First and foremost, you really don't want to get sick while in China - of course you really don't want to get sick anywhere for that matter. Particularly if you’re on a short visit. It's not that this is a backward country, although it certainly can be in certain areas. Shanghai, Beijing, QuangZhou, and most of the other large cities are certainly as modern as New York, Los Angeles, or Chicago (and in fact more modern in many aspects). It's just that nothing is very clean here, and passing germs from person to person is easy. Also, because of the dense population germs are distributed quickly.

I had my gall bladder removed in Nanchang, Jiangxi Province. When I checked into the hospital, I was a little shocked at the hospital room. I'm fairly sure the bed sheets had been washed and were clean, but one could definitely tell that they were well used….however, the floors and walls were pretty appalling. BTW - expect a roommate or two or . . .
The doctors were very professional (also true for most dentists), and in fact trained in the most modern techniques. An interview with him prior to the operation revealed that he understood English very well, but was really afraid to speak because he didn't want to make a mistake. But he acknowledged and calmed all the concerns I had.

The operating room looked very modern, although a little austere. It just so happens that the laser procedure for removing gall bladders is as common in China as it is in the USA. The only major difference was the price tag - only about $700 (5000 rmb) here in China. Hooray for socialized medicine.

There have been horror stories about watered down medicine being sold to people, but a thorough investigation has revealed that these people bought their medicines from a “street vendor” and not in a pharmacy or drug store. What sane person would do that?

The getting well part is really easy if you have a place to rest, and have someone to help take care of you - which I do on both counts - I went home one day after my operation and convalesced in my own home. Also, if you have certain fairly common ailments, relief is as close as the nearest drug store - and there is one on almost every block. A major plus is you don't need a prescription, or the doctors permission to buy many of the drugs you need. Purchasing one of the penicillin derivatives (amoxicillin, norfloxacin, etc.) or many of the really fabulous western drugs is easy and very inexpensive - and it comes in the same box Pfizer (or Glaxo-Smith-Klein, whomever) placed it in at the Shanghai factory. Chinese instructions are on one side of the box, and many times English is on the other side…. It’s best if you know the medical name - not the brand name - for the drug in question. Tylenol is Tylenol, no matter where you buy it.

Also, in case of flu and other viruses, the Chinese learned their lesson from the SARS episode, and now go into high-gear when a case of any flu is discovered. Even if you self-treat, it's fairly easy to pop into a hospital and get a intravenous antibiotic treatment for any bacterial infection.

So as I started this article, you don't really want to get sick, but if you know what ails you, and/or know what you need to cure you, then you can buy that cure very cheaply. Wash often, especially your hands and face. Drink only bottled water (it's only 1 Yuan - 14 cents - in most areas). Try to keep your hands off of walls, and any buttons that millions before you have, don't touch your face after shaking hands with people, don't use someone else's cell phone. And of course, ALWAYS wash after using the restroom…..Just like mom told you. . .


Next; Money, banking and some exchange rate tips....

On two or three travel blogs on various internet sites about China that I have read, a panicky writer often describes a horror story about some basic hygiene items I think it's necessary to discuss. For example, the stories of no toilet paper (at restaurants for example). While perhaps true in some cases, these truly are simple problems which the 22 year old traveller should have easily overcome.

In most of the smaller communities, say 500,000 to 1 million population, most restaurants provide 'toilet paper' right at your table. Even in larger cities, really inexpensive restaurants practice this as well. It actually is tissue paper sheathed in a round plastic container and fed from the inside-out instead of starting on the outside, as you are probably more accustomed to seeing. This inexpensive 'table tissue' is used by the Chinese just as we use napkins. If you are visiting mid-sized cities, say 1 million to 5 million population (or more middle class restaurants), many  offer a little plastic envelope with several individual pieces of folded facial tissue or napkins. In fact, after living here about a month, I realized it was a good habit to collect these little envelopes of napkins - after all you are paying for them anyway - and carrying a few around with me at all times. Then you are never without some 'toilet tissue' even in an emergency. Don’t forget to take them out of your pockets before sending your clothes to the cleaners or the washing machine.

If you stay in the larger cities - which I hope you don't, most of the really nice restaurants offer a wash cloth sealed in plastic or served hot to you by the hostess before ordering your food. NOTE: This is becoming the practice more and more lately. I think it's a great idea to wash your hands before eating, and so do the Chinese. As you see there is really no need to panic, at the lack of toilet paper….

More importantly, unless you are either really young, from West Virginia, or an 'old China hand', you really don't want to use the restroom in a restaurant anyway….. Speaking of going to the restroom, my primary advice is to go at the hotel where you are staying, before venturing out on a day or shopping trip. Many places only offer what is endearingly called a 'squatty'… In other words you don't sit-down on a commode, you squat over a hole. Sometimes that hole is porcelain and sometimes it is 'just a hole'. So we older folks, whose knees don't hold up under pressure for very long, make a habit of 'going' before 'going out'.

In China, a little prior planning generally works wonders.

I love shopping in China, where true capitalism reins supreme. I love the back streets, the little shops, the street hawkers, and the teeming masses looking for a bargain. It makes my blood flow, and I can feel really alive.
Yes, they have big malls with Olay, L’Oreal, Gucci and Ralph Lauren signs everywhere you look, even if shopping in small towns (remember: small towns are 5 million people and below). But you won’t find any true bargains there, and the likelihood of bargaining in general has been forgotten. You might as well be in New York, and who wants that.....
Shopping in a street market is the ‘hot’ action - at least for me. No, you aren’t going to get a ‘real’ Gucci bag and that Polo shirt is truly a fake, but the action is fun, the bargaining is real, the people are truly friendly, and anxious to do business with you. The main thing is the bargaining. If you don’t haggle over the price, you are just another dumb foreigner who deserves to be taken advantage of, and you instantly lose face.
In these street markets there are no price-tags on anything, so I always start by asking ‘Doa Shao Chien’ or how much money does this cost? The vendor will immediately see your ‘foreign face’ and state a ridiculously high price (Note: don’t worry if you haven’t learned the numbers yet, all vendors have pocket calculators). Then I immediately take 10% of that number and counter offer. Which of course is turned down with a small protest, only to be followed by a counter offer. If I think it’s still too much I say ‘no thank you’, and walk away - remembering to always be polite.
Now the affect of ‘walking away’ does two things: First, by walking away you’re saying that their counter offer is ‘not acceptable’, and second the vendor loses some face by not appearing ready to bargain. I have found that ninety percent of the time, the vendor will hurry to call you back with another (lower) counter offer - in other words they want to sell and are willing to continue haggling over the price. When this happens, you have gained face, and the upper hand in this bargaining process.
Also, you can be confident that there is another shop (probably) within 100 feet that will offer the very same product, and you can try your bargaining skills again. Many of my Chinese friends have marvelled at how cheaply I purchase items and wonder at my secret. Which is quite easy.... Be prepared to ‘walk away’  - - every time. Because I can almost guarantee you, if one vendor has it, then hundreds of other vendors have those very same products, and one will certainly be hungry enough to give you a deal. Because while winning the haggling battle over the price is important for gaining ‘face’, selling to a ‘foreigner’ also gains the vendor ‘face.’  So be polite and friendly, but also be prepared to walk away.

One downside to shopping in China is that all transactions are cash, except in the big cities I told you to avoid. This means you must carry cash, which also makes you a target for pick-pockets and thieves (just like New York City), so be careful.

Next: More travel tips......

Dining in a restaurant is a joy and a wonderment in China. In some aspects it isn’t any different than eating in Chicago, or San Francisco. Yet in many ways once you have experienced it you’ll certainly remember it. It is best experienced with friends - some Chinese friends, and the more the merrier.

In America although we’d truly like to get a private room,they generally are either not available or simply too expensive. The Chinese like to eat with their friends, their colleagues and their families. Which means that restaurants are specifically designed to accomodate these desires - lots of private rooms of all sizes. There is generally a ‘public area’, but the real action is in the private rooms.

The better the restaurant the more adorned these rooms become. Most all have their own heater/AC unit, a TV, and a big round table with a glass lazy-susan in the middle. The nicer ones have a couch and a little table, with magazines available for your reading pleasure while waiting for everyone to arrive. The best come with their own washroom/bathroom and a dumbwaiter room, so your hostess can receive your food from the kitchen without your privacy being interupted by outsiders. Hot tea is served immediately when you arrive, by your very own waitress - no double duty for this girl - she’s only assigned one room.

You will find there is a strict protocol on the seating. The VIP, or main guest sits directly opposite and facing the door. The remaining people sit according to their ranking (given the particular situation) around the main guest. With the least most important person sitting with their back to the door. Additionally, you don’t take your place at the table until all guests have arrived - even if the food has been (or is being) served on the table.
Once everyone has taken their place, a drink is served (I’ll discuss the drinks in a later entry), and a toast for the occasion is made. Then (and only then), you may begin eating - although generally the main guest is allowed the first bite.

It is generally considered good manners to toast the individual people or couples once during the dinner. While your toasts should be properly spread out during the dinner period, it is important not to forget anyone. As a foreigner, you should be aware of the ‘attack of the toasts’, which I will cover later.

The food is served in stages, just as in the US. First the appetizers, then the main course, and finally the watermellon (not really a dessert as you generally aren’t charged for this dish). I always know when the meal is over.... The watermellon is served.

I warned you that dining in China is a comprehensive subject, and that is proving to be correct. I will provide more in later entries....

Next up.... Some thoughts about shopping.

It’s easy to know what is on the menu at that 5-Star Radisson in Shenzhen or Shanghai. It’s in English and contains all the items you are accustomed to seeing on a menu - only much more expensive. But that is not really Chinese food, and so I won’t write about these. What I think is more important is for you to learn about what Chinese people eat, and why it’s healthy and good for you.

While many of the middle class restaurants I speak of have pictures on their menus, those pictures may not always be what they seem. Fish certainly looks like fish, but what is that stuff that looks like grandmas beef stew, and why does that look like seaweed?
Well the answers are simple and yet complicated. It very well could be seaweed, or it could be tofu, but either way it’s very healthy eating.

The Chinese eat lots and lots of vegetables of every variety. Many varieties of spinach, and lettuce, along with radish, carrot, turnip, broccoli and celery. And how many times have you heard US doctors and other advice givers saying that we need more vegetables in our diets?
Chicken, duck, fish, turtle, frog, and pork are the ‘meat’ mainstays, along with the occasional lamb and beef dishes. During holidays, dog is very popular. With each of these dishes you get everything except the intestines. Which means that the fish, turtle, chicken and duck all come with their heads and feet and the dog with his genitals. Beef, pork, chicken and duck liver is also plentiful and very popular, so people are also getting their daily iron supplement. Many times you will see some stuff that looks like some fungus or something.... It’s probably just tofu, but could also be an offshoot from the mushroom family, of which there are dozens here in China, and these are most welcomed from a mushroom lover. Many dishes are available with either rice and/or wheat noodles, along with a large variety of soups to warm your innards, especially in winter.

You will see that many of the dishes have little seeds in them, or slices of what look like green or red bell peppers. This means it is probably on the spicy side. Some locations are more noted for their spicy food than others, but with the exception of Shanghai - which is known for its food being ‘sweet’ - most food with these peppers means “spicy”. Oh and in some places, they will make you forget you ever heard about Mexican food....

Rice.... ah yes, rice. Rice is generally consumed at every meal when eating at home. Yet many times, while it is always available at restaurants, when Chinese people dine in a restaurant they do not eat rice. Especially when (paying the bill) entertaining bosses, girlfriends, foreigners, and/or other important people.

Finally, I always looked at the situation with this thought. There are 1.5 billion or so Chinese people, and they have been eating all of this for 5,000 or so years - according to their culture. So it can’t be harmful.

Next.... Some protocols of Chinese dining.