8 Common Myths of Family Travelling to China

With every travel destination we prefer to keep an open mind prior to visiting. After touring China some 14 years ago, Alfred wasn’t so keen on going back. Memories of amazing sights are overwritten by the constant 3S (Shout, Shove & Spit).

But China’s history is too fascinating to ignore. This time with Tara & Berlin, it was an AMAZING 2 weeks! We visited Shanghai, Xian & Chengdu – in these cities we have been impressed not only by the sights but by the locals! (would you believe)

The Chinese (especially the young) are much different now. It was 2 weeks of people lining up – without pushing! Strangers offering to lend their mobile phones to help (because they can’t speak English), giving up seats in the Metro, helping to translate, going out of their way to provide directions and bargaining is no longer a contact sport – many opt to open fixed price shops.
 

 
So here are 8 Common Myths of Family Travelling to China that we dispelled:
 

Myth #1

China is dirty. There are a LOT of cleaners stationed at parks, trains, department stores within a few hundred metres of each other. We were surprised by how clean places we visited. Toilets in tourist spots and central areas are mainly Western style fully automatic toilets, but toilet rolls and soap are rare so you need to bring your own.

Yes the Chinese still spit in public places – especially the older people, and we even saw toddlers (never adults) did a number 1 and number 2 in public space. However like mentioned earlier there were a LOT of street cleaners who quickly get to action.
 

 

Myth #2

It is hard to travel around if you don’t speak Chinese. We didn’t find language to be an issue at all. Most understood basic English. Whenever we needed help with directions, we would come up to a young person and they would whip out their phones and used a translation app – they were all like this in all 3 cities we visited. No one ever refused to help us out.
 

Myth #3

China is not child friendly. Of all places we have been so far with our son, China was the most stroller friendly place with newly cemented, wide footpaths. Parent’s room are hard to find but usually available in newer shopping malls. It was never hard to change Berlin’s nappy. The Chinese do not care where you change your child. Alfred normally would lift Berlin up in and we quickly changed him while he’s hoisted up in the air (Thank you nappy pants!).
 

 

Myth #4

China is now expensive. China is just like anywhere else in the world, it caters for all budget. Flights going there is reasonable. Across the 3 cities, we chose family friend hotels and paid $130 average per night. For that we managed to get centrally located newish four star hotels with a massive room, nice bathroom, separate living area with breakfast included.
 
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Myth #5

You will need a private driver to get around. China’s MRT system is an absolute copy of Singapore’s MRT – only newer. We took the MRT almost every single day. The stations were all modern and clean. And all the stops were written in alphabet so you will have no problem knowing where you are going. We also were surprised as to how orderly the locals were; lining up on the train stations, even giving up their seats for us! As a bonus MRT tickets are cheap, very cheap!
 

 

Myth #6

China is so crowded and you will not enjoy the sights. Yes China is crowded and there were times we were quite taken aback but you will still find areas of quietness especially in the local parks. We absolutely loved leisurely walking around the parks seeing the seniors practiced/performed ballroom dancing, martial art, calligraphy writing, and mah-jong.  Since we didn’t join a tour, we were able to be very flexible with our times. We chose to visit high traffic touristy areas in the afternoon (during tour groups’ lunch hour) or super early in the morning. It absolutely worked to our advantage.
 

 

Myth #7

You will be stuck eating greasy Chinese food every day. China has a variety of food everywhere! Berlin even found out his passion for pizza whilst in Shanghai. We simply picked decent looking clean restaurants. As for ordering food, waiters are very helpful and again usually understand basic English. All we needed to do was smile and point at the menu or at someone else’s food.
 

 

Myth #8

Your child may be kidnapped. Seriously your child may be kidnapped anywhere in the world.  Being Asians ourselves, we didn’t attract a lot of attention. The Chinese have ‘mind your own business attitude’. No one came up to Berlin to get his attention or touch him.
 

 
The moral of this story is, as with any travel destination, don’t be put off travelling based on people’s negative experiences. We have learnt that another person’s experience and their subjective opinion do not always give an accurate depiction. We had an amazing 2 weeks in China and we are planning to go back there to explore other cities. If we had known China was that amazing, we would’ve travelled a lot sooner.
 
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