The rise of Chinese tourism: how and where the Chinese are going and. How to get to the Great Wall of China Useful words in Chinese for a traveler

To visit China and not visit the Great Wall of China is a crime. True, here, as elsewhere in China, there is the problem of choosing: to go on your own or with organized tour, but here it is further aggravated by the question: where exactly to go, to which section of the wall? Let's share our trials and errors in this matter.

How to go?

China is probably the only country we have visited where I am ready to stand up for organized excursions. Over the 2 months spent here, I’m already pretty fed up with the fact that nothing works out the first time, and the information in guidebooks very often differs significantly from what actually exists. But on the other hand, excursions for foreigners on English language official travel agencies cost some astronomical money, and when budget option there is a risk of traveling on a bus full of noisy Chinese or shining a light most time not to walk along the wall, but to visit tea and onyx shops.

In addition, an excursion to the Great Wall of China is one of the most popular routes of the Beijing “Ostap Benders”. It looks like this: a barker accosts you on the street and convinces you to buy an excursion to the Great Wall of China from him. He says that he has been working at this place since the time of Comrade Mao himself, his excursions are the best and cheapest, shows photos of satisfied clients and claims that a line of tourists is lining up for him, but he liked you and therefore he will be happy to take you tomorrow.

He says this very eloquently and convincingly, and you almost agree, especially since a good “guide” doesn’t even ask you for the entire cost of the excursion at once, 20-30 percent, in order to reserve your place. He “swears to his mother” that he will not deceive you and will pick you up right from the hotel tomorrow at the appointed time. But then tomorrow comes, and there is no bus, there is no guide in “his place,” and there is no money either.

We were warned in advance about the possibility of such a wiring, and therefore we immediately rejected such proposals, and, I want to note, there were quite a few of them. Having compared all the pros and cons, we once again chose an independent inspection, and never regretted it, almost...

Where to go?

Currently, several sections of the wall are open for inspection: Badaling, Mutianyu, Symytai, Jinshanling, Huanghua, Jiugulou. Having studied guidebooks, the endless expanses of the Internet and travel forums, we came to the conclusion that on our own in one day you can only get to the first two: Badaling and Mutianyu. Badaling is the most accessible section of the wall and therefore the most visited, so we initially decided to go to Mutianyu.

Mutianyu

So, in theory, to get to Mutianyu you first need to find bus terminal, which is located at the metro station Dongzhimen. Everything is aggravated by the fact that you do not need the main terminal, which is located near the metro, but some additional one. Finding it is not easy, since there are no signs, and all the long-winded descriptions on the Internet are of little help. It’s good that we always try to give the exact location of the objects you are looking for on the map, and you will no longer have such problems.

After you have found the bus station with grief, you need to go to the very depths, there will be a stop for the bus you need, or rather buses, since we found information that buses either 867 or 936 go to Mutianyu from this station. One important detail, according to the information we found, buses on route 867 leave at 7:00 and 8:30 in the morning, so you will have to get up early. We arrived at the station at about 7:30 and bus 867 was already (or still) standing at the stop, we showed the driver the hieroglyphs recorded in advance, to which he, with gestures, explained as best he could that he was not going to Mutianyu, but was going to the place from where we should go further by taxi. Ok, we decided, then the 936th is definitely going where we need it. And they began to wait for him (by the way, bus 867 left at 8:00).

Besides us, at the stop there were some Japanese, Chinese with cameras, and a European with a Lonely Planet guidebook. By the way, he wandered around a bit between the buses and quickly retreated somewhere. Around 8:30 the treasured bus arrived and we happily boarded. Moreover, there was a real feeling that kids were swarming around you; in my memory, only schoolchildren can change their place so many times. Before departure, the conductor came up to us and asked where we were going, in Chinese, of course. By the way, in Xi'an, when we went to see terracotta army, the conductor spoke excellent English, which means .

In response to this, as in the case of the previous bus, we showed her the hieroglyphs we had prepared in advance and prepared for departure. But it was not there. Somehow our hieroglyphs did not suit her, she and the driver began to make some noise, shout and actually pushed us out of the bus. What it was and why remains a mystery to us, as does the whole of China)))
Having gotten used to the fact that we don’t succeed the first time in the Celestial Empire, we decided to try our luck the next day, but in the meantime go see the Olympic venues. Since we didn’t want to tempt fate with the conductors and Mutianyu again, we decided to use plan B, i.e. go to Badaling.

Badaling

Of course, this is the most touristy of all. possible options walls, but there is a train going there. And the train for us is The best way get to difficult sights, which helped us out more than once, for example in Kunming, when we...

So, trains to Badaling are starting from northern railway station, he is at the station Xinhimen. All trains in the direction we need have a 4-digit number, starting with “S2”, and then 01-99. In this case, odd numbers go to Badaling, and even numbers go to Beijing. By the way, this direction appeared not so long ago - it was built for the Summer Olympics in Beijing.

The train schedule is posted on a stand, but in China everything changes so quickly that I don’t mind its relevance. Tickets are sold on the same day, meaning you won’t be able to purchase them in advance. The procedure for traveling both in one direction and in the other direction is approximately the same.

You buy a ticket at the ticket office (by the way, it costs only 6 CNY), go inside the station and run into a queue. The Chinese have an unrealistic love for queues: they first create them from scratch, and then try to deceive everyone and get around them. But there’s nothing you can do about it – you have to stand, since the metal guides very strictly regulate the order of the fastest tourists. People are allowed onto the platform 15 minutes before departure, and then the fun begins...

The fact is that the train stops quite far from the station building. Therefore, when they get out on the platform, everyone runs cheerfully towards the train, hoping to take a seat. It's a great attraction, especially considering that the curb slabs on the platform are very slippery and this run can easily result in serious injuries.
An interesting observation: for some reason the Chinese prefer to climb into the very first carriage, the one closest to them, and then move on further inside the train. If you are not lazy and run to the end of the train, the likelihood of taking a seat increases significantly.

One and a half to two hours on the train and we are there. Then the whole crowd cheerfully tumbles out of the train and walks towards the wall, for about 10-20 minutes, depending on the speed and the number of photos taken along the way. It is important to remember that Badaling is not the final station, but since the bulk of passengers leave Here

How to organize an independent trip to China in 2020! Visa, tickets, hotels, food, transport, security. How much does it cost to travel to China? Cost calculation, tips and observations.

The material is prepared on the basis personal experience independent travel to China by the author of the text: three months of living in Shenzhen, as well as trips to Hong Kong and Guangzhou.

China is huge and very diverse, so it is impossible to clearly say where prices and conditions are. I will start from Shenzhen - the center of all electronics, a young and rapidly growing city in the very south of China, which borders on Hong Kong. I will tell you what a tourist can find useful when planning an independent trip to China in 2020, and I will also give my own observations about the country and tips for travelers.

How to get a visa to China yourself

A visa to China is required for Russians, except in rare cases. A regular single entry costs 1,500 rubles, a double entry costs 3,000, and a multiple entry costs 4,500 rubles. Plus a bank commission of 2.5% per person is charged.

Urgent single entry - 2400, urgent double entry - 3900, urgent multiple entry - 5400. There is also an express review, which costs more.

It is better to stay in chain hotels, as they care about their reputation. A night in such a hotel costs from $30-40 for a double room. Chain hotels in Shenzhen: Greentree Inn, Sheraton, Novotel, etc.

Adviсe:

Look for a hotel with good soundproofing - the Chinese are noisy.
Photos of hotels do not always correspond to reality.
Sometimes a room may be clean and comfortable, but have foreign odors, such as dampness. Or the windows look out onto the courtyard, where there is a landfill or a Chinese street cafe (which produces odors no better).

Rent. If you want personal comfortable housing, look for a room, apartment or house on Airbnb. The choice of housing is huge. Renting an apartment in Beijing costs approximately $30-50 per day, in Shenzhen - from $27. You can rent an apartment on Airbnb for $600-$1,500 for a month (rooms cost $500-$900). The price depends on the city, area and condition of the house. For example, in Shenzhen, near the beach in a resort area, an excellent apartment was rented for $600. There are discounts for long-term rentals.

Entrance to Shenzhen Novotel Watergate (Photo © booking.com / Shenzhen Novotel Watergate)

Food and cuisine of China

Another difficulty you will encounter when independent trip to China in 2020 is food. It is very specific here, so going to a cafe can cause problems, especially if you don’t know the language. But here McDonald's and KFC come to the rescue. There are also many well-known European chains where you can order food from pictures. However, their prices are much higher - for example, a side dish with meat costs from $6. Sometimes tea is included in the price. At McDonald's, a Big Mac (potatoes, cola, double cheeseburger) will cost about $5.

In general, you can eat in a cafe for $5 or more; in restaurants, a simple dish costs from $10.

Where you can eat inexpensively and deliciously in China:

Cafe for locals. You can eat a hearty meal there for $1.50, but no one guarantees the quality of the products and compliance with sanitary standards. The downside is that it is difficult to order dishes, since often there are no pictures or there are few of them, and if there are, it is not clear what it is.
"Muslim women"- these are local cafes run by Chinese Muslims. The food there is prepared in compliance with all standards and is really very tasty. I really love their noodles and recommend you try them. They cook it in front of you, and it’s interesting to watch this process. Cost from $1.5 for a huge portion.
Supermarket. A kilo of bananas costs $1-2, apples $2-3, tangerines $1-2. I do not recommend buying sausages. This is not at all what we expect: Chinese sausages are made from soy with a bunch of spices and additives. They taste sweet and have a specific smell, but for the sake of curiosity you can try them once.

(Photo © Jo@net / flickr.com / Licensed CC BY 2.0)

Internet and cellular communications in China

All SIM cards are sold only with a passport in specialized places. The cost of mobile communications is quite high - from $20 per month, plus the same amount is charged for purchasing a card and choosing a tariff plan. To purchase a normal tariff and understand everything, you need to know Chinese. If you need internet in China, it's easier to use Wi-Fi while traveling - in big cities it can be found everywhere.

There is another problem that many people face - blocking all Google services, YouTube, Instagram. To access them you need to install a special VPN program.

China Mobile is the largest mobile operator in the world (Photo © Open Grid Scheduler Grid Engine / flickr.com)

Transport in China

Transport in China is excellent. The infrastructure is very developed. Planes, ferries, trains (including high-speed), buses, subways and taxis. You can get to any point without any problems. Travel on buses - from $0.3, in the metro - from $0.5.

If you are going to China for a month, buy a travel pass. The plastic card can be topped up and used in the metro and buses, and then returned and received money back. Cost $4. This is very convenient: you don’t need to find out the cost of tickets, buy tokens, or stand in lines. Accordingly, the problem of language disappears. For trips within one city, $10-30 per month is enough.

A very common type of transportation is electric mopeds. Essentially this is a taxi, only less comfortable, more extreme and cheaper - from $2. The main advantage is the absence of traffic jams, since mopeds go wherever they want. The only negative is the language. You need to agree on the price and destination.

(Photo © Lαin / flickr.com / License CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)

ATMs and cards

Be prepared that many stores may not accept your Visa or MasterCard card, since in China there is another payment system - UnianPay. This card can be issued at any bank for free. If you need to withdraw money from yours, there are many ATMs for this.

Chinese mentality

Don't be surprised if in China you feel like a monkey that everyone wants to take a photo with. For a Chinese, having a photo with a European is an indicator of coolness and status, so you will always be the center of attention. They will always turn around at you and, without hesitation, look straight at you. In addition to increased interest, the Chinese will try to make money on the “white man”. For them, we are walking money, so bargain in all stores. For example, we once reduced the price of a shirt from $35 to $5.

We can talk for a long time about the culture and upbringing of the majority of Chinese. Giving way to a girl, letting her go ahead, letting people exit a vehicle, throwing garbage in the trash bin - this is not about them. They also have no sense of tact. Don't be surprised if at the first meeting you are asked about personal life, salary and health. The Chinese themselves are very cunning and enterprising, but at the same time good-natured.

Useful words in Chinese for a traveler:

Security in China

Do you know where the tradition of wearing a backpack on the front came from? From China. Petty theft is very common there. In big cities you can find a policeman everywhere who will gladly help in any situation. Also on all buses, metro, shopping centers, and there are simply cameras hanging on the street, so in big cities there is nothing to be afraid of when walking along the streets in the evening. From personal experience: I walked with photographic equipment, and not once did anyone try to pester me.

Also in China there is an unspoken rule that animals, children and laovayam(for foreigners) anything is possible.

(Photo © Today is a good day / flickr.com / License CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)

How much does an independent trip to China from Russia cost?

Let's calculate how much a trip to China costs for two for 10 days when departing from Moscow:

Single entry visa - $52.
Flights from Moscow to Beijing and back - from $586. Find a ticket >>
Hotel in the center of Beijing in low season - $130. Find a hotel >>
Meals in eateries for locals - $120.
Insurance - $23.
Transport and attractions - approximately $200.

So, how much does it cost to travel to China on your own? The minimum cost of the trip, if you are ready to save, is approximately 1111$ for two for 10 days.

If you are used to living comfortably, then the trip will cost approximately 1711$ for two (accommodation in a 3* hotel - $250 and meals in cafes and restaurants - $600). We spent $1,500 a month for two of us.

Fragment of a 100 yuan bill (Photo © super.heavy / flickr.com)

Take advantage of our useful tips on an independent trip to China in 2020:

Before you travel, watch how the Chinese count on their fingers. The match with our score is only up to 4, then everything is different.
Be sure to download a translator to your phone.
Take the necessary medications, as you are unlikely to find anything familiar in Chinese pharmacies. You are more likely to encounter dried toad than activated charcoal.
Download the Baidu program and maps of the cities where you plan to live on your phone. This program will help you choose the route, time and type of transport, determine the best option ways. You won't get lost with her. I highly recommend it!

I hope you have a general idea of prices and conditions. And the problem of language, as you see, is not so terrible. Travel, because there are so many interesting things in the world!

(Photo © monkeylikemind / flickr.com / Licensed CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)

Introductory image source: © mandylovefly / flickr.com / Licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0.

In the early 2000s, Chinese citizens took only 10.5 million trips. By 2017, the number of such trips had grown to 145 million - an incredible 1,380%!

In less than 20 years the market international tourism China has reached the highest position in the world, ahead of even the United States. According to the World Tourism Organization, Chinese tourists spent $261.1 billion in other countries in 2016; in 2000, this amount was about $10 billion. According to preliminary data, in 2017 their spending amounted to about $300 billion. American tourists spent a relatively small $123.6 billion in 2016.

It is noteworthy that only 7% of Chinese people - 99 million people - actively travel. For comparison: the share of such citizens among the US population is 40%, and in the UK - 76%. The potential for growth in China's tourism market, with a population of 1.4 billion, is therefore astonishing. China predicts that by 2030, more than 400 million Chinese will travel.

According to the institute, this means that of the 600 million trips that will be added to the current number by 2030 (1.2 billion people currently travel, in 12 years their number will grow to 1.8 billion) almost half will be made by the Chinese. The Chinese international tourism market will account for almost a quarter of the world's.

It is not surprising that tourism departments of various countries are already trying to attract the growing army of Chinese tourists. For example, the advertising campaign for the Visit Britain website started back in 2014. Tour operators, hotels and attraction management were required to provide information in Cantonese or Mandarin, as well as adapt products to the Chinese market and culture.

Where do Chinese tourists go?

The figure of 145 million overseas trips can be misleading: the calculations took into account China's special administrative regions of Hong Kong and Macau, as well as the island of Taiwan, which the state considers its territory. In 2017, 69.5 million tourists visited these regions.

Domestic tourism is also very popular among the Chinese. A lot of tourists travel to Beijing and Shanghai. Due to the influx of guests on weekends, they even block car traffic on the main streets. According to Telegraph Travel expert Sally Peck, who formerly lived in China, destinations related to modern history countries. For example, many people visit the Three Gorges Dam in a poor industrial region of China. Young thrill-seeking tourists are heading to the mountainous Yunnan province, which borders Myanmar, Laos and Vietnam and is one of China's most ethnically diverse regions.

The Great Wall of China sometimes looks like this

Other Asian countries are also benefiting from increased Chinese tourism. Top ten popular destinations these include Thailand, Japan, Vietnam, South Korea and Singapore. The USA and Italy close the ranking.

Growth of the tourism industry in Thailand

1990 - 5.3 million tourists annually
1995 - 7 million tourists annually
1998 - 7.8 million tourists annually
2005 - 11.6 million tourists annually
2010 - 15.9 million tourists annually
2014 - 24.8 million tourists annually
2015 - 29.9 million tourists annually
2016 - 32.6 million tourists annually
2017 - 35.4 million tourists annually

The most popular locations are Phuket in the south of the country and Chiang Mai in the north.

As tourism has grown in popularity in China, the reception rates of travelers in neighboring countries have also increased.

Thailand, the leader after Hong Kong and Macau, received 35.4 million foreign tourists last year - 668% more than in 1990 (5.3 million tourists). 28.4 million tourists came to Japan in 2017 (887% more than 3.2 million in 1990). Only 250 thousand travelers arrived in Vietnam in 1990; in 2017, 12.9 million people visited the country - an increase of 5,160%! All these indicators would not be possible without Chinese tourists.

Development of China's airports

The tourist activity of the Chinese has provoked the rapid expansion of the country's airports. In 2017, nine of them were included in the list of the 50 busiest airports in the world, and three were in the top ten. In 2010, these figures were, respectively, six airports on the long list and one in the top ten.

Guangzhou Baiyun Airport, for example, is one of the fastest growing hubs in the world. In 2017, it received 65.8 million passengers, while in 2000 it received only 12.8 million.

What do Chinese tourists look like and behave like?

A recent European Commission report states that for the Chinese, “time is the most valuable resource.” They prefer to travel efficiently - not to linger at sights for long. Chinese tourists in Europe are most interested in its arts and culture, as well as small towns. They save on food, housing and transport, but are willing to shop.

According to Sally Peck, when the Chinese come to Europe, they try to visit each of the major capitals and go shopping there. The British boutique town of Bicester Village, consisting almost entirely of shops, is no less popular among Chinese tourists than Buckingham Palace.

“The Chinese prefer popular attractions - Big Ben in London or vineyards in Bordeaux,” notes Peck. They are not too interested in little-known places.

When it comes to appearance, the Chinese prefer baseball caps or visors with their tour operator's logo, and they invariably wear visible camera equipment, Pekk says. Also, according to her, many Chinese women choose completely inappropriate shoes when traveling. For example, in the mountains you can often find tourists wearing high heels.

Risks of overtourism

Cities such as Venice, Barcelona and Dubrovnik are currently suffering from an influx of tourists. Experts fear that the rise of Chinese tourism could make staying there unbearable.

I’ll tell you separately about our railway experience and how we got food on this trip. We made all our trips between cities in China by train.

These were our requirements for the dishes. It's good when a cafe has a menu with pictures. I generally like dishes with sweet sauce, although I can't eat a lot of them. But Lena didn't like them.

In general, the Chinese have a special love for sweets - it’s almost impossible to even find bread that isn’t sweet. We didn’t find bread there at all, as we understand it.

All the sausages we tried, although they looked similar to ours, tasted disgustingly sweet.

The potatoes there are also all sweet.

By the way, we liked Chinese beer.

As a result, we developed our own set of requirements for dishes:

不辣 - búlà - not spicy,
不甜 - bùtián or 不加糖 - bùjiātáng - not sweet,
没有豆腐 - méiyǒudòufu - without tofu.

Sometimes we also need to tell them to pack the dish for us to take with us. We simply showed this phrase written in Chinese. It's time for us to learn it:

请把这到菜给我包 - Qǐng bǎ zhèdàocài gěi wǒ bāo.

Maybe you will find it useful on your journey.

One day we tried to order baozi. The menu had no pictures. We saw the familiar hieroglyph 鸡 - Jī - chicken. We were delighted and decided to order baozi stuffed with chicken. They were tasty, but we didn't find any chicken there. There was 鸡蛋 - Jīdàn - egg. We knew what the word sounded like, but we didn't remember how to spell it.

A good review about Chinese food was written by the owner of the Way2China blog, Anna, in the article What and How the Chinese Eat.

Made it 65 minutes before departure. I swore off arriving at the departure time by train.

LESSON

Before big transfers or flights, leave a day in the departure city - there is always somewhere to walk there, and you definitely won’t be late for the plane.

The Chinese were traveling and lost their eggs. The girls thought - raspberries, bit off half (folk ditty)

Podmoskovnaya electric train Yaroslavl direction. We sat down. One person at a time at the window. Noses in phones, headphones, respectively, in ears. Everything as usual. Now there will be a carload full of us - the good guys working in the capital of the Motherland, the hero city of Moscow. Somehow, unexpectedly, the train jerked and slowly, creaking and swaying on the switches, began moving towards the region. I look around: there are surprisingly few people, they are sitting, sleepily looking around, and, habitually meeting their eyes with fellow travelers, they do not even look away, but simply look through; this is how all the residents look big cities on their own kind. Apparently, it is for this indifferent look that the rest of the population of our vast Motherland does not like Muscovites, without even realizing why. Well, what can you do, you won’t be nice by force... but we, who have come in large numbers, love you very much, with all our hearts. This is our adaptive reaction to the forced daily movement among countless human masses. We survive as best we can, don’t blame us.

So, we are moving home as usual, so that tomorrow morning we will be back on the same train again, pushing and swearing, looking “through” each other... We approach the Moscow 3 platform. And then my attention is drawn to a group of passengers, compactly, but with huge luggage of checkered “shuttle” bags, located in one of the six-seater “compartments”. The guys are not ours - Asians, they chatter in a somewhat alarming manner, point their fingers at the window, the phrases are intonationally interrogative, although, perhaps, in “their” language they are not interrogative at all, but affirmative or even imperative. I look closely at them and even listen somewhere. And the kids are getting more and more excited, starting to helplessly turn their heads, looking for a response. “Help me, please!” I read in their narrowed eyes the only foreign phrase I know. I get up, come closer, loudly and with an accent to make it clearer, I ask what happened, how can I help? In Russian, the stump is clear, I ask. Since I don’t speak other languages very well. And with their nationality, not everything is clear yet. Would it be clear what's the point? Then one of my counterparts, the most brainy one, began to shove some pieces of paper into my nose. I see the papers are in Russian. Well, thank God! Tickets! To Beijing! Yes, and this brainy one babbles something like “xiao, liao, we are Chinese, xiao, liao, we are Beijing.” And with gestures he asks: why is Beijing now a completely, completely different side? Illumination came from Above! This, therefore, is a team of Chinese guest workers or whatever their name is, having worked their shift sewing local “branded” clothes somewhere in the near Moscow region, returning to their homeland, judging by the ticket, to Beijing. By and large, I have great respect for the Eastern mentality, but these guys, apparently, were recruited by bad people somewhere in the remote villages of the Celestial Empire, promising a lot of money for working in Russia, and, having profited from their gullibility and cheap labor, they imprisoned on the train to Moscow and handed me tickets “Moscow-Beijing”, without bothering to explain that in Moscow you need to change trains long distance. The train, approaching Moscow, moved in short dashes, stopping at each pillar, then, after standing for a few minutes at the Yaroslavl station, it went back to the region, either to Alexandrov, or to Zagorsk, or rather, to Sergiev Posad. I don’t care, it won’t get past my native Mytishchi anyway, but the Chinese won’t be able to get home on this shaitan-arba. But they didn’t know this! Well, their benefactors-employers didn’t tell them about the transfer, they forgot, damn it... I look at the tickets, then at the clock, it turns out that there are 20 minutes left before the departure of their train. The train stopped right there. The doors opened, and opposite was standing opposite, also with open doors. I grab the checkered bags and drag them to the exit, throwing them onto the platform. I shout to the Chinese: “Go there quickly, coolies!” The language barrier collapsed on its own. The boys, who were smoking in the vestibule of the oncoming train, quickly realized what was happening and pulled the “stop tap”, which, by the way, is not a “stop” at all, but blocks the closing of the doors, and began to drag numerous bags along with numerous Chinese into their carriage . I shout after them to let the “checkered” ones off at Yaroslavka and take them to the first tracks, from where trains go to the Far East. But, probably, no one heard me, our doors and theirs closed and the trains each went in their own direction.

I'm going home to Mytishchi. To the northeast. The Chinese are also going home, but in the other direction, to the southwest, although China is in the east, even much east of Mytishchi... It’s a paradox, however... I’ll come home and look in the geographical atlas, it should be gathering dust somewhere on a shelf. In the meantime, you can take a nap for about forty minutes, pressing your forehead against the rattling glass. No, everything is fine, everything is fine... The earth is round... I hope the Chinese will catch their train. Then they’ll get to Beijing in a week or two... probably...