Which is preferred for China? I read some information that they preferred TC's in China. Is this true. I thought they were going the way of the dodo bird.

Hello Mid Life Traveller,
I am also from Vancouver and going to China in 5 days. The travel agent told me to get Travellers Cheques as it is the preferred method and she told me to cash them in China.

Looks like the Dodo Bird is back from extinction!


By the way, when are you planning to go?

mid life traveller,

I just got back from China this week (loved it). Traveler's checks are fine, they were recommended to me as well. However, if you haven't tried to buy them lately, you may be in for a surprise. I tried both of my banks and they don't sell them anymore! I ended up taking cash - I figured I could keep it safe with my passport - but other people did have traveler's checks. I also took a traveler's credit card (pre stocked with money), but found that I didn't use it much, as most meals were included and outside of the official stores, most little shops and vendors wanted cash. I also took some US dollar bills which were good for Beijing and Xian. In fact, some fellow passengers paid everything with US money. Most place will take both - the rate was 1US-7.5Yuan.
I didn't have any problem changing US to yuan - any hotel will do it. To use a ATM, make sure that it is from a Bank of China machine - some people had trouble with other ones (they are mostly for use inside China).

If you have any other questions, just let me know.

Jill

Thank you Jill

We are planning on going next July. How much spending money should we take since all of our meals with the exception of one are covered for the tour?

Was there anything really worthwhile shopping for while there? We will have to bring something back for our children, but other than that I would rather not shop if there is not anything worthwhile purchasing. I am not one of those people who enjoys wandering through stores. Saves my husband's pocketbook many a time.

Mid life traveller,

Of course, it's hard to say how much money to take. I took about 150.00 for spending money (not counting tips), but I'm not a shopper. Others on the tour bought jade, jewelry, cloisonne, silk, silk comforters (the inside is really resonable; it's the silk cover that is expensive), and embroidered silk paintings. I did buy a jade horse at the jade factory; it was on sale! I really just used money to buy water (I have to tell you know that if you are a big diet coke fan, it's REALLY HARD TO FIND)and some knickknacks from the markets. You can dicker, even at the factory stores, but they won't come down a lot. It's kinda fun in the market, they will come after you if they think they can make a sale.

We were warned not to eat food off the streets - wait a minute - I mean from the street vendors, so we didn't, but I sure wanted to try some fruit. However, I had lots to eat. Lunch and dinner had many different dishes, set on a lazy susan, so we got to sample many different ones. Even though we had Chinese except for breakfast, I can't remember more than a couple dishes that were the same. Oh yea, one way you know that dinner is over is that the waiter/waitress will serve watermelon (and usually some other fruit).

Jill

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Ticket2Ride,

Thanks for the information Jill. I will probably think up more questions over the next few months. Looking ahead to the trip is what keeping me sane at work.

My husband and I were in China a couple of years ago and we were advised to carry about $50 each in singles for the street vendors, of which there are a multitude. If you plan to do any serious shopping (one couple on the trip were furnishing their new home and were buying everything in sight) credit cards are the way to go. We also got a few yuan from the ATM in our hotel. From what I understand, the government sets the exchange rate and you get that rate no matter what you use...TCs, CCs or ATM.

I was in China this August. It was very, very hot.

I bought a silk comforter and a silk duvet. I absolutely love them. I also got numerous little trinkets and a "Prada" purse. In fact I think I spent way more on souvenirs on that trip than all my other trips combined. (I'm not a big souvenir buyer either, so it wasn't that big of an amount)

For 3 weeks I took about CAD$900 worth of Chinese currency. That seemed to be a pretty good amount, but then only half my meals were included.

I did not bring the $50 in American small bills. It's pretty much pointless. There is no where that the local currency is not accepted and you set yourself up for being ripped off in the exchange. Besides, with the way their dollar is tanking that's a losing proposition anyway.

Also, you can get your Chinese currency before you go, just make sure you get some small bills. I did and it was a good thing, when I bought water my first day, the cashier didn't have change.

fuzzypuppy
Where did you get your Chinese currency from?
Was it humid hot or just plain hot?
How much did you tip local guides in Chinese currency?

We will be getting just about all of our meals included so with the exception of water should not have to buy any food. Thanks for the rough idea of how much to take.

Well, when I went to the bank, the teller told me not to get money there because the rates would be slightly higher. She recommended Calforex. They do have a location in Vancouver.

It was humid hot. We started out in Hong Kong and it was like a sauna when we stepped off the plane at 5am. (Air Canada delayed our flight 11 hours) It got better as we worked our way north to Beijing (we could have just gotten acclimatized to it though).

The first thing you should do each morning is stop for water. Before I went, my friend from Beijing told me the best water brand was NongFu ( picture ). I agree, it tasted the best.

As for tipping, we gave the guides 10 yuan per person per day.

Thanks for the picture of the water. I will mark that down and put it with my husband's passport for going away. I have to renew mine in January before we go.

Yep, that is also the brand of water I was drinking.

I would think it is fairly safe to eat fruits (whole/unpeeled) from street vendors. But need to be careful when buying to choose them yourself and not let them choose for you as they would slip a few dodgy ones inside the bag.

MLT - what season are you going ? June/July is great for my favourite fruits : lychees and longans and July/Aug is great for watermelons and peaches. I used to buy them, bring them back to the hotel, gave it a bit of a wash and ate them. So, a fruit knife is useful.

I can still remember a funny episode where we bought a small watermelon, and not realised that we had no knife to cut it at that time, coincidentally, my friend dropped it, yes, accidentally, and it split into two Just ate with a spoon after that. You will see a lot of locals doing that on a hot Aug day !

ailee July is when we are going. We have to wait for our daughter to graduate from high school before we can go.

MLT,

Oh dear, hot season but best for fruits if you are adventurous

Hope you will have a good time.

mid life traveller,

We toured China Oct - Nov 2006.

We used the ATMs and had no problem with getting cash. The ATMs were usually within a block from our hotels. Our TD told us where they were located. I also took about $500 in US dollars for emergency cash.

We also took about $50 in singles for the vendors but should have brought $100 in singles. Almost all the bargaining is done in US dollars.