There is no such thing as a perfect trip, and to be honest, even my most memorable (good and bad) travels are ones where the unthinkable occurs. Sometimes these incidents are blessings in disguise leading to extraordinary experiences. On the other hand, they can be a nightmare. When traveling in a foreign country like China, there’s definitely a chance that the latter will occur, but the good news is most of these tragedies have simple solutions and are easily fixed. Here are five tips to help you avoid travel horror stories while traveling in China.

1) Passport matters
First of all, it’s a law for foreigners to carry their passports with them at all times, and you’ll need it to check into hotels, buy train tickets and even get admittance into certain tourist attractions. I was detained in Aksu, Xinjiang, for 24 hours for not having my passport before!

Unfortunately, carrying your passport increases the chances of losing it or getting it stolen, so to prevent that from happening try bringing a photocopy instead of the real thing when out and about for the day (but definitely have the real one on you when checking into hotels or on the road travelling). But if the worst case scenario happens and your passport “mysteriously” disappears, getting a new one is relatively simple. All you have to do is go to your nearest consulate or embassy, bring another form of ID and they should be able to get you a new one within the week. Having a photocopy of your passport will also speed up the process when getting a new one at the embassy. The moral of the story is come loaded with several copies of your passport and your Chinese visa; it could save you a lot of time in the long run.

2) Get ripped off
Scams are everywhere in China. If someone (no matter how “innocent” they may appear) asks you to come with them to “look at an art gallery,” "practice English,” “experience a tea ceremony,” or any other enticing proposal, you might want to stay clear. Sometimes there are genuinely good people out there who legitimately just want to be nice, but to be honest it’s not worth taking the chance of getting swindled. Furthermore, many taxis, rickshaws, etc. will try to overcharge you. Always negotiate a price before getting in, or insist the taxi driver uses the meter. It is also a good idea to ask your hotel or hostel the price of taking transport to certain places to give you a ballpark estimate of what you should be paying.

3) Language barriers
The language barrier and misinterpretation can certainly lead to some sketchy situations. One time in Ya’an, Sichuan, when I tried asking for a hotel in basic Mandarin, the taxi driver ended up bringing me to a brothel. I also can’t count how many times I’ve tried ordering a dish at a restaurant only to get something that resembles a fetus. Luckily, with a bit of modern technology, a lot of these mishaps can be dodged. I’d recommend using a Chinese dictionary app like Pleco Dictionary, or one of the handy smart phone apps, that will read the characters on a menu and tell you exactly what the food is. If you’re a picky eater, or just want to avoid prickly situations, click this link to read more about our favorite apps for when travelling in China.

4) Health & Safety
When traveling in China, it’s advised to have a good health insurance plan; there’s just too much chaos out there that can spoil your trip. Unfortunately, insurance can only reimburse your wallet, meaning if something really bad happens, you’ll still probably end up in the hospital. As a word of thumb, many Chinese hospitals, especially in rural areas, are in appalling states. When I was living in Henan, the only hospital in town allowed smoking, making the air smell more like the neighborhood KTV than a place where complex surgeries are going on.

If you must go to the hospital, definitely try to make it to a larger 1st tier or 2nd tier city since they should have more modern standards, and these cities might even have foreign specialists if you’re willing to fork over the cash. It’s also a good idea to carry a basic travel first aid kit on you with syringes and other basic items to help you in an emergency, especially when travelling in more rural areas.

On another note, remember that road accidents are one of the leading causes of death and injury in China. Looking both ways before crossing the street and staying alert at crosswalks and even sidewalks will certainly decrease your chance of staying out of the ER.

5) Toilets
Hmm, what can you really say about this one? Chinese toilets are deplorable and I will go on record right now to say that China has the worst public restroom facilities in the world. But just don’t take my word for it, the Huffington Post ran an article on the top nine countries with the worst public toilets and guess what, the Middle Kingdom was one of them. If you gotta go you gotta go, but try using the app SitorSquat which will not only tell you the closest WC near you; but will also have live updates regarding the cleanliness of each facility to help you decide whether you should, well, for lack of a better term, sit or squat. An essential tip for confronting Chinese toilets is to bring your own toilet paper when going to a public restroom here. They will not provide you with any for free.

Following these tips will hopefully ease some of the stress that is involved with travelling in China. So to sum it up, know where all your stuff is, and just in case keep copies, look where you are going (including who you are following) and always have toilet paper!! Hope you all have a great October holiday and if I’ve left off some good tips that you have realized along the way post them in the comments below.

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Keywords: Avoiding travel horror stories traveling in China; horror stories in China