Is travelling in China difficult? Setting the record straight

Before leaving on this trip many people told me that the answer to this question is “Yes”, because of a lack of English, difficult transportation, and that in general people aren’t overly willing to help out the culturally and linguistically challenged foriegners. Now that I’ve been in the mainland for almost 2 months I can answer this question for myself; and my answer is No! It is not difficult to travel in China. It’s no Thailand in terms of convenience and “ease of use” so to speak, but it is absolutely not hard. It is true that outside of urban areas few people speak English, but there are many things you can do to overcome this even if you don’t want to learn some chinese (although I don’t know why you wouldn’t want to ;-).

I was prepared for unhelpful, intimidating people yelling at me in Chinese whenever I tried to get anything done like buy bus tickets. My experience has been the exact opposite of this. There have been so many times when Greg & I were lost, confused, on the wrong bus, etc. and someone went out of their way to help us. For example, in Lijiang we tried to buy tickets for a bus that left at a different station that the one we were in. A random lady waiting in the station talked to us, figured out what the problem was, walked oustide and hailed us a taxi, then explained to the driver where we needed to go. I’ve been amazed at how often this kind of situation has been repeated, and just how friendly, welcoming, and helpful people are everywhere we go.

Transportation all over China is easy. Domestic flights are inexpensive and you can book e-tickets online with your credit card. The trains are fast, efficient, on-time and comfortable. The soft sleeper cars are nicer than some of the guesthouses we’ve stayed in. And the buses… well, they are buses, but at least longer routes have the “sleeper” option where you get a bed instead of a seat. Which is better than all the cramped long bus rides we took in Myanmar and Laos.

So if you’re thinking of going to China but are intimidated by what you hear from other travellers, you should reconsider because it’s not nearly as hard as people make it out to be. 🙂