Help! I've been invited to China.

Ser skoj ut! Gillade speciellt det där templet i skogen. Får mig att längta efter min egen Kinaresa i mars.

(With apologies to non-Swedes)

I uploaded a few photos on Tabblo.

Hehe, I can't understand it, but somehow I stayed calm all the time in China. Usually my brain jams when it is stressed, but I found the atmosphere very relaxing and nice in china.
Certainly there will come times when the things I have learned on this website refuses to come out of my mouth. That seems to be the default mode...

Hi dunderklumpen

My train was cancelled so he found another for me.

This just remineds me of my first business trip to the USA more than twenty years ago. I came to an airport counter to find that my flight, from NY to Chicago, was suddenly cancelled. I just panicked and froze then.

Hi Changye

Thanks!

Aha, you remembered the calculator :) Unfortunately I did not find any speaking calculators in China. However there were a lot of shrill, auto-speaking megaphones, e.g. one sitting on the ground just next to the fu2wu4yuan2 that stood outside a McDonalds restaurant. The message was about 10 seconds long and was replayed repeatedly. The poor girl must have gotten brainwashed for sure!

When I was bying my train ticket it appeared that the guy behind the glass window had a heavy Beijing accent. I didn't dare talking to him in the microphone so I handed over my written paper that described the time and goal for my travel. My train was cancelled so he found another for me. Everything run smoothly and I arrived in Beidaihe as planned.

Hi dunderklumpen

Congratulations! You made it. I'm very happy to hear you fully enjoyed your first stay in China. Looks like you succeeded in getting a train ticke to 北戴河. Incidentally, did you buy a calculator that speaks numbers in Chinese?

Hi all!

Back at my place. Going to China was my best trip ever :) I had 8 wonderful days in Beijing and Beidaihe I won't ever forget.
Thanks a lot for encouraging me to go there.

Chinese people are so kind!

The first day I arrived in China my cell phone didn't work. I had to call my relatives to tell them I was OK. I happened to stroll along the 长安街 (Chang2'an1jie1) and met two young chinese people. They were really nice and we talked for an hour or so. The guy let me use his phone to call my parents. I really tried to pay some money for the phone call, but they insisted 不用不用不用... I said I must do it. 不用不用... Please let me! 不用不用...
And so it continued until my swedish upbringing told me I must stop as not to force myself on them.
Then they asked me to follow them to watch the soldiers lowering the national flag at the 天安门广场 (Tian1'an1men2...). We had a good time.

Smile, and all will be fine :)

We don't get angry easily in my country. Not even in the chinese theatralic way. Screaming at someone in public is a no-no.

At first I was annoyed by the way chinese people would speak to each other, especially when haggling or talking about the dishes on the menue. Lots of yelling, hollering and angry tone of voice. After a while I realised  those disturbing dialogues actually were not so bad after all. All the time, there was a smile on the face of the combatants. They seemed never to part without smiling at each other, even if the preceding conversation was "stormy". That seems to be the rule of the game.

人太多了！

Every now and then (many times per day) I met people who found it very interesting talking to a 老外. Some wanted to practice their english and some wanted to practice their chinese... ;) Among the people who spoke chinese many of them would say 人太多了 (too much people) at some point in the conversation. And I have to agree to some extent. There is a lot of people in china!

请你吃饭!

The last day in Beijing I was lucky to meet a chinese person that I met here on CPod. He was very kind and treated me for dinner. We had 宫保鸡丁 and a few more dishes which I can't remember. It was all very tasty!

I feel safe

During my trip to China I felt a bit awkward or unsafe only two times. Actually, that was only because I was not familiar with the culture, and it turned out that all was good.
I didn't loose anything and no one tried to steal my stuff. The only time I actually saw a person trying to steal something was in Sweden. A woman were trying to snatch wristwatches from people at the airport.

I must go back to China.

798 is the oldest (in recent times!) and best-known art precincts (originally referred to as 'villages') but there are several such sites in Beijing.  798 became far to expensive for many artists so they went and set up elsewhere.  It is diffiuclt for us in the West to appreciate the size of the contemporary art scene/industry in China, indeed the broader art industry. 

恭喜恭喜，你终于来中国了！我希望你能顺利买到北京到北戴河的火车票。

哇 Dunderklumpen! You're really there!  祝你 a lot of fun and a safe trip!

加油dunderklumpen.Have a ball mate. :)

{I would say 欢迎来中国..but that would be a little 奇怪 given that I'm in 澳大利亚】

你们好，我在中国! 

well, Chinese contemporary art is still art, so if you're not into art, then you probably won't find anything in the artzone that works for you.

On the other hand, there are these websites if you want to do something cool/trendy like the nightclub scenes, or more along the lines of local activities (in Beijing at least). But Tiananmen Square and the other types of activities will definitely keep you busy for 3 days if that's how long you're in Beijing.

http://www.thebeijinger.com/

http://www.cityweekend.com.cn/beijing/

Jesper,

congratulations to you too!
I had a look at "www.vaccinationsguiden.se" and it suggested I'd need hep B vaccine. However it seems unlikely one would get infected: wiki 3.2

Changye,

希望那个东西比"ENIAC"小多,otherwise飞机会沉了!

Pretzellogic, chanelle77,

Hehe, art is pretty far down on my list of preferences. We have all kinds of installations which I can't understand in the town where I live :s But maybe the chinese art is more 可以理解的 (ke3yi3 li3jie3 de).
Dali a courtyard restaurant seems to be a nice place.

Yes, the 798 Art Zone pretzellogic mentions is really worth a visit! Everytime I go to Beijing I go there. Buying art can be surprisingly affordable also.

One of the best dinners I had in Beijing was at Dali a courtyard restaurant (around 100 RM pp.) This Yunnan quisine restaurant has a beautiful garden lit with candles and is not far from the Drum tower (lots of stairs, nice view ).

Have a good trip!

Btw if you are into art Shanghai has something a little bit similar: MoGanShanLu (莫干山路). In stead of buying the traditional souvenirs you can buy nice small ceramic here for around 10 - 15 Euro's.

FWIW, in Beijing, you no doubt will do Tiananmen square/Forbidden City/Summer Palace/one of the Great Walls, and other indicators of more than 5000 years of history.  But I think one of the cooler, less well known things (if you're into it) is going to the 798 artzone.  But only go there if you're into contemporary Chinese art, or are interested in seeing what Contemporary Chinese Art is. It's reasonably big; around 200 acres or so.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/798_Art_Zone

Hey Dunderklumpen

I'm afraid it's not a pocket calculator, but a desk calculator, which is bigger than you'd expect. Anyway, I believe that you would like the 有中国特色的计算机, hehe. Enjoy your stay in China!

Then do some shopping for tea, clothes and a pocket calculator that speaks chinese

Hey Dunderklumpen!

Congratulations on making the decision! You chose right you know ;)

Me myself am going to china on wednesday, and i'm really excited!

I have gotten an Hep A injection, wasn't advised to anything else, so I hope that will suffice :s i really hadn't thought of animal bites or anything else...

For exciting things to see, theres always the famous sights, like The Great Wall, The Ming Tomb and so on, if you're traveling with your chinese friends (who might have been there before, i don't know) they might know what you should see :) Alone beijing it is said, should have exciting stuff to see for a whole trip!

zhenlijiang, baba,

yea, yesterday was a sad day indeed.

Okay, so, it seems I am first going to Shanghai for a few days, then to Beijing for a few days. Any input about what to see and experience is appreciated. I'd like so see some grandiose nature and some really old, genuine areas (hutongs in Beijing?). Then do some shopping for tea, clothes and a pocket calculator that speaks chinese :)

any one who want to learn chinese i can free teach her/him. And i also want you can help me to improve my oral English. I am a master at shanghai.

 E-mail: sheng@tom.com

If you have a choice between going to China or going to the Moon, you should choose China, definitely.

On the other hand, there certainly would not be any monkeys on the moon. Probably.

Monkeys can be nasty. Hell, we evolved from them.

My professor during my thesis once told me " don't go to China, or you'll never come back" and I reply "We're not all like you, don't worry"...well, I was supposed to stay one month, I've been here 3 years now... :)

Come! It will be fun!

bodawei and chanelle,

Interesting and important discussion.The crux of the matter with getting rabies shots is the availability of Rabies Immunoglobulin.As this is a blood product it is both very expensive and in worldwide shortage.Thus it can be very difficult to obtain outside of Beijing or Hong Kong.If you are bitten[or scratched/licked over broken skin] by any mammal [even a well looking one] and have not been vaccinated prior to your trip ,then it is recommended you get this injection within 24 hours of the bite as well as get a series of the vaccine [widely available].If you have been vaccinated prior to the trip then you only need a couple of boosters in the event of a bite.

dunderklumpen,

Sorry to hear about your colleague mate.I'm with the go,go,go crowd.As they said in the movie "Dead Poets Society"...Seize the day [carpe diem] !!

@bodawei,

Thank you for sharing this! Sorry to hear how you found out about this! Indeed, the cats are one of the reason why i got the shots. I have two cats and love animals so I should be a bit careful. I can give you the name of the clinic who gave me this advice : SOS international.

Until now I completely trusted them, but I am sure you have absolutely no reason to lie so I wonder why they told me this. Maybe someone has some stock in a pharmaceutical company *wink*. I got my shots in China but in Holland they also sometimes suggest to get Rabies before travelling, depending on the area you visit.

Anyway good to hear some real life stories, thank you!

RJ,

Yea, I have decided to go :) And if I meet any suspicious beings, I will do the biting.

dndrklpn,

Sounds like you are going. Great. Just stay away from Emei Shan and you will be fine. I have never seen a monkey in China outside of the zoo. :-)  If you see any dogs without sweaters on, go the other way. If you stop and see Pete, he wont bite you. At least he didnt bite me, although he may now, we have been pretty hard on him lately. Enjoy your trip. Im sure you will be glad you went.

... I'm sorry about your colleague. And yes, that can be me, and anyone else too.

Anyway, way to go Dunderklumpen. 很羡慕你喔！

opportunities and time are finite (even if you did find the Elixir)! You won't endlessly "always have other chances". We don't even know about next week. Or tomorrow.

That is so true. This very morning a colleague of mine suddenly died from cancer. We don't know about next week, day and hour.

Again, thanks for your support people! I have already taken the first Hep A/B shot and will have one more before I go :)

Pete,
Thanks for the invitation! I hope I can come to Shanghai.

Hi dunderklumpen,

I'll add my voice to the chorus urging you to be come. If you are prudent you will find China at least as safe as the West. And I know that you are the prudent type.

A trip will help you focus your mind on what aspects of Chinese language and civilization you are most interested in. You may surprise yourself.

If you get the chance to come to Shanghai we at the CPod office would love to meet one of our most dedicated commenters!

@chanelle77

The advice you got on rabies was not too good I'm afraid.  You could say I have made a forced intensive study of it, and talked to several doctors and people in vaccination centres in Sichuan and Yunnan as well as Hong Kong.  First, the Mainland is much better prepared for rabies vaccination than Hong Kong - no argument.  Hong Kong hospitals do not generally stock the vaccine; it has to be ordered in, and the price is ten times that on the mainland (no exaggeration - the identical product is 10 x the Mainland price, then you have to pay for a doctor or nurse to inject it.)  On the Mainland there are special purpose centres for these vaccinations and it is all very efficient - even in more remote parts of China such as Emei Shan. In Hong Kong the two doctors we saw were not familar with it (one was a specialist referred by our insurance company.)   Whoever gave you that advice has never dealt with bites/scratches needing treatment.  Or had a brother-in-law in Hong Kong needing some business..:-)

Second, it is not recommended practice to get rabies vaccinations before going to China.  First, you have to get a series of shots ANYWAY after being bitten or scratched, even if you are vaccinated. You need a lower dosage than if you were not vaccinated and there is an issue about how much is required if the doctors in China are not familiar with the vaccination you received, or you forget to keep a precise record of your vaccination history.  Second,  the vaccinations are expensive in the West.  You get exactly the same thing in China (a French brand) much cheaper.    

Sorry you suffered the pain of the shots, but these days they are much less painful and less stresful than only a few years ago.  And the shots used to be given in the stomach area I'm told! Ouch.   

Another thing - apparently even cats can carry rabies in China - we met a local who had received the shots after a cat bite/ scratch.

wow if I was you, I'd go

what if you never get another opportunity?  you'd be saying to yourself "wish I would of went when I had that chance" and then you'd be saying " oh well now its too late" just  remember we only get one life to live. Talk to your friends some more about it before you regret not going with them

Shots are important but do not worry too much. For the Heb B shot: I only had two shots (because I was sick when I should get the third) and when they tested my blood for antibodies (when i wanted the 3rd shot), it was fine and did not even need a third. I am not suggesting that you should not get that third shot, but if you run out of time: with two of them you already have a good protection and the third is only used to establish life long (25 years) immunity. Do not let that keep you back!

When you have the Hep A shot I think the protection is almost immediatley or within a week or so. I think there is a combination shot available: twinrix, that might be convenient. My doctor said that if you go to CHina for 2 weeks you do not really need shots at all.

Depending on the places you will be visiting you might want to consider Rabies shots as well. I was told I had to fly to Hong Kong to get proper treatment in case I was scratched or bitten! So i got the shots at the clinic :-) (and I really HATE shots )

Dunderklumpen, not to sound like an old geezer here, but one more thing--opportunities and time are finite (even if you did find the Elixir)! You won't endlessly "always have other chances". We don't even know about next week. Or tomorrow. So if you have a good feeling about these people who have invited you, go go go!

Bodawei, will keep in mind your advice. Had actually wondered about rabies (would not like to die that way), never thought about typhoid or tetanus. The doctor I went to didn't mention any of those, in fact he thought it was quaint of me for wanting a Hep A just to be a tourist for two weeks.

@bodawei, I meant stupid in the sense of crass and rude.  I have an unpleasant story about them as well, but not as bad as yours.  I won't burden you with it here; besides, we don't want to scare off @dunderklumpen.

Thanks for your input guys :)  I really appreciate it.
I had a look in a dictionary and found the word ponder. I guess it describes my personality at times. What about if this, what about that... Besides, when you go travel as seldom as I do, you want every trip to be the super mega experience of your life. A bit unrealistic...

"Find the Elixir of Immortality" project

@tvan, don't tempt me skip to the next project already ;)

@tvan

Those stupid baboons nearly eliminated my family line - not to mention caused all sorts of emotional damage, destroyed a holiday, terminated an intended long-stay in China and stole a mobile phone.  it is a sensitve topic for us. 

BTW I dispute that they are stupid - I have looked deep into the eyes of a murderous mature male Emei Shan monkey and seen intelligence.  Calm and calculating intelligence.  He wanted to kill me and all I had was a stick (and even greater intelligence.)

@dunderklumpen, I suggest breaking your "Going to China" project into sub-projects:  First, "Visit my Friends" project.  Then, "Hike Leaping Tiger Gorge," then "Hunt Red Deer in Xinjiang with vodka-swilling Kazahks," then "Mountain bike the 茶马路", then "Get drunk and sing karaoke with local bar girls,"  then... whatever floats your boat.

The only problem with this approach is that it leads to the "Find the Elixir of Immortality" project so that you can finish all the other projects.

@bodawei, are you talking about those stupid baboons on Emei Shan?

@RJ, Zhenlijiang

Not trying to scare anyone, really. But your doctor will probably advise that there are vaccinations you need apart from Hep A and B - BTW in my view Hep B is so unpleasant that it is worth 'taking the medicine', or in this case needles. You can catch it through transmission of blood RJ, and in an accident this can be beyond your control.  Vaccinations usually recommended include cholera (oral) and typhoid (one injection); both these unpleasant diseases can be caught from dirty water.  Also a  tetanus shot is a good idea if you are not up to date, in case you are bitten by .. dogs or cats. (I won't mention the M word.)  Don't worry about rabies shots, you can get treatment if you are bitten, China is well-organised for this eventuality as dog bites are common. 

Hey dunderklumpen - you can do it!

中国的文化传统中，好客是很重要的一条。招待客人会被当作大事来对待。只要不是"不速(invited)之客"，邀请您的那位朋友就有充分时间预先替您解决掉您担心遇到的问题。如果您确实对海外旅行感到不适，直接告诉您的朋友吧。看看他们的意见。

Hey, RJ, don't belittle monkey bites; they can be pretty nasty. Makes me think of a 1992's movie by Peter Jackson...  ;)

Dunderklumpen, for some reason I don't think you're going to go this once to China and then think, well then, that's it for this project--you'll only find there's a lifetime of things to keep discovering. As you can see from all the people here. Don't worry about that!

Hep A for me was an injection. I went for my booster within a year of the first one so I'm supposed to be taken care of now for 5-10 (this kind of ambiguity drives me crazy) years. Taking preventative measures for Hep A is a good idea like RJ said, because it's easy to get from things like undercooked street food.

Hope you seize this great opportunity and enjoy!

bodawei

now dont go scaring him with your monkey bite stories :-). Hep B is given in 3 shots - intial, after a month, and after 6 months to establish long term immunity. Unles you plan to have sex, or inject drugs (or maybe get bitten by a monkey) you are not at risk. For a two week visit I dont think you need to loose any sleep over not having the hep B shots. I would recommend everyone gets them anyway, but you know what I mean. You may want to get a Hep A vac which is a couple pills if I remember correctly. This you can catch from food or drink so its a good idea - even if you stay home.

Ok, now there's only one mental thing that need to think about. I'm ready to go except for that one thing.
I'm a project kind of guy: I find a hobby, spend an awful lot of time with it, and after a few years (2-3) I get tired of it, thus abandoning it. Then I find a new hobby, go frantic on that one and so on. I fear if I go to China I will think, "Well, that's it. What more is there to do with this hobby? Got to find another one." Thus I would like to save the ultimate experience (go to China) until later, to make the most of this hobby. Hopefully it can last for many years since I really like the people and things I've met/experienced so far. But on the other hand; nothing lasts forever. Maybe I have to accept I am this kind of project guy.

@dunderklumpen

you should immediately get your vaccinations!  A good doctor will give you a program of shots over a period of several weeks - you may have to finish your shots in China!.  That is all good fun.  But note that Hep B vaccination is normally given in three or four doses, and in China I found that they do not give these shots to adults, only to infants.  my wife and I went to an 'infant welfare' clinic for our Hep B shots!  It was no problem for the staff of the clinic. And it is a good leanguage practice opportunity.   

Markus,

its only China. You are not going to the moon. (although its just as cool). Sometimes you have to get behind yourself and push a little. You will be glad you did.

yea and the sky might fall

Right. I forgot that one... ;)

Well! I think they are serious, because they asked you twice. Come on! You are not a burden. They would be really happy if you go with them. Anyway, that doesn't matter! Just join them and come to China!

我们欢迎你！:)

yea and the sky might fall. Go, you will be glad you did. The world is a book, he who stays at home only reads one page - or something like that. :-)

living at my place

Oops, it seems this phrase means they are living in my apartment. My mistake. I just mean they have their permanent residence in the same town as I do and now they are going back to China to visit their relatives.

'I'll think about it (考虑一下)' is often a polite refusal...

I see. So he might have taken that as a no then.

sushan, RJ, tvan,

Thanks for your advice. I have talked to them again and they seem to be honest about asking me to join them. I'm convinced I won't be a face-giving 宝贝; in fact, they suggested I join them after they have visited their relatives, and we can go travel together. They also told me about some ma2fan's that may happen, e.g. quarantine and swine-flu.

I shall have a sleep on it.

If you want to experience a foreign country, a family visit can't be beat.  You don't see all the sights that you would on a tour, but your experience will be deeper; and, since you're studying Chinese...

Maybe somebody has a different opinion but, IMO, if they asked you twice, I think the offer is genuine.  Also, make sure you check out posts here/collect advice on bringing an appropriate gift.  A definite must.

Bottom line, "Go Go Go."

Markus,

you should go. If you have concerns, ask them.

From what you've written, it looks to me like the guy is serious. You've given them a place to stay and taken them on boat rides; he wants a chance to return the favor and friendship. Another, less nice motive could be that having a foreign friend gives him a lot of face in front of his relatives and friends back home. And yes, you might be crushed with hospitality and activities when you arrive.

'I'll think about it (考虑一下)' is often a polite refusal...if you want to bring it up, mention that you have, in fact, been thinking about it and have some questions.

And whaddaya mean 'not a globetrotter'? go, go, go!