Beijing may take a little getting used to

Harriet Baskas Travel writer

Unless the International Olympic Committee acts fast and makes heaving overweight carry-on bags into overhead airplane bins an official Olympic sport, my chances of visiting Beijing this summer are nil.

But if committee members do finally come to their senses, I'm ready to go. I've been practicing my technique on plane trips with multiple connections. And I've been prepping for free time in Beijing by gathering advice on how to be a well-mannered traveler in China.

Here's what I found out:

A new meaning for spit and polish
With 50,000 visitors expected to arrive in Beijing for the 2008 Summer Games, it's no surprise that government officials have cleaned up the city and ordered citizens to be on their best behavior. By now, folks should know what that means. After all, as NBC news correspondent Mark Mullen noted in his World Blog, this past February the People's Republic introduced a "public civility campaign," complete with slogans and banners, aimed at getting citizens to stop spitting so much, to stop cutting in line and to stop doing other things that Mullen writes, "would not be good manners to describe."

Like what?
Most Olympic visitors will probably not want to know. Or need to. “Beijing is an international tourist destination with modern hotels, restaurants, bars/clubs and transportation, so it's not as scary a destination as many may make it out to be,” says John Campbell, a writer and music promoter who has lived in China for eight years. “In the Olympic areas, chances are that many visitors may not actually run into parts of the city untouched by the short-term cleanup” anyway.

That said, Campbell advises visitors to come prepared for “smelly and dirty bathrooms, restaurants that aren't spic and span, locals who may stare at foreigners, point at foreigners, and in some cases, request to touch a curly head of hair or a beard and don't see anything wrong with doing so; and fellow diners who talk loudly, drink loudly, slurp their soup and chew with their mouths open ...”

Frequent business traveler Vickie Nauman agrees. “Remember that China has been closed off from the rest of the world, so many common practices and customs make sense in China, but they may not make sense to you — at all.”

Slide show   Postcards from China Take a tour of the impressive sights in and around Beijing, from Tiananmen Square to the Forbidden City. more photos

Her advice: “Have a sense of humor about these differences,” especially when it comes to spitting and toilets. “Ladies may need to squat because toilets are often in the ground. And those toilets may smell unlike anything you've experienced before. Bring small packs of tissues, because there's rarely toilet paper in the bathrooms.”

When it comes to spitting, says Nauman, “People have loud productive coughs and subsequent spitting. It is common to see men, women and even kids hocking one in the streets. Try to ignore it or it will aggravate you at every step.”

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Vicky Collins, a freelance television producer on assignment in Beijing for the Olympics, says, “It is true that there's a lot of spitting going on. Today I applauded a man on the street who was practicing some martial arts with a type of spear.  He looked extremely pleased with my praise, gave me thumbs up then hawked a loogie.”

Stay safe: Watch out for topics and taxis
Bonnie Girard has lived in China for at least 21 years and is the President of China Channel Limited. She advises visitors to nix certain topics of conversation. “You risk putting your Chinese colleagues, friends, hosts or acquaintances into a sticky — if not risky — position if you try to force conversations about controversial political or religious issues. Don’t jeopardize someone else's freedom in the exercise of one's own.”

Girard also encourages travelers to avoid sticky situations on the road: “China has one of the worst records in the world for fatalities per number of vehicles on the road. Your life is worth more than the embarrassment or the ‘face’ of a bad driver if you happen to be in a car with one. So if you are in a car with a bad driver, say that you have a heart problem or are sick and you need them to slow down and drive sanely. If language is an issue, use sign language. Ham it up.”

Bruce McIndoe, President of iJET Intelligent Risk Systems, says things aren't any safer or easier for pedestrians. “Getting across the street is like the game ‘Frogger.’ When you go across the street, you're advancing lane by lane and trying to zigzag your way safely through traffic.” Accidents are so common that McIndoe urges travelers to bring along their own first aid kit and to check if their medical insurance offers coverage while in China. If it doesn't, he suggests buying a medical insurance policy for travelers. “People need to be psychologically prepared,” says MCindoe. “This is a rough and tumble, grimy environment. It's not like London or Washington, D.C. Beijing is congested, hot, and dirty. You have to adapt to that and live with that — and come prepared.”

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