Yeah, I've never understood why my wife is utterly inept with a map.

Peter Hessler�s "Country Driving"

Chinese Can�t Read Maps



These early Chinese maps were well drawn, but the fundamental approach was narrowly practical rather than scientific. They relied heavily on words rather than symbols. Landscapes were warped to emphasize whatever happened to be of prime interest.

It wasn�t surprising that rural people had little understanding of maps, but this was also true for educated Chinese. Even professional drivers with years of experience could be hopelessly confused by a simple atlas. Maps simply aren�t part of modern culture, despite the fact that the Chinese have an impressive ancient history of cartography.

�In China, it�s not such a terrible thing to be lost, because nobody else knows exactly where they�re going, either.�


http://stibrigade.blogspot.com/2011/...s-on-maps.html

Given my wife is the same, not sure that is due to race!

tb

Who said anything about race? My wife is China-born.

Basically everything that's labeled as related to race is really a cultural issue.

The implication was that people who grow up in China have a harder than average time dealing with maps. On this, I will simply state, "no comment."

Back on topic, when I made the map suggestion earlier in this thread, I had already considered the counterargument that gave rise to our current tangent (which I knew was bound to occur). Basically, if you have a map with your destination circled, even if the driver doesn't know how to get there based on the map, he should at least recognize the name of the locale... no different than the name of a hotel written on a business card.

People that grow up in China?

How about native Chinese.

IAre there some people we are missing here?

or culture then...

tb

One would think . . . .although I have had more trouble providing a map with the destination clearly named than a simple card. It's as if the map confuses anything else printed on the page.

Agree that we should try to veer back on-topic.

However, OP has not returned to thread, and is probably steeling himself for the journey ahead -- it's possible the routing was to ensure making EXP for 2012 -- a sort of MR with holiday tagged on. Having just done a mammoth work trip myself, which involved an even longer routing (but unavoidable in my case, unlike the OP), I can understand why...

Hope they managed to glean something useful from the thread: if nothing else, that China is not a scary place to be: yes, it can be disorientating to be illiterate again with some signs/menus etc, but for the tourist trail (and in general!), it's pretty visitor friendly.

tb

Back again -- sorry for the absence. IT has made it difficult to do much more than view the thread. (Darn those Dept. of Defense regulations!)

As far as the routing, well, I realize it's pretty insane. As a PLT flyer, I'm unable to earn SWUs and so, when I hit 2MM and received four of them, I decided I was going to get as much mileage (literally and figuratively) out of them as possible before their Feb. 2013 expiration.

The routing was the best we could get from FRA to PEK on AA metal. Except for the TATL segments for which we're still on the upgrade list, we're flying in F, something else I rarely get to enjoy when flying TATL.

Yes, we're spending beaucoup bucks for those free SWUs but, given our jobs and family situations, we don't think there will be another opportunity to visit China in the foreseeable future.

Unfortunately, with return flights scheduled for the next calendar year, my wife and I are unable to gain status as trueblu thought might be the case.

The thread has provided useful information and, for that, I'm very appreciative. I have a few additional questions as well as responses/clarifications that I'll make in separate replies.

Thank you all.

Thank you for the reply, moondog. I'm sorry I was unable to respond sooner.

My wife had spoken with friends who had apparently lived in China for a few years. She was told that we should have a local escort whenever we leave the hotel to guide us because of the language barriers, among other things. She also heard group tours are herded through souvenir shops and can't get to the intended site until everyone buys something. Plus, she was told we have to register with the local police upon arrival.

Even if all that were true, and if we could afford the private escort, where's the fun in that? I'm for the adventure in exploring a little bit of China, even if it means getting lost now and then.

I understand my wife's concerns, and I need to be mindful of not dismissing them outright based on the information provided by, in her words, "strangers on an Internet forum," as I want many more years happily living with her. But you all are experts in one way or another here and I feel I your suggestions and advice are to our benefit. But that's me; unless my wife hears it from someone directly....

We're going to skip making a side trip outside of China; you and drewguy are right, there's no point in spending more time than necessary getting to and from airports and on planes. We still need to arrange the visit to Xi'an and the Terracotta Warriors; I'll see if I can do that without having to go through the Hilton.

Thanks very much for the advice!

If you're staying at hotels, you don't have to worry about this because they'll register you. If you're staying with friends, registration is easy enough (they should no which PSB is responsible for them), but I usually don't stress this issue (call me crazy... no problems yet apart from a mild scolding once during the course of 12 years).

I must say that I'm a bit surprised by your wife's friends' paranoia because that certainly doesn't reflect the sentiments of any people I know. Perhaps they lived in a diplomatic compound, and didn't get out much?

Tried to change Hilton locations to that which you've booked but it was a no-go. Even more disappointing is that I can't take advantage of rdchen's find of a Hilton 50% promo (although I'm still going to do my best to get it).

In re. to getting to/from the airport, we've made prepaid (voucher) arrangements for shuttle transportation. It should be interesting as the flight arrives in PEK at 23h30, with customs and immigration procedures following, so the time we actually get to the vehicle will be well after that time.

Regards,

I would just grab a taxi... cheaper, and no need to stress about finding your driver.

We're staying at hotels so the police registration is apparently one less thing for my wife to worry about. Thank you for that info.

I'm not sure of the circumstances under which my wife's friends were living, and why they strongly made the escort/guide recommendation, but I'm pretty sure they were living in China as regular civilians (as opposed to DoD or diplomatic employees).

Two quick questions while I'm thinking of them --

+ We'd like to update friends and family with photos and notes -- is Facebook available or is that restricted?

+ As mentioned in my reply to tiblot, we arrive late but arranged prepaid shuttle transportation. Unless necessary to do otherwise in your opinion, we'll arrive without Chinese currency but will exchange USD the next day. Would I be better off having at least have some money in hand upon arrival? If so, I'll look to exchange at DFW or ORD.

Thank you again for the advice -- and patience.