So you want to travel around China but aren’t sure what to pack. What exactly do you need when you are traveling in China? Here is a list of the 15 Essential Travel Items for China that we have compiled for you to help you plan your trip. These include some obvious items as well as some you might not have thought of.

Photo: Thomas Hawk

1. Guidebook

Yes, a guidebook like Lonely Planet, Rough Guide, Let’s Go or Frommer’s. Bring them along for the maps, and the listings of hotels and attractions. Be aware though, that in China there are buildings and businesses starting up and going out of business all the time. If you plan to arrive in the middle of the night at a hostel listed in your book, call and make sure it still exists first. The guidebooks are filled with useful maps, phrases and history; and really come in handy when you are calling hostels from the train station. Getting information online is great but the maps in books really help.

2. Sweat Rag

You laugh, but having a sweat rag is a godsend when you are traveling around China in the summertime. Standing in the inferno-like queue in the train station with your heavy pack on while you melt isn’t as amusing as it sounds. Having a sweat rag will allow you to wipe your brow in stations and on the trains and buses.

3. Clothesline

Bringing a string you can use as a clothesline is useful because after washing your clothes you definitely want them to dry, and clothes dryers are very seldom seen in China.

4. Detergent/Tide Washing Bar

Extremely useful for washing your clothes while on the go and in hostels.

5. Medicines

Stomach medicine - Yes, be mature people, you will regret it if you are the only one sick after eating chuanr the night before and you have no stomach medicine. There is nothing worse than not having stomach medicine before a day of traveling and having to face the train toilets.
Ibuprofen/pain reliever - They have aspirin at pharmacies, but having ibuprofen with you saves you the trouble of having to go find it. You never know when you may get a headache or sore muscles when traveling around.

6. Tampons

Ladies, you are in Maxi Pad-only land! If you are a woman who prefers tampons, bring your own – either from home or get them in the big cities – because you won’t find them in rural China.

7. Little Speakers

This is not an essential item by any means, but having little speakers is really nice when you are at the beach, having a picnic or hanging out having beers in the plaza.

Photo: Eric__I_E

 

8. Power Converter

 

Make sure you have a power converter to avoid blowing up any electronic devices that you may have. Check your devices and see which ones run on 220V.

9. Battery Charger

Rechargeable batteries are the way to go, and much cheaper than buying new ones every time. A lot of times people try to save money by buying cheaper batteries, only to find out they only last for about 3 pictures in their digital camera.

10. Little Wad-Up Rain Poncho

These are compact and you can use them anywhere. Good to have in case you encounter a surprise rainstorm.

11. Toilet Paper

Always carry TP with you! Every single day you should make sure you have tissues on you; Chinese toilets do not provide toilet paper unless you are in the nicer places, so, male or female, be prepared to always have your own toilet paper with you to avoid any disastrous situations (see above, stomach medicine)

12. Sunscreen

Bring sunscreen because most sunscreens in China have whiteners. The NIVEA brand is whitener-free but you can only find it at touristy places and it’s very expensive.

13. Deodorant

In smaller towns in China, deodorant is hard to find. Even in big cities at Western pharmacies, finding deodorant with antiperspirant is difficult.

14. Insect Repellant

Because you never know when the hostel screen will have a hole, or the window on the train will be open. Without it, you may deeply regret not having any because you stayed up all night swatting away and smashing mosquitoes against your forehead with the incessant buzzing sound keeping you away all night.

15. Ear Plugs

I have saved the best for last. You may laugh because you think to yourself, “But I’m a heavy sleeper!” Yes, that may very well be, but on a hard seat train or in a night bus in China when someone above you is snoring or making a noise like a cat hocking up a hairball, you will be prepared if you bring earplugs and can relish in your slumber. These also come in handy when you are in the hostel and the person below you decides to wake up at 5:30 am to rearrange their suitcase and rustle anything plastic within reach. They are also useful when you stay in a hotel as well, because the staff sometimes believe that 8am on Saturday morning, after you have had a long night out, is the perfect time to clean all the surrounding rooms and vacuum the hall.

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