I need to follow.

I tend to dislike places that are overrun with tourists because of the whole Disney World thing. I've lived just outside Paris for 3 years for example, and while I love the atmosphere of the city, it's not because of Louvre or the Eiffel or whatnot. I'd rather get stabbed than go climb the Eiffel again(3 times so far...).

In general, I've had some of my most memorable and random travel experiences in places with few to no tourists/white people, where not all locals see you as a walking ATM. Though being stared at gets a bit tiring. :p

Any tips for things that must be seen, done or eaten?
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Man, to be free. No commitments, no job, no anything. That sounds like heaven. I'd chose South America if I had a few years to fuck around though, it might be a little more expensive than China, but easier language acquisition and they the amazon.

But, if you are dead set on China, do it, eh.
 
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Beaster_sl

shitlord
8
0
Have been living in Guangzhou for the past 5 years. Don't know what it is about living here but I enjoy it and don't see my self moving back to the States any time soon. Yangshou is a nice place to go visit and relax but like you said alot of tourists depending on the time of year your going, Jan-March shouldn't be that touristy though. The language is fun to learn at points then frustrating as fuck the other times. I speak a fair amount of Mandarin and enough to get by with my Cantonese.

As far as advice, Enjoy it. The trip should be fun as hell. If you end up in Guangzhou let me know, if your arriving in Hongkong chances are you'll be making your way past here. Any questions let me know.
 
Alexzander

Alexzander

Golden Knight of the Realm
520
39
I spent 2 or 3 weeks in Yunnan Provence over the summer. Kunming is pretty awesome. I liked Lijiang a lot too, though I would recommend avoiding Dali, despite the fact that a lot of tourists like it. The food was shitty and the people were rude. Plus there were fucking hippies everywhere.

If you want to learn Chinese, I don't recommend doing it in the south. A lot of southerners have pretty non-standard accents which can lead to bad habits. You're better off in the north east for that.
 
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aarkh_sl

shitlord
23
1
Do you guys have experiences with renewing a tourist Visa within the country? I could only get a 30 day 2-entry one here, apparently it can be extended for a month at a time without too much hassle though?
 
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Beaster_sl

shitlord
8
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Never renewed a tourist visa, but I have extended my Business Visa's for a month or two no problem. I am on a 1 year multi entry visa. They did recently change the visa regulations so I'm not sure what they are doing now. You now need to prove your flight to and from China for a tourist visa.
 
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<Aristocrat╭ರ_•́>
16,433
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aarkh_sl said:
Do you guys have experiences with renewing a tourist Visa within the country? I could only get a 30 day 2-entry one here, apparently it can be extended for a month at a time without too much hassle though?
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American visa's are pretty easy as so are French. No clue about Finnish.


Anyways back to Chengdu in March. Shu it up to all my Cao Cao traitors.
 
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eVasiege_sl

shitlord
359
1
I really liked Yangshuo, but it will still be touristy like most towns of a similar type. I would say it was less so than Dali and Lijiang, though both are still definitely worth the visit. Kunming is a great city if you are looking for something a bit more modern, but not overwhelmingly large. Weather is fantastic year-round as well. As always, I would suggest a trip to Chengdu if you have the time.

If you are really trying to learn the language, I would look to the North somewhere. You can still get it done in southern areas with a little more effort, but it will be frustrating at first.
 
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Wuwei_sl

shitlord
66
0
aarkh_sl said:
Do you guys have experiences with renewing a tourist Visa within the country? I could only get a 30 day 2-entry one here, apparently it can be extended for a month at a time without too much hassle though?
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In my experience a tourist visa can be extended two times of 30days. You will need to provide proof that you have 100 USD/day living/travelling expenses at your disposal. I've done this in Guangdong a few times.

Edit: Location.
 
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Perrito_sl

shitlord
10
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Going to Li river was the best thing I did in China. The big cities were amazing just because of the size. Other than that, I preferred going to Japan
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aarkh_sl

shitlord
23
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Cheers for the replies, got the visa and flights sorted and I'll be in Yangshuo in a couple weeks. I have a Chinese teacher looked up there who's from Beijing so hopefully the dialect won't be a huge issue, but I can always head elsewhere too.
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<Aristocrat╭ರ_•́>
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aarkh_sl said:
Cheers for the replies, got the visa and flights sorted and I'll be in Yangshuo in a couple weeks. I have a Chinese teacher looked up there who's from Beijing so hopefully the dialect won't be a huge issue, but I can always head elsewhere too.
smile.png
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You'll be fine. It's intimidating at first but once you are there you'll be so glad you made that decision.

have fun dude
 
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