So I'm going to China...

[Feielle]

My company is doing a lot of work for a few sponsors of the Olympics this year, and very last-minute they decided they needed an on-site graphics coordinator. Kind of nice, since I'm getting a passport, visa, trip to China and tickets to the closing ceremonies out of it, gratis from our client.

Thing is, the last time I went abroad was 1998, and that was when I went to England for a few months. I've never been anywhere in Asia, and most certainly not to China. The very few people I've talked to that have gone tell me it's going to be pretty hairy finding my way around, since very little of the population speaks English and I don't have anything resembling a knowledge of the Chinese language.

Also, a few others have mentioned that China is a haven for cool, cheap electronic gadgets, and being a bit of a technophile myself, this sounds promising.

Most times I'm on-site as a graphics op, its mostly spent pulling 14-hours workdays from my hotel room, but I'd like to take this opportunity to at least see a part of Beijing.

Anyone here ever been and has a few tips/pointers?

[Beckwin]

I thought I heard somewhere that there are more English speakers in China than in the US. Hopefully you encounter enough of it to be able to get around, but even if not you've gotta figure the city is ready to accommodate foreigners during the games. good luck and have fun.

[Remyo]

will you be in the olympic village?

[Khamsin]

I thought I heard somewhere that there are more English speakers in China than in the US.

That's probably true of any language in China, other than Chinese. Vancouver BC holds that title.

[toonces]

bring 5 dollars

[Feielle]

will you be in the olympic village?

to the best of my knowledge, yes. If not there, very close to it as that is where all of the events I'm doing work for are being held.

[Boyiee]

Your signature is godly.

Anyway, most expenses are on company pay i'm sure, but make sure you bring some for yourself as well. Commercials say Visa is accepted anywhere, but Cash is always important.

You are going to cough alot, and might get sick. The pollution is outrageous, I believe visitors usually get the "china cough" or something similar. If you can, try and see more than just the closing ceremony, the olympics are usually quite fun, but being the home country expect to see a lot of 14-16yr old illegal Chinese gymnists win most events.

Bring some antibiotics with you, water if you can.

[layoneil]

get something like this if you're going to Beijing: www.nasopure.com

[Feielle]

just found out, I'm staying here:

http://www.shangri-la.com/en/property/beijing/shangrila

I'm a (recreational) mechanic, so I'm used to breathing nasty paint and oil fumes mixed with rust. I do have a really nice charcoal respirator that I use when dealing with especially nasty stuff, but I was thinking bringing something as drastic as that might be a bit overkill. Then again I always thought the paper masks were pretty worthless...

[Vandole]

you lucky bastard.

[xerodok]

Pack the smog mask!

[Lavik]

a guy from work just spent 6 months in china/thailand learning martial arts
he said china has a long way to go, its fucking disgusting, and there is no such thing as lines
he said everyone spits everywhere (internet cafe floor, public transportation etc)
like big loogie spit not saliva
he said he totally understands why they have to deal with sars and bird flu
take care of yourself but have a good time

[Elesirdur]

Spitting was actually something the Chinese government cracked down on before the Olympics. My guess is people do it because of the extremely high levels of particulate matter in their air.

Oh and I understand that Internet access is rather hit or miss in China. ISPs may not allow you to access many major world sites (I think Wikipedia is still one of them). I have no clue how it'll be like for getting email, but I would think your ISP's webmail would probably be fine if you can't get your client to work properly.

Oh yeah and regarding staying at the Shangri-La. So. Bloody. Lucky.

They're building a Living Shangri-La in Vancouver, BC (the first of the Shangri-La properties to be built in North America) and it's going to be absolutely amazing. They're planning on making it the nicest, most luxurious hotel and condo in the Lower Mainland - and that's saying something.

[Zigma]

My company is doing a lot of work for a few sponsors of the Olympics this year, and very last-minute they decided they needed an on-site graphics coordinator. Kind of nice, since I'm getting a passport, visa, trip to China and tickets to the closing ceremonies out of it, gratis from our client.

Thing is, the last time I went abroad was 1998, and that was when I went to England for a few months. I've never been anywhere in Asia, and most certainly not to China. The very few people I've talked to that have gone tell me it's going to be pretty hairy finding my way around, since very little of the population speaks English and I don't have anything resembling a knowledge of the Chinese language.

Also, a few others have mentioned that China is a haven for cool, cheap electronic gadgets, and being a bit of a technophile myself, this sounds promising.

Most times I'm on-site as a graphics op, its mostly spent pulling 14-hours workdays from my hotel room, but I'd like to take this opportunity to at least see a part of Beijing.

Anyone here ever been and has a few tips/pointers?

what do you want to know from China? My wife is from there (Taijin, like 20-30min from Beijin) As far as the air goes, it's poluted due to how industrial China has become.

[Feielle]

what do you want to know from China? My wife is from there (Taijin, like 20-30min from Beijin) As far as the air goes, it's poluted due to how industrial China has become.

Simple things really, any cultural faux-pas an ignorant American might stumble across that would piss off anyone there?

Do you bow when greeting people in China, or is that just Japan? I know there's a huge ordeal regarding the passing of business cards (again, in Japan) but not sure if this is the same thing I'll need to note when meeting CEO's in Beijing.

Whats the attitude towards Americans there? I know most of the world thinks we're a bunch of war-mongering rich McFatasses with a god complex, so how likely am I to get the proverbial finger from most of the city?

[Kuya]

When in doubt, say you're Canadian.

[Mugen]

If you can go see Leshan, China. Awesome scenery.

[Brill Weave]

My fiancee's friend just got back from China last week. The Chinese think very poorly of Americans and especially American women(which she is.) So be prepared for quite a bit of rudeness and little to no help whatsoever finding your way around. But look on the bright side, you're going when there are a crap ton of other foreigners there. So hopefully people will be a bit more accomodating considering the entire world will be focused on China for the next few weeks.

[sakurato]

lots of bottled water. lots and lots. always have some purell with you. you can ALWAYS bargain down stuff (learn to say things like "too expensive", "cheaper or i go"). there's a lot of soot in the air due to lots of places still using coal a lot, so bring lots of qtips and tissue. that and lots of pictures! try to go to the great wall on a day off !

[Osede]

Do you bow when greeting people in China, or is that just Japan? I know there's a huge ordeal regarding the passing of business cards (again, in Japan) but not sure if this is the same thing I'll need to note when meeting CEO's in Beijing.

First you need to know that, if a chinese over there greet you with, "Have you eaten?" It literature means that "How are you?" And no, they don't do those bowing stuff like japanese.

Whats the attitude towards Americans there? I know most of the world thinks we're a bunch of war-mongering rich McFatasses with a god complex, so how likely am I to get the proverbial finger from most of the city?

As for as for the anti-US thing, I think they are more anti-korea/japan, even thought they also like to watch anime and buy those jp games/figure lol