地图、手纸、VPN，外国人的中国旅行指南

China is one of the world’s most exciting and rewarding places to visit, but can be intimidating even to experienced travelers, who might struggle with communication and lack of familiarity with rules and customs. Here’s a handful of practical tips to help make sure your trip to the world’s most populous country is smooth sailing from start to finish.

中国是世界上最令人激动、最值得一去的地方之一，但就连经验丰富的旅行者都会有些忌惮，担心遇到沟通不畅或不熟悉当地规矩和习俗的问题。以下是一些实用小贴士，能帮助你在这个世界上人口最多的国家安然度过整个旅程。

Easier Visas 简易签证

The good news: Those annoying and expensive single-entry visas are a thing of the past. Americans can now apply for a 10-year, multiple-entry visa from the Chinese consulate. Download the form from the embassy website, type up the application and bring copies of your travel itinerary to your local consulate or embassy (depending on your location). Several days and a $140 fee later, you should be all set. There are also visa services that, for a fee, will take your application to the consulate for you.

好消息：那些麻烦又昂贵的单次入境签证已经成为历史了。美国人现在可以向中国大使馆申请10年多次往返签证。从大使馆网站下载表格，填好申请，再带上行程单的副本去往当地的领事馆或大使馆(这取决于你所在地点)。付费140美元，再等上几天，你就一切就绪了。也有有偿的签证服务，可以替你去领馆递交申请。

One other important note: Passport and visa expiration dates rarely line up exactly, creating situations where a passport might expire while a visa is still valid. I found myself in this exact situation before my last trip — would I have to go through the whole costly and time-consuming application process again? No — you are allowed to travel on a valid visa that’s in an expired passport as long as personal details like name and date of birth match up exactly (bring both passports).

还有一个重要的注意事项：护照和签证的有效期很少重合，这会造成护照过期而签证依然有效的情况。我在上一次旅行前就发现自己正好遇到了这个问题——我是否要再走一遍这个昂贵而费时的申请程序?不用——只要姓名、出生日期等个人信息能够完全匹配，你就能使用过期护照中的签证旅游(把两本护照都带上)。

Cashlessness 无现金

You’ll notice blue and green QR codes at nearly every business in China, from the glitziest boutique to the most humble dumpling shop. WeChat Pay and Alipay are gradually turning the Chinese economy cashless: Simply enter the amount you want to pay, scan the business’s QR code, and boom, you have paid directly from your bank account. It’s something of a revolution — one that you, as a tourist, will not be a part of.

在中国，上至奢华的时装店，下至最简陋的饺子馆，不论在哪你几乎都能看见蓝色和绿色的二维码。微信支付和支付宝逐渐让中国经济向无现金转变：只需输入你想支付的金额，扫描商家的二维码，就能直接用银行账户进行付款。这是一种革命——一种你身为游客无法参与的革命。

Cashless payment in China requires a Chinese bank card, which you can’t get unless you’re a citizen or resident. Don’t count on businesses accepting your foreign credit card, either — you’ll frequently find yourself out of luck. So load up on cash when you can — fortunately, I’ve never had trouble finding A.T.M.s in Chinese cities, and withdrawing from Chinese currency with my American debit card has been trouble-free. If you want to play it safe, you can exchange for some at your local bank before you go.

中国的无现金支付需要有中国的银行卡，而如果你不是中国公民或居民就无法办理。也别指望商家接受你的外国信用卡——你往往会失望的。所以多装上一些现金吧——好在，我在中国的城市里找ATM时并不麻烦，用美国借记卡按中国货币结算取款也没有问题。如果你想谨慎行事，可以在动身之前在当地的银行换一些现金。

Ride Sharing, With a Hiccup 叫车服务——但有个小问题

While you probably won’t be participating in the cashless revolution, you will be able to use Didi Chuxing, the Chinese version of Uber (the company, in fact, purchased Uber’s operations in China in 2016, forcing them out). I found Didi to be inexpensive and as reliable as Uber is in the United States, with one caveat: paying by credit card. Didi wouldn’t accept my Chase card, but did accept one from my credit union. Then, unfortunately, my credit union repeatedly flagged the charges as suspicious, leading to several long phone conversations with the fraud department. While not foolproof, you can set a travel notification on the card you plan to use before you leave. You can also enroll in text notifications for fraudulent activity, which allow you to verify the veracity of charges right away.

虽然你可能不会参与无现金革命，但你能使用中国版优步(Uber)——滴滴出行(事实上，这家公司在2016年收购了优步在中国的业务，迫使其退出中国)。我发现滴滴出行并不贵，还和在美国的优步一样可靠，不过有一点：要用信用卡付款。滴滴出行不接受我的Chase信用卡，但接受了一张信用合作社卡。只是很不幸，我的合作社再三将这些扣费标记为可疑交易，引来了诈骗处理部门的好几通长时电话。虽然不是万无一失，但你可以在出门之前在准备使用的卡上设置一个旅行提醒。也可以办理诈骗活动的短信提醒，这能让你立即确认扣款的真实性。

Phone Hacks 电话小窍门

Speaking of phone conversations, I found the best way to cheaply make calls was through the WeChat app. A $9.99 credit (which comes with a $2.50 bonus), purchased within the app, lasts a long time. Calls to the United States are only a penny per minute, and the sound quality is decent. Texting on WeChat is easy, and I was also able to use iMessage without issue. WhatsApp is blocked in China.

说到打电话，我发现最便宜的方法就是使用微信应用。花9.99美元在应用内购买的点数(还会附赠2.50美元)可以使用很长时间。打给美国的电话每分钟只需1美分，通话音质也很好。用微信发短消息很简单，使用iMessage也很顺利。WhatsApp在中国是被屏蔽的。

Staying Safe 保障安全

While you should always remain alert, China is remarkably safe for foreigners. In total, I’ve spent over a year in China, and have never felt in danger or threatened while walking around, no matter the hour.

你应该时刻保持警惕，但是中国对于外国人来说还是非常安全的。我加起来在中国待了有一年多，不论什么时候出去逛，都从未感到危险或人身安全受到威胁。

Chinese traffic, however, can be horrendous, and navigating streets as a pedestrian is always an adventure. Buckle up when in a vehicle, and be extremely careful when crossing the street: Cars do not necessarily yield to pedestrians, and motorcycles and scooters do not seem to yield to anything — not even red lights.

然而，中国的交通非常可怕，作为行人要顺利通过大街永远都是冒险。乘坐交通工具请系好安全带，过马路时也要格外小心：车不一定会让行人，而摩托车和脚踏车似乎什么都不让——甚至连红灯都不让。

Getting Online 上网

While you won’t be able to buy a SIM card for your phone that includes a Chinese phone number, data plans with 4G speed are available for foreigners. Check at the airport (I bought one in a convenience store), or at the hostel or hotel where you’re staying, and be ready to show your passport.

虽然你可能买不了有中国号码的手机SIM卡，但外国人可以购买4G流量套餐。看看机场有没有(我在便利店里买过一个)，或是你住的青年旅社或酒店，做好出示护照的准备。

Wi-Fi is everywhere in China, from the pricey malls of Shanghai to modest mom-and-pop restaurants in the smaller cities. The bad news is that you won’t be able to access it some of the time, as it frequently requires you to enter a local phone number to receive a Wi-Fi access code.

中国到处都有Wi-Fi，不论是在上海昂贵的购物中心，还是小城市里简陋的夫妻饭馆。坏消息是，有时你可能无法连上这些网络，因为它往往会要求你输入中国手机号码来接收连接Wi-Fi的密码。

There are ways to circumvent this. Having a WeChat account will grant access to certain Wi-Fi networks. I also use a Google Voice number to receive internet access codes, which works part of the time. But wait — isn’t Google blocked in China? That brings us to …

要绕过这一步也有些方法。有了微信账户就能在一些Wi-Fi网络下获得访问许可。我也会用谷歌语音服务(Google Voice)的号码接收网络访问许可的密码，这有时能用。但是等等——中国不是把谷歌屏蔽了吗?这就让我们说到……

Virtual Private Networks 虚拟专用网络(VPN)

The Chinese government does a fairly thorough job censoring websites and traffic from sources it deems potentially unsavory or damaging to the ruling Communist Party. Say goodbye to Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, any Google-related services (including Gmail), and even (gasp!) The New York Times.

对于被视为会给中国共产党造成不良影响或损害的网站或流量来源，中国审查得十分彻底。和Facebook、Instagram、Twitter以及一切和谷歌有关的服务(包括Gmail)说再见吧，甚至还有(倒吸一口冷气!)《纽约时报》。

There are, however, a few holes in the Great Firewall, as it is called. Virtual Private Networks, or VPNs, essentially function as tunnels under the aforementioned firewall, connecting to a private network in a country with more internet freedom, like the United States or Japan. (VPNs are a legal gray area in China. The unauthorized business or commercial use of VPNs in China is not legal, but tourists checking their email or Facebook are not likely to run into problems.) While it’s a fairly easy way for you — and almost every young Chinese person I interacted with — to connect with the outside world, VPNs do have limitations: They can slow traffic noticeably, and aren’t always reliable.

但是，这个所谓的防火长城有一些漏洞。VPN的功能大体就是在刚刚提到的防火墙底下挖通的隧道，能通往如美国和日本等网络更自由的国家的私人网络。(VPN是中国法律的灰色地带。在中国未经授权的经营或商业使用VPN是违法的，但游客用它来看看邮件和Facebook倒不太可能遇上什么麻烦。)虽然对你——以及对我接触过的几乎所有年轻的中国人——来说，用它与外面的世界联系还是很简单的，但VPN也有它的局限：它们会显著减缓网速，而且有时不稳定。

There are a number of well-reviewed VPNs with names like Golden Frog and NordVPN — I opted for one called ExpressVPN, which costs $12.95 per month and offers a discount if you purchase a yearly subscription. I’d put my overall connection success rate between 85 and 90 percent. I also tried a free service called TunnelBear with slightly less consistent results. TunnelBear is free up to 500 megabytes of data per month — after that, you’ll have to pay. To get an idea of how long that will last you, loading The Times home page and clicking on an article consumed 6 megabytes.

有一些口碑不错的VPN，比如Golden Frog和NordVPN，我选的是ExpressVPN，每月的费用为12.95美元，如果你订购一年的可以打折。我的总体连接成功率在85%至90%之间。我还用过一个名为TunnelBear的免费VPN，它的连接成功率略低。TunnelBear每个月最多提供500MB的免费数据——超过这个量，你就得付费。至于这能用多久，我举个例子：加载时报的主页并点击一篇文章会消耗6MB。

One obvious, but essential, tip: Download and set up your VPN before you leave for China. Once you’re there, you’ll be blocked from downloading any VPNs.

有一个显而易见但很重要的提示：在前往中国之前，下载并设置好VPN。一旦你到了那里，就无法再下载任何VPN。

Navigation 导航

If you’re like me, you’ve come to depend on Google Maps considerably during your travels. In China, you would be wise to rid yourself of that notion. Even with a VPN, Google Maps in China is filled with incomplete or sometimes just flat-out incorrect information. For example: There are no fewer than six subway lines currently operating in Chengdu. According to Google Maps, there are just two.

如果你像我一样，在旅行中非常依赖谷歌地图，那么在中国，你应该明智地摆脱这种观念。即使有VPN，中国的谷歌地图也充满不完整甚至完全错误的信息。例如，成都目前运营的地铁线路不少于6条。而谷歌地图上只有两条。

I recommend downloading the app Tencent Maps for your trip. While it can be difficult to navigate for those who don’t read Chinese, it’s worth having for its accuracy. Moreover, it will sometimes recognize English words you input (“airport,” and names of some businesses, for example). It also does a great job plotting out directions. Just drop a pin (like you would in Google Maps) on a location in Tencent Maps, and it will give you accurate public transportation, driving, or walking directions.

我建议你下载腾讯地图。虽然不懂中文的人用它导航可能有些困难，但它还是值得下载，因为它的准确性很高。此外，它有时能识别你输入的英语单词(例如，“airport”和一些企业的名字)。它也能很好地规划路线。你只需在腾讯地图上定位一个地点(就像你在谷歌地图上做的那样)，它就能给你提供准确的公共交通、驾驶和行走路线。

Other Apps 其他应用

WeChat dominates the country and is used to keep in touch with friends, pay for meals in restaurants, get news and play games — it even serves as something of a dating app. Download it if you’re going to spend any significant amount of time in China, as you will need it to keep in touch with locals you meet along the way. Just don’t use the messaging feature to say anything you wouldn’t want the Chinese government to read — your privacy protections are nil (WeChat disputes the extent to which it stores and shares information with Chinese authorities).

微信在中国的普及率很高，它被用于与朋友保持联系、在餐馆付账、获取新闻和玩游戏，它甚至能用于交友。如果你打算在中国待上一段时间，就得下载一个微信，因为你需要用它与你在旅途中遇到的当地人保持联系。只不过，不要用它的短信功能来表达任何你不想让中国政府阅读的内容——它几乎毫不保护你的隐私(至于信息的存储以及分享给中国当局的程度，腾讯公司有不同说法)。

I’ve found Pleco to be a useful translation app — you can drop in English words, or paste in Chinese characters to receive their counterparts. And Dianping, the Chinese version of Yelp, is helpful for finding restaurants.

我发现Pleco是一个很有用的翻译应用程序——你可以输入英文单词或粘贴中文词语，来获取对应的中文或英文。此外，中国的Yelp——“大众点评”对寻找餐馆很有帮助。

Finally, T.P. 最后一点：手纸

You’ll notice plenty of well-maintained public restrooms in China, but they’re not always stocked with toilet paper. You would be wise to carry a small stash with you. This applies to napkins in restaurants as well — at smaller, more casual places, diners are expected to have their own supply on hand.

你在中国能找到很多维护得很好的公共厕所，但它们并不都配备手纸。你最好随身带点。餐馆里的餐巾纸也是如此——在相对小的、简易的餐厅里，食客需要自备餐巾纸。