Traveling in China?

Any information on this? ... About weather in May, electrical outlets and odd customs? Do people normally speak english/spanish/french [would I be able to communicate with these languages only? I'm learning chinese but it's still hard]... thanx!! =] oh yeah and jet lag ...would I get a lot if I'm in a GMT-7 timezone traveling to beijing? T_T
We're just going to Shangai, Xian, Hangzhou and Beijing... it's already booked so we wouldn't have the chance to go to Hong Kong

In the North you will have mild climate. You can use your electrical things from US in most hotels with no problem.
Your day and night will be upside down, so yes, after a few days you will have jetlag. But ur stomach will be hungry at night cause its hard to fool that one!

Depends on which part of China you're going to. Beijing's weather in May is kinda warm (like spring; around 20C) so don't worry about it. Just bring a few jackets and some short sleeves. I don't think they have any specific odd customs. I mean...the taking off your shoes before you enter someone's house is just a sterotype. It does apply to some other places in Asia but not always in China. Urm...people there do speak some English so shopping or asking simple questions shouldn't be a big problem. Oh...it'll be a long trip so yea...you'll definitely get jetlag if you're not used to travelling long distance. But Beijing is a cool place to visit so I guess it's worth it...I hope you'll find this info useful.

I'd recommend one of those back-packers guide books, Lonely Planet, or Frommers or the Rough Guide (there's a range of them...). They'll give you all you need to know about customs, weather, a bit of language help, and useful information about travel and sights. They cost about the same as one good meal in a restaurant and have the potential to save you lots of $ and inmprove your travel experience immensly. And unlike Yahoo, you can pop it it in your bag and take it with you. Look up 'treating jetlag' on the internet (it's likely to be a problem), and note that even a little Chinese language will be appreciated by locals - at least outside the main cities - they'll know that you are making an effort and generally then be more helpful in trying out their English (just as bad as your Chinese), and doing the rest in sign language.

If you get a small Chinese phrase book, look for one with a section in 'Chinese to English' that allows locals to use it to point to words and phrases in order to communicate with you. Lonely Planet's Mandarin Guide does this, and I'm sure some others as well.

Have a great trip.

if you take a cab, sit in the front seat and monitor the meter. dont let them cover it up by letting the receipt cover the display and dont let them PRESS ANY BUTTONS on the meter during the ride (it will speed up the meter). it's a common tactic they use. he pressed it on me when i was using my phone but i saw him do it. beijing is smoggy. locals only speak chinese except the hotel staff. pick restaurants with pictures on the menu unless you can order in chinese. DVD's cost around $2 USD. Everything is cheap at the markets. spicy food is SPICY. electrical outlets compatible with US (two parallel pins). jetlag wouldn't be too bad cos you're travelling west.

Are u talking about going to mainland China or China in general. B/c if ur going by urself n not taking any tours, I'd recommend going to Hong Kong. Hong Kong's second official language is English, and many ppl who work there speak english. Transportation is cheap, affordable, efficient, and new. May is a great time to visit HK, weather isn;t too humid, about 50-60's, and not too touristy. Plenty of tourist attractions there, including all new Disneyland as well as HK's own Ocean Park, as well as a shopping mall every 2 blocks. You get to experience both urban and rural HK (mostly urban-large city) in a safer environment than the mainland.
Electrical outlets r different, but purchasing any adapter will do fine. Odd customs?...Well, u say ur from GMT-7, so I'd assume ur from the Midwest, I guess in recent yrs, the customer service in restaurants, stores, n other public services have improved dramatically. In smaller rest., maybe not as much, but HK's service quality is always monitored by a tourist quality scheme. No need to obtain visa if ur coming from US, unlike China.
And of course, u can always book a tour from HK to Beijing to sightsee Great Wall, Forbiden City...>>Expect 3-5 day trip.

I highly recommend HK, especially if ur going with a group. Check out these sites:
http://www.discoverhongkong.com/eng/index.jsp
http://www.immd.gov.hk/ehtml/hkvisas_4.htm
http://mtr.com.hk/eng/homepage/e_customer_index.php
www.cathaypacific.com/

For more info, feel free to email me!

re: beijing...the weather in may is perhaps the best - some might say october....many people speak english in beijing - forget taxi drivers speaking english...if you take a taxi have your destination written down in chinese characters and show it to the driver..i didn't suffer much jet lag...from the beijing airport their is a taxistand - take a taxi only from there...if someone is meeting u at the airport that is good...if you want to bring electrical equipment you will need an adaptor....odd customs abound i suppose ...you'll discover them as you go about...bargaining at stores, seating at banquets, the list goes on....make sure to visit the summer palace - and plan to spend the best part of a day there....

Weather in China in May -- around Beijing you will have very nice weather, mostly sunny and warm. There is polution though....The further South you go from there the warmer it will be. If you go to the West (Xian for example) you might hit a heat wave. Last year, in June, Xian was above 100 degrees F.
Language -- in most big cities the international hotels have staff which is very proficient in English. Taxi cab drivers will not be able to speak in English with you, but as long as you know where you are going and have the destination written in Chinese by someone you are OK. Make sure you have the name of your hotel --- the hotels usually have cards with the name and address, telephone number of the hotel on them. So you can show these to the cab drivers. The hotel consierge will have also cards with pre-printed instructions like "Take me to the xyz Market" in Chinese. Ask for those.
With regard to electrical outlets, China has multiple standards. So make sure you buy a set of adaptors from one of the travel or luggage stores. You can also check out my blog http://travel.chinafinds.com for more information.

The weather in May of these cities are usually comfortable. A jacket is enough. The voltage in China is 220V. Lots of people in Shanghai can speak English. In other cities it'll be a little difficult for you to communicate in a foreign language.

hot in china temp can be 30 to 35