Day 198 to 221: China - Food overload and rude people shock!

3 to 26 June

I didn't think Chinese people, my people, are rude. I mean I have seen the typical Chinese tourist behaviours before but I always thought that was the minority. My Chinese friends who live abroad are fairly polite and civil. Whenever I went back for work or visiting family, I did not have any issues. It's not until this trip, I realised that many, if not the majority, of the people from my country, are rude, dishonest and gave no regards to others in order to advance their own interests. The service level or attitude in general, is not up to the standards of other SEA countries.

Day 1 to 8: Dalian for family time
It was so great to see my mom and other relatives at the airport. I haven't seen some of them for more than 10 years. They all commented that Lars is so tall!

As soon as we checked in the Air China hotel arranged by my uncle, eating and banqueting began and continued until we left. Of course I was in heaven whereas Lars complained about too much food. My uncle arranged a series of family activities - sight seeing, cherry picking, going to the hot spring, visiting the ports etc. As Lars put it, every activity seem to end with a banquet.  

Lars doesn't understand why I think my home town is small. It is a second tier city by Chinese standards. But with 6 million people, it's double the size of Berlin! When I asked Lars what he thinks about my city, he said its big! But the people, other than my family, are rude. Some examples:

• When we asked for black coffee at breakfast, the waitress at Air China Hotel simply pointed to a pot of pre-mixed milk and sugar coffee and said that's it and there is nothing she can do. Then, she turned around and continued chit-chatting with her colleague. Second day, we ask them to replenish watermelons half hour before the breakfast finishes, she did not even check and said there was no more while we could even see more watermelons through the kitchen door. Again, she then ignored me and continued gossiping with her colleagues. 
• We found a coffee bar at the lobby. The waitress there lied about having no change for the coffee we wanted. Conveniently, the only available type costs 9 pounds per cup. But when we said we will go somewhere else, she magically produced change...
• There was no queuing at the front desk, or anywhere in general. People are shouting and smoking in the lobby as if it was normal.
• We took one stop on a public bus to avoid walking. What could go wrong on a two minute ride? A half sweaty guy not wearing any shirt all of a sudden grabbed Lars arm and started shouting in Chinese. Lars was not very amused...

We also had hard time to buy a pre-paid SIM card. It was already bad enough that the Chinese government blocks Google, Facebook and other useful apps, it is even worse they require a local ID card to get a SIM card. In the shop they lied to us about the pre-paid card we wanted to buy no longer being available although we could still order ot online. My uncle ended up opening an account for us via a small street shop and the data rates were bloody expensive. The trouble did not stop here. It was a nightmare to try to book flights and trains online. International credit cards are not accepted by local airlines or trains. At the end, using a  travel agent proved to be more useful.

After a week with the family. We are ready for some sightseeing. Everything is about size in China. Its a big country with a big population and all the tourist attractions are big stuff! I decided to follow the typical travel route for our itinerary in China. I volunteered to be the travel guide for Lars and my mother. I up'd my game by doing research on various Chinese websites and brushing up on histories - my Chinese was improving by the day!  

Day 9 to 12: Beijing for the Great Wall

After 2 hours of delay with Air China, we finally arrived in Beijing. We were extremely lucky with the weather. Not only there was no smog, it was sunny with blue sky for all the days we were there. Apparently, it only happens a few days a year. We visited the must-see attractions:

• Tiananmen Square looked much smaller than 10 years ago ... and everyone has to go through security now. The guards shouted at us and pushed us through the scanner just as he did with everyone else ... not a good first impression
• The Forbidden City looks as magnificent as before. We were given no maps at the ticket office so three of us walked everywhere for the whole day. Lars admired the sheer size of the palace, but noticed that the buildings look identical in terms of architectural design. Highlight for my mother was the clock and treasure museums, whereas I was completely stunned by the 5-ton jade sculpture. None of these was open for exhibition 10 years ago when I visited. 
• The Summer Palace offers some good views. The ticket office was not helpful as usual so we ended up climbing to the peak twice. But at least we got decent views. We had to ask for directions many times as even the staff often gave the wrong info. No one bothers to put up proper signs ... that’s probably why I missed the views at the top 10 years ago. :P
• Mutianyu Great Wall is one of our highlights in China. I didn’t know about it until the night before. I climbed the more popular Badaling Great Wall section last time, but did not get a great view. We tried to use Uber taxi but the drivers kept accepting the job and then cancelling it last minute. One person even tried to charge us without showing up! So we gave up at the end.  
• It was very difficult to figure out how to get there by public transit, even for me, who speaks Chinese. Everyone tells you a different story. But we got there eventually, after one subway, one bus and a taxi ride. As usual, the office did not explain the different lift options and gave no maps. By the time we reached the Wall, it was lunch time and there was barely anyone. The view is breathtaking. We walked 4 hours on top of the Great Wall and completely killed our legs. 
• On the way back, we met a psychology professor from Hong Kong and we took an illegal taxi together as there was no other options. He shared stories about how unsafe some of the mainland Chinese tourist attractions are. We also spoke about the current issues in HK and I am worried about the future of HK.
• The Temple of Haven is very nice and this was my first visit. The main temple is beautiful, but the echo wall no longer seems to work.   
• JingShan Park is a small park behind the Forbidden City. Lars discovered it and we went there to watch the sunset on our last day. It was an easy climb, but was packed with people. The best spot for sunset had no less than 200 people, mostly equipped with high end DSLR cameras.   

We also had great food in Beijing. My friend Eric now owns two restaurants so us free loaders had lots of high quality Korean BBQ and Japanese hotpot. Lars even got his dessert fix. We were also invited by my mother's friend to have Peking Duck at XuanJiuDe. Peking Duck in London cannot compare. Lars was grossed out by the duck tongue though - he said he almost throw up when he saw the dish. We tried the other snack streets in Wangfujing, but both are very touristy and poor quality. 

Our good time in Beijing came to an end when we checked out from our hotel.  We had a big fight at the end because the hotel staff was unhelpful, unprofessional, rude and lying to us. We wanted to call the police, but we had to catch a train

Day 13 to 15: Xi'an for Terra Cotta Warriors

We took the high speed train from Beijing to Xi'an. Although it was not as fast as the bullet train in Japan, it was not too bad. Once we got off, we got a local taxi and the driver already tried to lie about not able to park near our hotel. He dropped us off around the corner, but other taxis we took the other day had no problem going directly to the hotel.

Our hotel rooms were quite spacious and cheap. I did not know that there are quite a few attractions in Xi'an until I spoke to my friend Eric. So, we decided to stay 3 days. We visited the usual sights:

• Hua Qing Hot Spring, more interesting for Chinese people due to its history. The hot spring tubs used by the Tang Dynasty Emperor and his favourite concubine are interesting. 
• Terra Cotta Warriors are impressive, because of the scale and history. There are so many fake public buses going to the sites! We also went to the Tomb but there was nothing to see. 
• Lars cycled around the Old City Wall for 2 hours whereas my mother and I took the shuttle car and walked. I really should practice biking more. 
• The Bell Tower and Drum Tower are quite nice as well. We ended up at the Muslim Quarter and had dinner there. The streets are too busy for my liking, but some of the food & snacks are quite good.
• We visited the Dayan Pagoda at night to catch the water fountain show. The show was very disappointing, but we witnessed two women arguing with the security guards / police. The policemen almost resorted to violence, but deterred, because the women said she's pregnant... smart women!  
• On the way back, we first got a taxi by luck. But as soon as we told the driver where we wanted to go, he said it is the wrong direction and he had to drive a detour. So we got off and only found out that he was lying. It took us 45 mins before we found another taxi as we hit the rush hour. Basically, he wanted to wait for another 15 mins and then he can charge the night rate!  
• We popped by the ShanXi History Museum on the last day. I couldn't believe it is free for everyone. The museum is smaller than expected. We were leaving as the museum was closing. I asked the staff working at the museum shop where the nearest toilet is. She said I have to go outside. I almost believed her until I saw the toilet sign pointing to the basement. It was right next to her shop!

We had some good food in Xi'an - a small shop near our hotel sells good Rou Jia Mo (like a meat sandwich) and we also discovered a place making North-eastern food (food from our home town). But we also had bad and expensive food at a Chinese Thai Restaurant.

Day 16 to 21: Chengdu for pandas  

We flew to Chengdu in Sichuan Province. Although food and accommodation in China is generally cheap (other than Beijing and Shanghai), flights and trains are relatively expensive, unless booked in advance.  We took the late flight and our taxi driver could not find the hotel initially. But he was very nice and called the hotel for us. A new breeze for us. 

Our hotel rooms are a bit strange. They are spacious and come with a private sauna room. Given the hotel is only 2 years old, things are deteriorating fast! A lot of things are not working properly. Even after we reported to the reception, nothing got fixed.    

We didn't go to the famous national park nor climb the famous mountains nearby, because of the high altitude. Also, both my mother and Lars are not keen on walking long distance. I was overruled by the United Nations of Lars and Chen. Instead, we focused our efforts mainly on eating and low energy activities:

• Jin Li Street, a shopping and snack street. We had so many different snacks, which all tasted great. It's much better than the other snack streets in Beijing and Xi'an. There are also nice shops and a nice park nearby.
• Panda Research Centre is a must. We took the taxi (no issues this time) and spent the whole day as the map was rubbish. The best part is quite hidden inside, but at least there are basic signage. The Pandas are sooooo cute especially the baby ones. We had a great time in the park. 
• I also received feedback from the United Nation of Lars and Chen. They said I was too impatient and bossy as a tour guide. I told them this is what you get for a free guide in China! 
• We checked out the Wide-Narrow Alley. Its another shopping area but the snacks are rather limited. Its more about arts, shops and tea houses. 
• Wenshu Monastery turns out to be much nicer than I expected. We saw some interesting turtles in the park. The best part is that we stumbled upon a famous local restaurant - we had an excellent lunch (dumplings, buns, pumpkin balls etc.) for all three of us for only £5! 
• We went to Dujiang Damn for a day tour. Its more famous for Chinese people and it is only interesting, because of its history. Our tour guide, in her early 20s, was super helpful and nice.   

For the rest of our time, we were looking for good, non-spicy food since none of us can handle chilly. We tried the famous pork knuckle at Liao Mother's. We also found a good Sichuan restaurant in the Wide-Narrow Alley. When we were not eating, mom and I did shopping. Lars and I both got an excellent haircut for 4 pounds! It included washing, massaging, cutting, another washing and blow drying. We were both very satisfied with the results.

Overall, this city is nicer than the other ones. People are much more friendly and helpful, maybe because there are more Taoists and Buddhists? I wouldn't mind coming back to visit!  

Day 22 to 24: Shanghai for shopping and night view

We had a nightmare with our travel agent Travel Nation, which has always been great in the past. We were unlucky and got assigned a stupid guy called Martin to deal with our date change request to leave China. Long story short, we had to book a last minute flight to Shanghai which cost us 100 pounds per person.

We used Uber for our airport transportation and it worked out much cheaper than the regular taxi. We were initially assigned a horrible room and finally got a better room on the second day, after a little bit of complaining and discussions... the contrast is huge between the rooms in the 4-star hotel.

We did not do much sightseeing in Shanghai. We walked to the Bund at night for the night view, but it was not the best weather. Mom and I went for clothes shopping but the prices have gone up so much in the recent years. Anything of good quality is not much cheaper than in Europe. We also went to the computer outlet to shop for IT stuff, but we were unsure about the authenticity and quality. We read so many bad reviews online about how the vendors cheated customers, and the prices are basically the same as ordering from Amazon UK. At the end, we did not have much luck with shopping. 

We had some good food in Shanghai. The difference between fancy restaurants and local joints is significant. The oddest thing though is that you had to pay for tissues or paper napkins in most places! Lars and mom liked the New World Area and how ironic that we had German beer in Shanghai! 

The level of unhelpfulness is another new level in Shanghai. People here will simply ignore you when you ask for help or directions. I suppose it is better than giving wrong info. I finally lost it the last day in Shanghai. After the sales woman ignored me when I asked for directions to the toilet, I shouted at her and left! We also encountered an Uber taxi driver who lied about not having enough space so that he could cancel our job as Uber's surge pricing just kicked in after he accepted our order.  

Overall, after 3 weeks, even I was happy to leave China. We liked what we saw, what we ate (okay, just me) and spending time with family in China, but we were disappointed with the people. Many are rude, always shouting, lying just to get rid of you, unhelpful and selfish. In the other countries we travelled to, there was always a small percentage of people like that, but in China, it seems to be the majority. The service standards are also not up to par, especially for government services and government owned entities. The infrastructure for independent travelling was not sufficient.

In three weeks, we became more angry, impolite and impatient. We wanted to shout back many times but eventually just learned to lower our expectations for everything. Even though there are so many beautiful places to visit, I am not sure I have the patience to do it again. I really hope all this will change soon and China becomes a more civil and welcoming country. I want to be a proud Chinese!