ArtsAutosBooksBusinessEducationEntertainmentFamilyFashionFoodGamesGenderHealthHolidaysHomeHubPagesPersonal FinancePetsPoliticsReligionSportsTechnologyTravel

What to pack for trip to China

Updated on April 9, 2008

Before you go

1. Check the weather. This article focuses on traveling to Yunnan Province, which is in southwest China. It is known for its spring-like weather year-round. The temperature drops down to 40-50F in the evening and early mornings. During the day, it can go up to 70-80F. The best thing to do is to bring layers that you can put on or take off throughout the day.

2. Determine the purpose of your trip. Are you going for business only? Will you mix in some personal travel? Will you do any hiking or long walks? This will help you decide what to bring as appropriate attire.

3. How long is your trip? This packing list is for one week of travel in China without having to do laundry.

4. PACK LIGHT. It's ok to wear a shirt more than once, the Chinese do it, they won't notice! Just shower everyday and use deodorant.

Clothes

Standard everyday:

  • 1 pair of Jeans
  • 1 pair of khaki or other comfortable pants
  • 3 short sleeve tops
  • 2 long sleeve tops
  • 1 cardigan or light sweater or fleece (for layering)

  • light jacket (preferably wind and water resistant)
  • socks (plan for # days plus 2 extra)
  • underwear (plan for # of days plus 2 extra)
  • PJ's (T-shirt and shorts)
  • no need to bring slippers, provided in every hotel room we stayed in

For more formal occasions:

  • 1 dress (for women)
  • 1 blazer or jacket (for men and women)
  • 1 slacks (for men)

Shoes and accessories

  • 1 pair of dressier shoes that go with everything, ex: black black flats or low heels (women)
  • 1 pair of dress shoes (men)
  • 1 pair of walking shoes or sneakers
  • 1 evening bag (women)
  • 1 pashmina or other type of wrap, so useful for layering and you can use it when you go out to dinner (for women)
  • hat
  • sunglasses
  • cheap watch (you don't want to worry about losing something valuable while you're traveling)
  • same goes for jewelry, keep it to costume jewlery or one statement piece that can dress up any outfit, ex. silver banglet or necklace

  • backpack or messenger bag for walking around and shopping
  • laundry bag

Other equipment

  • camera
  • camera charger
  • camcorder
  • camcorder charger
  • AC adapter (220 volts)
  • calculator for money exchange (it gets tiring when you have to divide by 7 constantly)
  • cell phone (if it has GSM)
  • cell phone charger

Medicine and toiletries (checked-in luggage)

  • Pepto Bismo chewable tablets (so useful!)
  • Immodium AD pills

  • Vitamins
  • extra pair of contact lenses
  • deodorant
  • makeup
  • soap, shampoo and conditioner (if you prefer to bring your own, rather than use the hotel's)
  • moisturizer with SPF

  • contact lenses and saline solution (bring an extra pair of contact lenses just in case)
  • nail clipper
  • Bring several packs of pocket tissues. Buy more as soon as you get to China. 99% of the time, there is no toilet paper in the bathroom, even in restaurants. You must carry a pack with you at all times!
  • Moist wipes or Purell. More often than not, there is no soap or even water in the bathroom.

Medicines and toiletries (carry-on luggage)

  • Important medication (must arry-on in case of lost luggage)
  • tooth brush and paste
  • face cleanser (the travel wipe kind are handy)
  • eye drops
  • Tylenol or Advil
  • ear plugs (there is ALWAYS a crying baby or loud snorer on the plane)
  • pocket tissues (remember, must-have at all times!)
  • small hair brush
  • a few essential makeup items

  • glasses and protective case

Food and Entertainment

  • China guide book
  • Reading book
  • iPod
  • snacks (I brought some protein and granola bars with me and they came in handy when I didn't like the food or just wanted a quick healthy snack)
  • Do not drink the water in China. Every hotel provides bottled water for free, use that even for brushing your teeth. Buy bottled water, or boil your own using the electric water heater found in every hotel room.

Gifts for hosts

Suggestions:

  • A picture table book about your city or state
  • Vitamins from Costco or Vitamin Shoppe (they trust vitamins manufactured in American more than their own, with good reason)
  • American ginseng or ginseng vitamin
  • Cosmetic, ex: Estee Lauder, Clinique, Dior, Shiseido, Shu Uemura, etc.)

working

This website uses cookies

As a user in the EEA, your approval is needed on a few things. To provide a better website experience, hubpages.com uses cookies (and other similar technologies) and may collect, process, and share personal data. Please choose which areas of our service you consent to our doing so.

For more information on managing or withdrawing consents and how we handle data, visit our Privacy Policy at: https://corp.maven.io/privacy-policy

Show Details
Necessary
HubPages Device IDThis is used to identify particular browsers or devices when the access the service, and is used for security reasons.
LoginThis is necessary to sign in to the HubPages Service.
Google RecaptchaThis is used to prevent bots and spam. (Privacy Policy)
AkismetThis is used to detect comment spam. (Privacy Policy)
HubPages Google AnalyticsThis is used to provide data on traffic to our website, all personally identifyable data is anonymized. (Privacy Policy)
HubPages Traffic PixelThis is used to collect data on traffic to articles and other pages on our site. Unless you are signed in to a HubPages account, all personally identifiable information is anonymized.
Amazon Web ServicesThis is a cloud services platform that we used to host our service. (Privacy Policy)
CloudflareThis is a cloud CDN service that we use to efficiently deliver files required for our service to operate such as javascript, cascading style sheets, images, and videos. (Privacy Policy)
Google Hosted LibrariesJavascript software libraries such as jQuery are loaded at endpoints on the googleapis.com or gstatic.com domains, for performance and efficiency reasons. (Privacy Policy)
Features
Google Custom SearchThis is feature allows you to search the site. (Privacy Policy)
Google MapsSome articles have Google Maps embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
Google ChartsThis is used to display charts and graphs on articles and the author center. (Privacy Policy)
Google AdSense Host APIThis service allows you to sign up for or associate a Google AdSense account with HubPages, so that you can earn money from ads on your articles. No data is shared unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
Google YouTubeSome articles have YouTube videos embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
VimeoSome articles have Vimeo videos embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
PaypalThis is used for a registered author who enrolls in the HubPages Earnings program and requests to be paid via PayPal. No data is shared with Paypal unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
Facebook LoginYou can use this to streamline signing up for, or signing in to your Hubpages account. No data is shared with Facebook unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
MavenThis supports the Maven widget and search functionality. (Privacy Policy)
Marketing
Google AdSenseThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Google DoubleClickGoogle provides ad serving technology and runs an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Index ExchangeThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
SovrnThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Facebook AdsThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Amazon Unified Ad MarketplaceThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
AppNexusThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
OpenxThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Rubicon ProjectThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
TripleLiftThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Say MediaWe partner with Say Media to deliver ad campaigns on our sites. (Privacy Policy)
Remarketing PixelsWe may use remarketing pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to advertise the HubPages Service to people that have visited our sites.
Conversion Tracking PixelsWe may use conversion tracking pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to identify when an advertisement has successfully resulted in the desired action, such as signing up for the HubPages Service or publishing an article on the HubPages Service.
Statistics
Author Google AnalyticsThis is used to provide traffic data and reports to the authors of articles on the HubPages Service. (Privacy Policy)
ComscoreComScore is a media measurement and analytics company providing marketing data and analytics to enterprises, media and advertising agencies, and publishers. Non-consent will result in ComScore only processing obfuscated personal data. (Privacy Policy)
Amazon Tracking PixelSome articles display amazon products as part of the Amazon Affiliate program, this pixel provides traffic statistics for those products (Privacy Policy)
ClickscoThis is a data management platform studying reader behavior (Privacy Policy)