Hot answers tagged

122 votes

How can black travellers deal with unwanted harassment from locals in China?

There is not much you can do - those people have probably never before seen anyone black, and that is the typical reaction in that cultural environment. Imagine you are green or blue, and you go in a ...
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88 votes
Accepted

What is this island in the South China Sea called?

This is called Cuarteron Reef in English. It is one of several reefs in the South China Sea that were enlarged and built up around 2015-2016 as part of a land reclamation project by the People's ...
59 votes

How can black travellers deal with unwanted harassment from locals in China?

In the old days all Westerners would get that treatment, especially outside of the areas with many foreigners. I got used to it, and found it a bit endearing (when sincere, which it often was) and ...
58 votes

How does the taxi scam work at Luohu station in Shenzhen?

It happens that I am a native of Shenzhen, and indeed we avoid those "illicit vehicles" (or "black cabs", hei che 黑车 in Chinese) at all costs. The perceived risk is that they might demand exorbitant ...
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55 votes

How can black travellers deal with unwanted harassment from locals in China?

I'm sorry to say this, but what you experience is quite typical attitude toward foreigners in mainland China, and is not specific to blacks. To be more specific: Having their hair (and, on a few ...
  • 21.7k
55 votes
Accepted

Internet censoring while roaming abroad with Chinese SIM cards?

My experience when I use data roaming is that the local telco tunnels IP traffic to my home provider, and then it enters the global internet at my provider's premises. So sites like whatismyip.com ...
55 votes

Can I use my Chinese passport to enter China after I acquired another citizenship?

No, this would be illegal. Voluntarily naturalizing in another country results in automatic loss of Chinese citizenship. You need to contact your local Chinese embassy and obtain the proper visa. The ...
54 votes
Accepted

Traveling with medical equipment in checked baggage

First, if it fits in or as a carry-on and you can manage it, I highly recommend you keep it with you. Many airlines will offer a carry-on limit exemption for medical devices though you may have to ...
  • 32.2k
54 votes

What is this island in the South China Sea called?

As a more generic solution, try using Google reverse image search, e.g. in Chrome: -> If using a web browser other than Google Chrome, go to https://www.google.com/search?tbm=isch and click on ...
52 votes

Why does my phone's GPS not work in China?

This may be due to the long Time To First Fix. Indeed, I recently learned that recent smartphones use mechanisms called "Assisted GPS" in order to get a location based on GPS reception. The idea is ...
  • 20.8k
49 votes

As tourist in China do I have to fear consequences for having publicly liked South Park?

Note that at the time of this post, to the best of my knowledge, there has been no palpable proof that the celebrity was indeed banned from entering China, or that the purported ban is related to him "...
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48 votes

Can I use my Chinese passport to enter China after I acquired another citizenship?

As Robert Columbia mentioned, voluntarily naturalizing in a foreign country results in automatic loss of Chinese (PRC) citizenship (but not ROC nationality; I'll assume you are talking about the PRC), ...
  • 19.2k
46 votes

Does it take one hour to board a bullet train in China, and if so, why?

There is an airport-style luggage, security, and ID check. Boarding itself doesn't exactly take one hour, just as boarding an airplane doesn't really require being there 2 hours in advance, but you ...
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44 votes
Accepted

Who was this persistent person at Shanghai airport?

IKeelYou's answer is excellent for the general case, but I'd like to add some specifics, since you mention this is in China. This guy was trying to sell you transportation service. This is a very ...
42 votes
Accepted

What is special about the area 30 km west of Beijing?

The map is correct. Beijing literally is there in the east. Traditionally, Beijing is the dense area, consists of Xicheng and Dongcheng districts, with Forbidden City in the center. Right inside the ...
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40 votes
Accepted

Is it possible to travel between India and China by rail?

No. India has train connections with Pakistan and Bangladesh, only. Bangladesh has no international train connections except with India. Pakistan also has a connection with Iran. This is the Quetta ...
  • 23.6k
39 votes

Who was this persistent person at Shanghai airport?

This is very common in many airports around the world, someone who is trying to make a living by driving people form the airport and offering their services. Usually they are tourist traps and they ...
36 votes

Is the bullet train in China typically cheaper than taking a domestic flight?

This depends a lot on the specific route: let's look at a typical example: Shanghai to Shenzhen. In early February that's about $93 for most trains and you can get one way flights at around $94, so it'...
  • 80.5k
35 votes

Why does my phone's GPS not work in China?

Vince covers the likely explanation, but unfortunately there are several more sinister possibilities as well. Long story short, China's legislation on GPS is both really vague and in part secret: by ...
  • 98.5k
35 votes

Why is air travel to China currently (May 2021) 4x the usual price?

There are fewer flights/itineraries. Chinese authorities have imposed a strict policy regarding international flights with quotas and circuit-breakers ("Five Ones Policy", article on this ...
  • 18.7k
33 votes

Why are Chinese mountains scaled by steps? (instead of winding paths)

To add to the other answers, some paths my be susceptible to soil erosion - from foot traffic and rainfall. This eventually makes some sections almost impassable for some people, as well as damaging ...
31 votes

How do you drive from Asia to Europe?

Hanky Panky summarises it beautifully. In more detail, you're probably going to want to go Thailand-Myanmar-Bangladesh-India-Pakistan-Iran-Turkey-Europe, and you're going to want a reasonably hardy (...
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31 votes

Recourse against bank ATM fraud in China

This has happened to me multiple times with local cards as well so I doubt they target foreign cards. Every time the police have helped me rather swiftly, provided me with a copy of the case ...
  • 4,233
30 votes

Why do Chinese people need a visa to travel abroad?

Requiring an extra visa or exit permit from citizens is not very common today but historically, that's why passports were invented (and not to restrict immigration) and the reason for that is simple: ...
  • 101k
30 votes

How can a child with one Chinese parent, but a non-Chinese passport travel to China?

China will not issue a visa to a child with a Chinese national parent, as the child is considered to be a Chinese national. China does not allow dual citizenship, and will not issue a full Chinese ...
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29 votes
Accepted

Can I take the high-speed bullet train Beijing–Hong Kong under Chinese 144 h visa-free transit rules?

The important point is where you will pass through immigration. The 144-hour visa-free transit requires that you stay within a certain area of your arrival point, and depart the country from within ...
  • 114k
28 votes
Accepted

What is a good (legal) form of self defense in China

Pepper Spray is forbidden and likely will be discovered Pepper spray is forbidden in China. Your luggage will be searched and/or x-rayed frequently when in China, including customs controls when ...
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