Let’s begin by saying that China is massive. To establish just how massive it is requires a few comparative statistics …
In terms of square miles, China is bigger than the lower 48 U.S. states. It is comprised of 34 region-level administrative divisions (kind of like states for Americans).
China’s population is over four times greater than the United States, and that population speaks a whopping 276 languages and dialects that are considered endemic to the country. While the United States has ten cities with a population over one million people, China has 113 cities that hit that same mark.
China’s natural world is protected by a patchwork of 49 national and regional parks that encompass over 15 percent of the country’s total land area. That, compared to 13 percent for the United States. And those protections include wetlands, forests, mountains, grasslands, and deserts.
Although they are endangered, China has wild populations of elephants, tigers, buffalo, alligators, gibbons, and camels, and the country is now working to protect and increase those numbers.
Also, China boasts five of the ten highest mountains in the world, including Mount Everest.
So, any effort to explore this massive and massively diverse country with any depth would take multiple lifetimes. Angela and I had just over one month. And, although we saw some amazing things, we must admit that we barely scratched the surface.
Nevertheless, we will attempt to relate that one-month adventure through a series of posts that breaks the whole trip into bite-sized pieces.
Our route through China began in Shanghai, a city that Angela had visited solo back in 2018. After a quick cruise to South Korea and Japan and a few day trips close to Shanghai, we began the Chinese overland odyssey in earnest using the impressive national rail system. With significant stops in Hangzhou, Changsha, Zhangjiajie, Wuhan, Xi’an, and Beijing, we essentially looped southwest from Shanghai and then north toward the capital.
I’ll admit that I was intimidated to attempt overlanding in China, despite Angela’s reassurance that the country was fully modernized, especially in terms of the train network.
Her solo experience during 2018 had taught her that China was now a highly-organized, digital society where tickets were readily available through various apps and almost all payments were made electronically via WeChat or AliPay. Even the street food vendors preferred digital payments, regardless of how small the bill might be.
And that was exactly the reality I discovered on this trip. But it does take a bit of forethought to make sure you’re prepared before arriving in China.
First, you will need to download the following apps on your mobile device:
WeChat is both a communication tool and a payment method. Think WhatsApp combined with Venmo. But you do need to add your credit card to WeChat while you’re still in your home country because there are several verifications that need to take place, and this can be problematic if you’re already in China and need to receive confirmation codes, etc. Especially if you need to have a VPN enabled to do any banking business.
It should be noted that email is dead in China. Everyone, and I mean everyone, uses WeChat to communicate electronically. From business dealings to casual conversation, you will need this app more than any other.
AliPay was, in our experience, a faster way to make payments in China. But, again, you need to download, install, and set it up with your credit card before you ever leave home. AliPay can also be used to hail taxis in China, but that feature does require you to have a Chinese phone number to work properly. Apparently, there are services that will essentially spoof a Chinese number for your phone so you can use the ride-hailing feature, but it has to be set up in advance. And, honestly, we didn’t trust that to work. Instead, we just asked the staff at hotels and restaurants to call a cab for us and then paid through the app once they arrived.
Note: For both WeChat and AliPay, there are two methods of transaction. Either a place of business will ask to scan your personalized QR code on the app (as if your phone was a credit card), or the vendor will present you with a QR code that you then scan with the app and enter the amount to pay. It takes some practice, but both methods worked very well for us.
Trip.com was a godsend. If you aren’t familiar, it’s essentially a booking site that also features an app. And it is the only way to travel by train in China. Because the Chinese rail system is so organized, you can simply enter your starting point in the app and select a date to get all of the available train destinations and times. Select the train and travel class that you want and pay directly through the app. When you arrive at the departure station, just scan your passport at the entry kiosk as you queue up. No physical tickets necessary.
You can also use Trip.com as a way to book hotels and tickets to attractions. Again, all you will need is your associated passport to get you in the door.
The Baidu Maps app is essential if you are going to be traveling in any of the major Chinese cities with robust subway networks. Because Google Maps either doesn’t work or works sporadically with a VPN, you will need an alternative way to locate where you are and where you need to go. And Baidu is really your best choice.
Google Translate should go without saying. While China does have lots of signage in English, very few people speak the language fluently. And, although Angela and I have developed master skills of pantomime, a translation solution is essential when traveling for extended periods in China. We also recommend that you download the Chinese (Simplified) language package to your phone. Because, inevitably, you will need translation services when you have zero WiFi. This will also allow you to translate menus, signage, and other written communication with your phone’s camera.
ExpressVPN is also a crucial addition to your apps. Because many web services are blocked in China, you will need a reliable VPN (virtual private network) that essentially fools the connection into thinking the request is coming from a place other than China. To access online banking, most social media, and even most U.S.-based email servers, you will need a VPN. While there are lots of VPN solutions out there, we have found over the years that ExpressVPN works reliably in most countries, including China.
Of course, none of these solutions will work very well unless you have an internet connection. While it’s certainly possible to purchase either a physical or a digital SIM card to allow your mobile device to work in China, we found that our Solis wifi hotspot worked like a charm. You will need to purchase both the device and a subscription plan, but the thing works in over 140 countries and allows up to ten devices to connect simultaneously. So, instead of having to buy a new SIM card for every new country, we simply turn on the Solis and are ready to go!
With our booking, payment, and translation solutions in place, we were ready to begin exploring what China had to offer, starting with Shanghai and some beautiful day trips just outside the city.
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