Crime Travellers are more often the victims of petty economic crime, such as theft, than serious crime, although an American was stabbed to death in broad daylight in Běijīng in 2008. Foreigners are natural targets for pickpockets and thieves, but you shouldn’t have any problems as long as you keep your wits about you and make it difficult for thieves to get at your belongings. Certain cities and places are worse than others – Guǎngzhǒu, Guìyáng, Xī’ān and Zhèngzhōu are notorious, in particular, for petty crime. Incidences of crime increase around the Chinese New Year. High-risk areas in China are train and bus stations, city and long-distance buses (especially sleeper buses), hard-seat train carriages and public toilets. Don’t leave anything of value in your bicycle basket. Hotels are generally safe; many have attendants on each floor, who keep an eye on the rooms and guard the keys. Dormitories obviously require more care. Don’t be overly trusting of your fellow travellers; some of them are considerably less than honest. All hotels have safes and storage areas for valuables – use them. Don’t leave anything you can’t do without (passport, travellers cheques, money, air tickets etc) lying around in dorms. Carry just as much cash as you need and keep the rest in travellers cheques. Obviously you will need to equip yourself with more cash if you’re travelling to remote areas, as you may not be able to cash your travellers cheques; take a money belt for your cash, passport and credit cards. A worrying trend is the increasing number of reports of foreigners attacked or even killed for their valuables, especially in more rural locations, so be vigilant at all times. Travelling solo carries obvious risks; it’s advisable to travel with someone else or in a small group.
Loss Reports If something of yours is stolen, report it immediately to the nearest Foreign Affairs Branch of the PSB. Staff will ask you to fill in a loss report before investigating the case and sometimes even recovering the stolen goods. If you have travel insurance (highly recommended), it is essential to obtain a loss report so you can claim compensation. Be warned, however: many travellers have found Foreign Affairs officials very unwilling to provide a loss report. Be prepared to spend many hours, perhaps even several days, organising it. Make a copy of your passport in case of loss or theft.
Scams Con artists are not just increasingly widespread in China – their methods are becoming ever more audacious. Well-dressed girls flock along Shànghǎi’s East Nanjing Rd and Běijīng’s Wangfujing Dajie, dragging single men to expensive cafes or Chinese teahouses and making them foot monstrous bills. ‘Poor’ art students haunt similar neighbourhoods, press-ganging foreigners into art exhibitions where they are coerced into buying trashy art. Just say no. Also watch out for itinerant Buddhist monks preying on foreigners for alms. They approach visitors and, after asking them to sign a book, ask for a donation along the ‘give-as-much-as-you-see-fit’ line. Travellers can feel pressured into giving money, and it can also be hard to work out if the monks are genuine or not. Don’t leave any of your belongings with someone you do not know well; it could be the last you see of them. There’s a plague of dishonest businesses and enterprises. The travel agency you phoned may just be a gang of card-playing con artists cooped up in a cigarette-smoke-filled hotel room. Be alert at all times if changing money on the black market. One trick is for the moneychanger to take your money, then ask to recount the money he has just given you; once he takes the money back, the last you see of him and your cash is his heels moving at velocity down the road. If buying a black-market train ticket, ensure the date, time, destination and ticket type (eg soft sleeper) are correct before handing over your cash.
Pollution & Noise Pollution is a serious problem in China, and can make travel unpleasant for everyone, especially if you have allergies, skin conditions, or chest, eye, nose and throat problems. According to the World Bank, China has 20 of the world’s 30 most-polluted cities and, by some measures, Běijīng is the world’s most polluted city. With some estimates predicting that China’s air pollution could quadruple over the next 15 years, an environmental disaster could be in the making. As such, although a trip to China for ancient health regimes such as qì gōng looks good on paper, you may actually be doing yourself harm. Casual disposal of litter is also an issue. Throughout China it is common to see fields and trees festooned with plastic bags, and rubbish is thrown willy-nilly on the street. The Chinese are also generally much more tolerant of high decibels than most foreigners. The Chinese government long ago launched an anti–noise-pollution campaign and, as a result, numerous cities have banned the use of car horns within the city. Yet screeching hawkers, yelling mobile phone users, roof-lifting karaoke parlours and high-decibel background noise can all make China a deafening experience.
Spitting Spitting is one of the banes of modern China. Campaigns to stamp out spitting have been partially successful in the major urban centres; there is less public spitting in Guǎngzhōu, Shànghǎi and Běijīng, where people now abstain or spit into rubbish bins. But you will still see much phlegm flowing – and don’t be too surprised if the hawker you just bought a snack from turns around to blow her nose into her fingers.
Queues In China, the instinct of large numbers of people with a common goal (a bus seat, a train ticket, purchasing a SIM card, ordering a Big Mac etc) is to form a surging mass; however, queuing has been heavily promoted over recent years and forming a line is far more common these days.