The country of 
China
All Insider Tips
China
Never take "black cabs"
In many underdeveloped regions and cities, you're going to be greeted at the bus stop, train station, or airpor by a fleet of illegitimate cars or cars pretending to ... read more
05 Mar 2010
by Melissa Sconyers
05 Mar 2010
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China
Rigged meters
If you happen to find yourself in the unfortunate situation of being in a "legitimate" cab with a rigged meter, do yourself a favor, and get them to stop as ... read more
05 Mar 2010
by Melissa Sconyers
05 Mar 2010
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China
Scraps of paper
I find it very useful to carry around scraps of paper (usually a stack of Post-it Notes or a tiny Moleskine with tear-out pages) and a pen. These tools come ... read more
05 Mar 2010
by Melissa Sconyers
05 Mar 2010
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China
Always bargin
Everything in life is negotiable. Well, maybe not everything, but almost everything: food, transportation, accommodations, and souvenirs. I started this habit during my life in China, but when I found ... read more
05 Mar 2010
by Melissa Sconyers
05 Mar 2010
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China
Taking taxis for non-Chinese speakers
When first arriving in China, you should have your hotel/hostel written in Chinese characters to show the taxi driver at the airport. Showing pinyin or English will get you ... read more
03 Dec 2009
by Alex Blackwelder
03 Dec 2009
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China
Taking the Airport Express in Hong Kong
The Airport Express is the most efficient way to get to and from the airport in Hong Kong. But to buy tickets, you can't use credit cards or small ... read more
07 Dec 2009
by Melissa Sconyers
07 Dec 2009
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China
Have the taxi call your destination
Though there are technically more people in China who speak English as a second language than there are native English speakers around the world combined, you can't count on ... read more
07 Dec 2009
by Melissa Sconyers
07 Dec 2009
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China
Give your address in reverse
In Hong Kong, you can generally count on the taxi drivers to speak enough English to communicate with you. If they don't, they'll use their cell phone to ... read more
07 Dec 2009
by Melissa Sconyers
07 Dec 2009
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China
Memorize your passport number
After having to go through customs immigrations in enough countries, you pretty quickly understand why Paul Theroux once said, "Travel is only glamorous in retrospect." There are a lot of ... read more
07 Dec 2009
by Melissa Sconyers
07 Dec 2009
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China
You don't need to tip taxis
The overall rule of thumb in China is "just don't tip." Taxis in Mainland China will always give you exact change, but its more Westernized counterpart, Hong Kong, will ... read more
07 Dec 2009
by Melissa Sconyers
07 Dec 2009
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China
See the Light Show in Hong Kong
The Light Show, which happens on both sides of Victoria Harbor every evening at 8 pm sharp, is a must-see when touring Hong Kong. Most people go to the boardwalk ... read more
07 Dec 2009
by Melissa Sconyers
07 Dec 2009
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China
Why can't I just look it up?
When in China, don't freak out when you find websites like Wikipedia blocked. The Golden Shield Project is essentially an Internet firewall using proxy servers that block access to ... read more
20 Nov 2009
by Anna Schwaber
20 Nov 2009
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China
Be prepared to push some old ladies
The metro in Shanghai is amazing -- never late and very frequent. In rush hour, people don’t hold back -- getting on involves plenty of pushing old ladies out of the ... read more
12 Oct 2009
by Vicky Beckett
12 Oct 2009
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China
It isn't rude to spit
The Chinese spit -- everywhere! It's a pretty common practice in China and Southeast Asia. Despite any initial disgust, you will no doubt get used to it. read more
22 Sep 2009
by Tricia Reville
22 Sep 2009
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China
Crossing the border into Vietnam on land
This was one of the most difficult parts of my trip--the border crossing in all takes about 36 hours (includes an overnight train). It's much easier to fly from ... read more
22 Sep 2009
by Tricia Reville
22 Sep 2009
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China
Check out Hong Kong's big Buddha!
If you enjoy sightseeing, then visit Hong Kong's Tian Tan Buddha. It's so large that an adult human can just fit on Buddha's big toenail. If you ... read more
30 Aug 2009
by Nadia Sheng
30 Aug 2009
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China
Ease Into the local cuisine (don't try to stomach duck feet on your first night)
On my first night in Beijing, I went to a group dinner at a restaurant aptly titled "The Nine-Headed Bird." Our lazy susan was covered with unrecognizable dishes, including webbed ... read more
26 Aug 2009
by Jamie Barys
26 Aug 2009
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China
Dinner at 6 -- no exceptions!
I found that the Chinese were fairly strict about when they ate their lunch and dinner. Lunch was at 11 a.m. and dinner at 6 p.m. I had ... read more
26 Aug 2009
by Huma Sheikh
26 Aug 2009
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China
TP: Don’t leave home without It
Just because an establishment in China has valet parking or boasts that it is the best university in the country, that doesn’t mean that toilet paper will be available ... read more
05 Aug 2009
by Dara DiGerolamo
05 Aug 2009
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China
Beware of free grocery store samples
One of the worst cases of food poisoning I have ever had came from some grocery store clams. It started innocently enough. There were men in the grocery store cooking ... read more
04 Aug 2009
by Katrina Klett
04 Aug 2009
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