Originally Posted by
moondog
Where did you pluck that 90% figure from? (I'd be inclined to say the opposite.) In any event, China is a ridiculously easy place to navigate without speaking the language. Once you arrive, you'll surely be surprised by how nicely things fall into place.
90% of visitors would speak mandarin...less than 5% foreign non-chinese tourists would speak mandarin and less than .05 % foreign non-chinese tourist would speak any dialect except cantonese.