Language

The main language of China is Mandarin or ‘Simplified Chinese’. Outside of the main international cities, there is moderate to no English spoken. Expect an adventure when it comes to ordering food and getting around. But trust me, it is difficult to starve or get completely lost.
Provincial capitals like Kunming will have some areas with good English – such as shopping malls, tourist attractions.
Regional cities such as New Dali will have a lesser amount. Tourist areas such as Dali old town will have a generally passable level of English spoken throughout.

Fancy speaking a bit of Chinese? Learning some key phrases (Greetings, thanks, food, shopping) can be really useful in getting by.

Food and Eating

Food is extremely important (and tasty!)in China. Don’t expect it to be like the typical Chinese Takeaway in the UK.

What to expect

Most of the time when eating out as a group, the custom will be to order for the table and the meal is shared.
As a general rule – You will be using Chopsticks and/or a spoon.
Lots of meat dishes will contain bones and fat as this is viewed as being part of the taste and texture of the dish.

Ordering Your Meal

A lot of restaurants actually include pictures in the menus, but if you are not sure or don’t know what to order, consider pointing at some other diner’s plates and indicate you want the same.
If you have dietary concerns, I would strongly recommend you learn how to say this in Mandarin. Please contact us if you need help with this.

The Great Firewall

China state runs a traffic blocker on a number of global websites. This will affect apps which rely on Google or Facebook. Basically Whatsapp, Google maps, Facebook messenger will not work when out there.
Things to Consider:

• Creating an account on WeChat
• Download Baidu Maps or look into alternatives
• Obtain a VPN Service which will work in China