China - never a dull moment!

[seanpodge]

Just for those who like to travel in China by train, two new services are now in operation on the official website (12306.cn). The first is seat selection for all C, G and D class services. A single row comes up as you try to buy the ticket letting you choose which seat along a row you want (e.g. aisle, window or middle). Not sure if you can choose specific rows or even carriages yet though.

The other new feature is being able to purchase connecting tickets.Say you wish to travel from Shanghai to Xi'an and there are no direct services available. The site will now give you the option of choosing a connection via say Beijing or Tianjin. The site gives you a good range of options and is much better than having to search out connections manually as used to be the case.

As I said, this is only on the official 12306 website at the moment, but I'm sure that travel agents in China will already be aware of it and the functions will soon filter down to other sites like ctrip and elong soon.

 

[jastel]

Sitting in Beijing on hotel wifi so thought I would report.
AFF works straight up...many other websites google etc won’t...other websites, none popular, that I have in favourites work too.
Facebook worked with text only on the first night??

Set up my VPN and can now get anything.
Did need to try a few different servers to get it working.

 

[mushez]

Normally not in China this time of year, however Commonwealth Games contracts have me doing what I do best and doing a check up on all the components I am responsible to hold the red carpet together - and is not something they would plan earlier for ..... or delay any later. So darn it, I have another flight itinerary to fit into my busy schedule - oh the pain and inconvenience.

So - first up - I got a new Iphone 8 a couple of weeks back, and put it on one of the new $130 a month Telstra plan that inc free phone over 24 months, which has unlimited calls and SMS internationally, both in AU, and outside AU like China, NZ, Singapore etc. Part of that is also 1GB of roaming data a month - and little did I know and blow me down - but on my AU SIM when data roaming in China, nothing is blocked - I have access to Facebook and everything. I have given it the full test over, and somehow roaming on your Telstra SIM for data, will unblock everything without a VPN.

Second - Had to laugh where I see at all the train stations on the platform, every 2-3 cars apart - these installed smoking seat installations. Yes, the no smoking signs are everywhere, but you have these new set ups that has every smoker know which door to line up at, and pour off the train to suck up hard, to get back on just in time as they always use to. Dam handy to dump trash as well before boarding if you ask me.

 

[auriga]

So - first up - I got a new Iphone 8 a couple of weeks back, and put it on one of the new $130 a month Telstra plan that inc free phone over 24 months, which has unlimited calls and SMS internationally, both in AU, and outside AU like China, NZ, Singapore etc. Part of that is also 1GB of roaming data a month - and little did I know and blow me down - but on my AU SIM when data roaming in China, nothing is blocked - I have access to Facebook and everything. I have given it the full test over, and somehow roaming on your Telstra SIM for data, will unblock everything without a VPN..

Did you use any Chinese apps at all?

I used Starhub (Singapore) roaming in China, and like you say, no issues with access to google/facebook, etc, but to use any of the local Chinese apps like Baidu, Didi Chuxing, etc, were much more problematic, often not connecting.

 

[mushez]

Did you use any Chinese apps at all?

I used Starhub (Singapore) roaming in China, and like you say, no issues with access to google/facebook, etc, but to use any of the local Chinese apps like Baidu, Didi Chuxing, etc, were much more problematic, often not connecting.

Well I don't exactly use any local apps anyway, other than Wechat and Ctrip. And not something I can say I checked out specifically - or noted any issues with anything. But will keep that in mind for my February/March trip in the New Year.

 

[seanpodge]

I have a China Unicom SIM card and when I turn on my VPN, a lot of the local websites and apps either don't work or are very slow.

 

[TheEmu]

I

I have a China Unicom SIM card and when I turn on my VPN, a lot of the local websites and apps either don't work or are very slow.

I have a China Mobile SIM and most apps are unusable with the VPN on (ExpressVPN) - WeChat, Ctrip and maps.me for example simply don't work.

 

[earlyriser]

If you only had three days (two weeks from now), would you visit Harbin or Xi'ian?

 

[woodyren]

If I was never going to return to China and had to chose between the two Xian......If I had an opportunity or plans to return to China I would pick Harbin because the ice festival is currently on and you can only see it at this specific time of the year.

 

[mushez]

Harbin,

It is on my to do list also if I get that option during Northern Hemisphere winter.

If you only had three days (two weeks from now), would you visit Harbin or Xi'ian?

 

[Bolthead]

If you only had three days (two weeks from now), would you visit Harbin or Xi'ian?

Definitely Harbin at this time of year. We went in February 2016 at the end of the festival and a lot of the statues had melted/distorted. Still freezing cold -23 degrees C.

 

[seanpodge]

Definitely Harbin at this time of year. We went in February 2016 at the end of the festival and a lot of the statues had melted/distorted. Still freezing cold -23 degrees C.

Yeah, that's an issue with leaving it to February. The weather will start turning towards warm (relatively speaking), although usually not above zero. That said, if there's a short heatwave where the temperatures head above zero for a while before dipping back below, then you might end up with some that look like Barbie dolls that have been put in the microwave.

 

[seanpodge]

A bit of talk in the last couple of days that the mobile phone ban might be lifted soon. From what I gather after reading a few articles, from October 1st, the CAAC will permit airlines to choose what restrictions they put on electronic devices based on the results of an analysis performed by the airline. A bit odd and I wouldn't expect the ban to end on any airline right on the 1st, but it should soon fade away and people can listen to music/podcasts, take photos etc. in peace.

Link

China Eastern has announced today on WeChat that it will permit small PED devices (eg. smartphones, e-books, etc) to be used in flight mode gate to gate from tomorrow (18th of January). This makes MU the first mainland airline to do so. I suspect others will follow suit in the near future, depending on how speedy the CAAC is.

Link to article (in Chinese)

 

[seanpodge]

According to multiple articles on WeChat, Spring Airlines has announced that it will also permit PEDs gate to gate in flight mode from February 1st.

 

[seanpodge]

The current list (stolen from my own post over at FlyerTalk).

MU - China Eastern (Jan 18)
HU - Hainan Airlines (Jan 18)
8L - Lucky Air (Jan 18)
CZ - China Southern (Jan 19)
MF - Xiamen Airlines (Jan 19)
OQ - Chongqing Airlines (Jan 19)
3U - Sichuan Airlines (Jan 19)
FU - Fuzhou Airlines (Jan 19)
FM - Shanghai Airlines (Jan 19)
NS - Hebei Airlines (Jan 20)
CA - Air China (Jan 21)
SC - Shandong Airlines (Jan 22)
ZH - Shenzhen Airlines (Jan 23)
9C - Spring Airlines (Feb 1)

 

[earlyriser]

A few quick thoughts from two weeks in China on my first ever visit (aside from HKG). Probably not much new here for regulars. This was a very last minute trip with little to no planning. We were totally unaware that Visa/Mastercard is not accepted in most places.

Good:
1. The people: every employee at every hotel was kind, thoughtful, and friendly. At times, they were over the top! Even if their English was poor, they would go to lengths to assist you. Worth noting that I am Hilton Diamond so that may have influenced things. The majority of people outside of the hotels were also very welcoming.
2. Public transport: the efficiency and reliability of the subway systems in all three cities (Beijing, Xian and Shanghai) make Sydney trains look like a Lego set. The bullet trains are also quite good and comfortable. Security is also very high while not making you feel uncomfortable. For example, you are checked at every subway station.
3. The food: Found it was easy to eat healthy food like a king at around 25% less than in Australia. Most of it was delicious and appeared to be of quality. Was interesting to find Australian and NZ sourced foods readily available on restaurant menus. Best experiences were Peking Duck and Haidiloa Hotpot. Did eat plenty of food in the executive lounges, however, and enough breakfast to not need lunch. The Waldorf Shanghai breakfast is incredible (which we shared with Imagine Dragons).

Bad:
1. Spitting: It was winter but spitting in public seems to be normalised. My partner got sick midtrip and needed to visit the hospital for antibiotics in Xian (which was very easy and cheap, by the way). Many did not seem to cover their mouth or noses when coughing or sneezing on the subway.
2. Being a passenger: taxi rides were nightmarish at times. Drivers use WeChat (I think) as they drive and veer across lanes. Changing lanes into non-existent gaps without an indicator is acceptable, and pedestrians get little respect. Working seatbelts were also scarce. Which brings me to...
3. Motorbikes alongside pedestrians: as a pedestrian, you share the crossings and sidewalks with motorbikes! I didn't mind but my partner hated this.
4. Pollution: Goes without saying. We were told it is worse in summer which is a scary thought.

In saying all of that, we are already considering going back next January.

 

[MEL_Traveller]

indeed. whatever the road rules might say (and i don’t actually know!) the reality is that prédestinais don’t really have right of way on cross walks. The one exception is if you can’t see the car coming behind you (for example you’ve started your crossing and a car turns onto the cross walk), then they give way to you. Which i guess makes sense.

As for the driving rules... all of what you describe sounds perfectly normal But the system seems to work. You don’t tend to see major accidents in the city (scrapes and dings occasionally, but nothing major).

 

[seanpodge]

The driving style isn't my favourite thing about the place.

I'm a bit surprised that you were told that the pollution gets worse in summer. It may vary geographically, but in Harbin it is certainly worse in winter when the public heating system is operating (run mainly on coal). In fact, I'd say that most visitors wouldn't notice any pollution issue in the summer months here.

 

[MEL_Traveller]

Shanghai is much worse for pollution in summer than winter.

 

[earlyriser]

The driving style isn't my favourite thing about the place.

I'm a bit surprised that you were told that the pollution gets worse in summer. It may vary geographically, but in Harbin it is certainly worse in winter when the public heating system is operating (run mainly on coal). In fact, I'd say that most visitors wouldn't notice any pollution issue in the summer months here.

It was the tour guide we had for a day tour in Beijing. Her English wasn't the best. Out of the three cities we visited, Beijing was probably the clearest. I just did some googling and note that Beijing was very bad this time last year.