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Always carry tissues! Top 10 things to do and 12 tips for traveling in China

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APD

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China is a vast and culturally diverse country, which makes traveling in it for the first time incredibly daunting. China Daily sums up the most famous to help foreign travelers plan their China tours, and the forum readers share some tips -- from their experiences -- to make newcomers' lives a little easier. Have you got your own China travel tips? You're welcome to add yours.

**Top 10 things to do in China

**

  1. Walk the Great Wall

Tourists visit the Badaling Great Wall under the scorching sun in Beijing, China, August 9, 2013. Photo: China Daily

  1. See the giant pandas of Chengdu

A panda plays with bamboo at the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding. Photo: China Daily

  1. Experience a Chinese high-speed train ride

Train attendants wait to board the D628 CRH, china Railway high-speed, bullet train bound for Shanghai at the Chengdu Railway station in Chengdu city, southwest Chinas Sichuan province, July 1, 2014.Photo: China Daily

  1. Visit the Terracotta Warriors

A foreign tourist stands near a Terracotta warrior replica as she poses for a photo at the Museum of Qin Terracotta Warriors and Horses in Xi'an, in central China's Shaanxi province on July 30, 2013.Photo: China Daily

  1. Bamboo raft up the Li River

Elderly fishermen and cormorants are seen on bamboo rafts on Lijiang River in Gulin city, southwest Chinas Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, June 14, 2013.Photo: China Daily

  1. Sample a hot pot in Sichuan

Hot pot in Chongqing on Dec 16, 2014.Photo: China Daily

  1. Cruise the Three Gorges

A cruise ship sails on the Yangtze River in the Xiling Gorge scenic spot of the Three Gorges in Yichang city, central Chinas Hubei province, on May 19, 2013.Photo: China Daily

  1. Take in the Shanghai skyline from the Bund

A tourist visits the promenade on the bund in Shanghai, China, November 12, 2014.Photo: China Daily

  1. Stroll around romantic West Lake

A foreign tourist take pictures of West Lake in Hangzhou, on May 14, 2014.Photo: China Daily

  1. Visit the Potala Palace

Tourists visit the Potala Palace in Lhasa, capital of southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region, July 18, 2013. Photo: Xinhua

**Top 12 tips for traveling in China

**

  1. Travel light. Most hotels here provide toothbrushes/paste, soap, shampoo, etc. They even provide house shoes!

Interior of a guest room in a hotel in Dezhou, Shandong province on May 9, 2010. Photo: China Daily

  1. Don't travel during holiday season.

Tourists visit the West Lake during the National Day holidays in Hangzhou, capital of east China's Zhejiang Province, Oct. 3, 2013. The scenic West Lake, a UNESCO World Heritage site, drew over 1 million visitors in a single day for the first time, according to statistics. Photo:Xinhua

  1. Always carry tissues. You won't find toilet paper in public bathrooms.

Pedestrians walk past a camera-shaped toilet in Jiulongpo district, Chongqing, China, on February 7, 2014.Photo: China Daily

  1. Carry a translation device in case you need to ask questions.

Language skill does not seem that important until you step out of Beijing and Shanghai. Having a handy dictionary stored in your handset makes a world of difference when exploring many other Chinese cities.Photo: China Daily

  1. Always buy bottle water. Tap water is undrinkable in China.

A man closes a tap water faucet to conserve water in Shanghai, China, on March 1, 2005.Photo: China Daily

  1. Learn some basic courtesy vocabulary: xie-xie - thank you. Qing wen - Please, may I ask? Mai dan - the bill please. Hui shuo ying wen ma? - Can you speak English? Bu hao yi si - I'm sorry/excuse me.

A foreign businessman learns some basic Chinese in Yiwu, Zhejiang province on Nov 24, 2014.Photo: China Daily

  1. Travel with friends, possibly those who live in the country.

Foreign tourists take pictures in China.Photo: China Daily

  1. Always try as many varieties of food as possible.

A booth that sells fried scorpions captures a foreigner's attention in Wangfujing street, Beijing on Sept 22, 2013.Photo: China Daily

  1. Take trains whenever possible. Chinese trains are the best bargain for the money to move in the country, as well as the safest.

A foreign tourist poses in front of the Shanghai to Beijing bullet trains at Hongqiao railway station in Shanghai on June 30, 2011.Photo: China Daily

  1. Get your destination written in Chinese, and always ask first before you take a taxi.

A foreigner takes a taxi in Guangzhou on August 2, 2010.Photo: China Daily

(CHINA DAILY)