Tips for Walking in Chinese Cities

The pedestrian is the lowest on the food chain...

Grab your comfy walking shoes, a good tourist map and hit the streets. There is no better way to experience a Chinese city than by walking around. Choose a neighborhood, or destination, and try to get there by walking. You may not even make it there, but I guarantee you'll have an adventure along the way. Before you get going, here are a few things you should know.

Crossing the street:

You may think this is a no brainer: watch for the little green walk-man and off you go. Hold it right there. Know first that the pedestrian is the lowest man on the food chain. The bigger you are, the less you have to watch out for the little guy. What does this mean to you, the intrepid walker?

• The walk sign comes on, get yourself inside the crowd crossing the street.
• Buses, cars and bicycles in the turn lane all [assume they] have the right-of-way. If they want to turn they will honk at you and expect you to get out of the crosswalk as they barrel through.
• Do not play chicken with the buses. They will win.
• Look BOTH ways when crossing the street - bicycle traffic often travels opposite to car traffic which means you can get hit from both sides.
• Don't assume that if you're pushing a stroller or a wheelchair this give you any leverage. You are now a slow target and will simply be honked at louder.

Don't let these traffic warnings scare you off. Now you know, so just be careful.

Safeguard your valuables:

Pickpocketing is ubiquitous in Chinese cities, especially in crowded touristy areas. I've been successfully picked once, caught hands in my bag three times and successfully scared away a pickpocket from an unknowing local on the sidewalk. And that's just in my little Shanghai neighborhood.

Don't carry a backpack with valuables. Put your passport and extra cash in your hotel safe. (Good to carry a copy of your passport with you.) Put large amounts of cash and cards in a hip bag or under the shoulder bag. Carry only maps, water, non-valuables in a backpack. Men: wallets out of your back-pocket! Put them in front or hand it over to the Mrs.

Get a good tourist map:

It's worth shopping around a little for a good tourist map of your city. Some hotel free maps are better than others. Maybe even try to find one at home before you come. Best to have one with streets labeled in Chinese (in case you need help) and English. Happily, street signs in large cities are written in Chinese and English (with helpful north/south/east/west pointers as well).

Addresses in Chinese:

Get your concierge to write down wherever it is you want to go in Chinese for you to have on hand. This is helpful 1) if you need to jump in a taxi or 2) you get lost and need to ask directions.

Make sure you have your return destination in Chinese as well so you can get home. Your hotel will have "taxi cards" on hand for you to carry with you.

Grab some small change:

I have full faith that your walk will be lovely. But just in case you get lost or tired, have some small bills and change with you so you can hop in a taxi or on the subway to get where you want to go without hassle. (Cab drivers hate breaking 100rmb bills!)

Enjoy yourself!

Now that you're informed, get out there and experience the city from the street level. Try some street dumplings, bargain with a vendor for a bottle of water, pop into the convenience store for some M&Ms. Whatever you do, just get out there and enjoy yourself.