Let’s face It, culture shock in China is real. Very real. For western tourists visiting this ancient land of wonder and beauty (providing there’s no thick blanket of smog floating about), China culture shock rears its ugly head in many ways.

From kids pooping in the streets, foods that may make the most comfortable eater run for the door and the sheer number of people hustling along, usually without much concern for others.

Even after 50+ countries visited, I found travel in China challenging at times. Just when I thought I was getting used to it all, out of nowhere, something new and foreign to me caused a huge culture shock in China.

Want to love culture shock? Learn about the 5 stages and symptoms right here!

So, here are 14 of the most common Culture shocks in China!

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14 common culture shocks in China

It’s worth pointing out that culture is different for every traveler. You might not experience these like I did, and chances are you’ll be effect slightly different. But these are the common points many travelers face when visiting China.

 1. Chaotic streets are a common first culture shock in China

Streets in China are daunting. It doesn’t matter if you have a green light, on a pedestrian crosswalk or even on the footpath – you need to be on your guard for cars and motorbikes pretty much at all times.

That’s not saying people are going to drive directly at you. Not at all. But there are just so many people on the streets at times and there are so many vehicles.

How to deal with crossing the streets in China? Follow a local. If a local walks, you walk with them. If they stop, you stop. This isn’t a sure fire way of keeping out of harms way but is someone knows the seemingly non-existent rules, you stand a better chance on making it safely to the other side.

For times when there isn’t a local nearby, well it’s a little more difficult. Every driver in China knows what to expect on the roads. You need to be confident when you cross the road because these drivers will rarely ever stop for anyone. Rather they will weave around you.

If you start panicking and becoming harder to read what your plan is, the driver might make the wrong choice in a split-second decision and cause an accident.

Be warned, these drivers will driver close to you as you stand in the middle of the road, waiting for an opening.

 

 2. Crowds can’t be escaped

China is huge. While only the 4^th largest country in the entire world, there is over 1.3 billion people, and most are located in cities.

Even if you are dodging all the major cities as much as you can, you will inevitably hit crowds. If you’re booking a train ticket from Beijing or visiting the unforgettable sights of Zhangjiajie National Forest Park, you will encounter people and lots of them.

While being around lots of people isn’t necessarily a terrible thing in itself, this ties into another section of Chinese culture. People don’t wait or consider personal space a thing for the most part. You will most likely be pumped into, and don’t expect an apology. For a vast number of the population, it is just ingrained in Chinese daily culture and nothing to take offense over – although I have to admit that the last point isn’t always easy.

A number of travelers experience cultural shocks in China – here are 17 culture shock stories that include China and other destinations.

 

 3. Sly photos are taken of you

I’ve traveled enough to know people from different corners of the globe look different. There’s nothing wrong with that and I understand that people are curious about something new and foreign. That’s why I don’t mind taking a photo with a local, as long as they ask beforehand.

I took plenty of photos with locals throughout China, including one with a baby with the Zhangjiajie National Forest Park as a beautiful backdrop. None of those were ever an issue as there was a question if they could first.

It was those not-so-obvious people in the corner of my eye lining up the perfect angle. By the end of my time in China, I was used to the sly photographer and even had a game to play. I would look directly in the camera and make a stupid face at them. There are a lot of phones in China with an image of my less than attractive face on them.

There’s not much else to do other than accept that if you’re fair skinned, blonde, or as a Chinese schoolgirl pointed out to me, have a beard and/or tattoos, you will attract a lot more attention on the streets of China.

 

 4. Stares and pointing are big China culture shocks

Stares and pointing kind of plays into the point above, but it deserves its own heading. Sometimes people don’t want the memory to last forever, they just want to take the spectacle in while they can.

If you get a lot of photo opportunities with locals, chances are you’re getting stared and pointed at as well.

This can be considered rude in a lot of western cultures, but in China, it’s okay and nothing to take offense over.

This whole staring and pointing quickly became a culture shock in China for me. But it was three moments that really stand out:

• I woke up from an overnight train from Chengdu to Zhangjiajie with a man staring at me. Looking down from the top bunk bed of three in the train car. I have no idea how long he was watching me sleep, or what he would have been thinking about. Safe to say I had a little difficulty sleeping on trains in China again.
• Walking down the back streets of Zhangjiajie, a young child, around a year old noticed something was really off about me. He picked me out of the few others in the area and his finger never left my immediate direction until I was out of sight. I guess that goes to show it isn’t something people in China are taught, rather than just a cultural thing.
• One man even peered over a toilet cubicle at me… while going to the bathroom at a urinal. This shoulder height petition was blocking his view, so he looked over it. I’m pretty easy going to the point I laughed and walked away. Still, it was one memory of China I won’t ever forget.

 

 

 5. Children wearing split crotch pants – Possibly the largest culture shock from China

Of all the culture shocks in China I witnessed, I think the whole split crotch pants hit me the hardest. This sounds pretty much exactly what it is.

It’s a pair of pants toddlers wear pants with holes in the back and front of them. There’s no underwear either. This is so these kids can go to the toilet wherever they are.

And I do mean wherever they are.

On top of that, not every parent will clean the mess up. There were multiple puddles and solids that were of questionable origin in my travels through China.

This is much more common in rural parts of China, but I encountered it in major cities such as Xi’an. One little girl was mid #2 out the front of a restaurant during the lunchtime rush.

It was honestly difficult to not be totally shocked every time I encountered split crotch pants in China. While they aren’t super common, be prepared!

 

 6. Chinese cuisine is… unique

I’m all for eating rare and unique things I can’t find anywhere else – from Hakarl, or fermented shark in Iceland to a shot with an actual human toe in it in Canada, I love the food that is so different from everywhere.

China’s cuisine was a challenge. There are some foods that I wasn’t able to stomach. Balut is one I wasn’t ever brave enough to eat – this is a half-grown chickens egg, feathers and all.

The Sichuan province is known for spicy food. Trust me, if you’re not a fan of spicy food, you will want to say no spice, zero spice, or something to get your point across. “A little spice” stripped my tongue of tastebuds in Chengdu.

Restaurants in China can also be difficult. While many will have English translations, while some don’t make sense at all, sometimes you get a dish that isn’t identifiable. If you’re not looking to eat vegetarian in China, and have little grasp on the language, you may be in for some interesting foods served up to you.

 

 7. Asian style toilets

Asian style toilets are not only in China (otherwise they would be called Chinese toilets) but if you’ve never used one of these literal holes in the ground, well, you’re in for an experience.

These are squat toilets. There is no seat and your legs are the only things propping you up. If you can, holding onto something is super helpful to get your balance and optimum squat height.

Another word of warning, carry your own toilet paper. It is rare you will find any toilet paper in a public restroom. That goes the same with soap – carrying a bottle of hand sanitizer, strapped to the front of your bag is handy! Oh, and make sure you throw the used toilet paper in the bin, not in the toilet itself!

 

 8. Unhelpful and rude people are common

This very well could be a controversial point of traveling China, but it is true. People in China, even those paid to provide information to tourists, are commonly rude and unhelpful.

Before you jump in the comments section to tell me off, let me say that this is definitely not every person I met in China.

My hostel owner in Chengdu, Evan, was insanely helpful and welcoming. He helped me and my partner organize around a week’s worth of travel through China. Booked trains and accommodation and showed us valuable tips for traveling to China.

As our train was delayed for 3 hours in Beijing, a schoolgirl talked to us openly about many things in China. Mostly why people are staring at me and that they mean no harm. She even helped me diffuse a situation of a man telling me quite aggressively to write in Chinese (rather than English) because I was in China.

But by the vast majority, people on the street are no help. Asking for directions on the streets just got laughed at. Even at a giant “tourist information” sign, in perfect bolded English text, we were outright ignored by those in the booth.

It’s hard to not take this one personally, as I don’t mind giving someone lost directions or tips to another traveler in a hostel when I can – it’s just the way it is. Another common culture shock of China.

 

 9. Directions can be difficult

If you’re not fluent in the language and Chinese characters, then directions around China can be difficult.

This point ties in with points about crowded streets and a lot of unhelpful people. If you’re finding it difficult, you’re not the only one.

English translations can be rare, and without a good success rate of asking for and receiving good directions, getting lost is common.

Chances are, you’re going to get lost in China. It’s busy and there’s a lot going on. It can be a challenge when traveling this ancient country, that’s for sure.

 

 10. The language barrier can be huge

It’s not only the directions where the language barrier can present itself in China but plenty other common forms as well.

It’s a common theme throughout this post on culture shock in China, as with many other places around the world, that if you can’t communicate or know the customs of a foreign land, traveling through the country will be much more difficult.

However, China takes that to a whole new level if you factor in many of the points listed above.

 

 11. Lines are not a thing in China

Most other places I’ve visited in the world have some sort of order to them. If you’re in line to buy a train ticket, it’s pretty rare someone will blatantly cut in front of you – and then even look back to figure out why you’re not too happy with them.

Many times throughout China, lines weren’t a thing. Patiently waiting your turn is a pretty easy way to become frustrated at this foreign concept.

If you’re in line in China, stack up right behind the person in front of you. Think of any gap ahead of you as an invitation to be pushed back one spot.

People in the back of the line would wait patiently as they were cut in front of again and again. It’s another concept that I struggled to get my head around and adjust to China.

 

 12. Communism and free speech can be limited

China is a communist state and this means a lot of the freedoms westerners take for granted are restricted in China.

The easiest noticeable restriction is placed on the internet. If you enter China without a Virtual Private Network (VPN), then a lot of the sites and apps just don’t load, even with the best WiFi. Anything made by Google and Facebook is two of the biggest blocked by the Chinese Government.

Being so heavily restricted can be frustrating. But one other point I noticed is much more important to talk about. Tiananmen Square, the site of the massacre that left an unknown number of peaceful protestors dead, has no mention, no plaque, no memorial.

There is in fact, no talk of the pro-democracy rally that ended with the Chinese military being ordered to fire into the crowd of peaceful protesters. It’s extremely sad to see these people forgotten and no memorial what-so-ever talking about the day many lost their lives.

 

 13. Smog and air pollution

It’s pretty common to hear China has a problem with air pollution and smog blanketing cities. I was still surprised just how far this hazy hue can stretch.

While I got extremely lucky in Beijing and had clear blue skies, but smaller cities were filled with this thick grey coating.

Even in small cities (small enough to be a large town), spots of smog were noticed easily. Especially when given a bird’s eye view of the horizon. There was just no escaping it. It lingered day after day until the wind blew it away or the rain pushed it to the ground.

There were multiple days when visiting Chengdu, my phone received air quality warning text messages. Outdoor activity was highly recommended against for days in a row.

 

 14. Spitting and hacking up phlegm

If you’ve visited China, it probably didn’t take you long to hear a local hack up down and spit it pretty much anywhere. Sidewalks, bins, gardens and even restaurants were all pretty common to hear that violent unmistakable noise.

With the air quality being so bad so often, it is just too common not to witness. They are not shy about it and will do it almost instinctively.

I’ll admit, it grossed me out. Some were so deep and powerful it felt like they were right inside my eardrum. But it is just part of Chinese culture and something to adjust to. It did get easier for me, to the point I would rarely even notice by the end of my few week stint in China.

It is one of the more culture shocks of China on the surface. You can’t miss it or not hear it.

 

So, with all these culture shocks in China, should I still visit?

Don’t get me wrong, China isn’t the easiest country in terms of a culture shock to travel.

If you’re a western traveler, expect some sort of culture shock from China, it’s just so different.

But that’s not to say you should skip it. Not at all. There are many beautiful places to visit in China, and there are friendly and welcoming people that make you fall in love with a certain place (looking at my hostel owner in Chengdu here!).

Sure, there will be challenges. After all, I felt these culture shocks in China after visiting over 50 other countries beforehand.

I think managing a culture shock is helped by knowing what to expect, and while this post can be blunt and honest, I still love China for being China.

The world would be boring is it were all the same, right?!

 

What other ways can I prepare for my trip to China?

• Even though most information can be easily accessed online, there is still something to be said for guide books. Especially those that cover a destination so well. Lonely Planet is one of those. You’ll find tips and recommendations to make your travels in China easier. Buy your Lonely Planet guide to China here!
• If anything goes wrong while you’re traveling, you’ll want great travel insurance. World Nomads is comprehensive, no hidden fees and fantastic customer service. Book your travel insurance here!

 

Have you experienced a culture shock in China? Please let me know your experiences below in the comments – along with any questions or concerns you Have!

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Read more about traveling China here:

• Take the Beijing Free Walking Tour!
• A quieter tour of The Great Wall of China at Jinshanling
• Explore the heights of Tianmen Mountain

 

Thanks for reading!

Happy and safe travels,

Ben – Horizon Unknown