We've entertained dozens of guests from all over the world. China is often considered a difficult country to visit, but we can make your trip a breeze. We can cater to all budgets, tastes and life styles. Below is the summary of the trip for a simple factory tour. We can of course arrange trips which includes tons of extra shopping (Shenzhen, Beijing road are popular), tourist destinations (Great Wall & Terracotta Warriors are favorites) or business related endeavors like the Canton Fair (in October and April every year). Just let us know what you'd like to do and how much time you have and we'll find a way to make it happen.
This guide is a simple overview of the trips that many have taken before. There are many ways to visit China and more things to do and see then you could fit in a lifetime. It is by no means comprehensive and you are welcome to travel any way and see anything that you'd like. We've just simplified things a little for people who have never travelled to this part of the world before.
Don't forget that if you've already placed your order and it's in production in China, you are more then welcome to fly over and lend a helping hand. This gives you the ultimate in customization as every aspect of your new wrecker or carrier can be built under your supervision to your specification. No one else is able or willing to give their customers this amount of freedom to get exactly what they want and how they want it.
Your first step before booking a flight should be to obtain a Chinese visa. This needs to be done in conjunction with the Chinese embassy in your country. Try to get a multiple entry visa as it’ll enable you to re-enter China if need be. Next book your flight, preferably to Hong Kong. Flights between North America and Hong Kong are the cheapest way to fly to Asia, tickets can be had for as little as $900 depending on the time of year and when you book. Try to get flight times such that you land in Hong Kong as early as possible in the day.
Webb or another English speaking guide can meet you at the Hong Kong airport and arrange for local transportation. Now is the best time to exchange your money for Chinese currency. If your flight lands before 4pm, you’ll be able to catch the ferry to Panyu, Guangdong (where our factory is located). The ferry is the fastest (only two hours) and most comfortable way to enter China. The seats are spacious, it is air conditioned, the waters are very calm and immigration/emigration is hassle free. Another option is to spend the night in Hong Kong, but expect to pay 200-300USD per night at a reasonable hotel.
Alternatively, if your flight lands in the evening, we’ll catch a double plated taxi to cross the border and we’ll spend the night at the newly constructed South Union Hotel. The South Union is rated as four stars and our corporate rates allow our guests to stay for a third of the list price (about $50USD per night). The following day you’ll have the option of shopping in Shenzhen – arguably the best deals in China - or heading directly to Panyu. Shenzhen has thousands of electronics, clothing, knickknack and knock-off shops where haggling is an absolute necessity. (see the shopping guide) We’ll have the options of dining at local or foreign restaurants. Restaurants here can cater to vegetarian, halal or kosher needs. Travel within Shenzhen is by taxi, foot or subway.
There are two options get to Panyu from Shenzhen, bus or private car; depending on your budget. Both work equally well and are comfortable. Travel time is about two hours and there’s always plenty of interesting things to see. This will be your first opportunity to see the unique way that the Chinese people drive. Don’t let it get to you or scare you, accidents are relatively uncommon and the drivers are surprisingly talented in the way that they drive – just don’t expect western style road rules.
We have two options for guests, our guesthouse which includes three bedrooms with western toilet or one of several local hotels which are are up to three stars. Hotels cost about $25-$50 per night and there is no charge to use our guesthouse. Availability of the guesthouse depends on the number of the visitors that we have at any single time.
Once again there are two options depending on when your flight leaves. (of course there are hundreds of options, but these are the two mostly often selected by our guests. If your flight departs after 2pm, you have the option to take the ferry to Hong Kong (175RMB for 1st Class). Once again this is your fastest and most comfortable option. Once you’ve cleared the Hong Kong customs, exchange some money (you’ll need no more than 200HKD for two people) and take a taxi to Kowloon Station. It is a 5minute drive and the fee should be 20HKD plus 5HKD per bag. If the fee is more then 30HKD and the drive is taking longer than 10minutes in traffic, you are being taken on a tour of Hong Kong and they are trying to rip you off. Get out immediately and alert the police if they are near. Once at Kowloon Station, you can buy a single ticket to the airport for 90HKD or a pair of tickets for 140HKD. The ride to the airport is about 20minutes.
If your flight leaves early in the morning, your best bet is to travel to Shenzhen the day before. There you can get a few more hours of shopping in and stay at the South Union Hotel for the night. Through the hotel, you can arrange for a private car to take you strait to the airport for as little as 500RMB. You will of course have to take your bags through Chinese and Hong Kong customs partway through the ride.
Although many or even most of the products that you use in daily life originate in China, it can be quite challenging to find the exact products that you want at a reasonable price. If there are specific items that you’d like to buy that are not listed in this section, it may be a good idea to try and source it over the internet first. Alibaba.com and Madeinchina.com are two excellent resources to start with. We also may be able to help as we have several purchasers on staff.
– The money in China is called the Renmin Yinhang or Yuan, but it is denoted as the RMB. US and foreign currencies are not accepted anywhere and you’ll have to exchange your money at a bank, local money changer or ideally at the airport where this give the best rates, fast service and no hassle. The exchange rate at the time of this writing is about 6.5RMB to the USD and 6.2RMB to the CAD. Only large hotels and extremely upscale stores (genuine Rolex, Gucci etc…) will accept credit cards (only Visa and MasterCard). You may take money out on your debit card and or credit cards at ATMs throughout the country, but you’ll need to match the banking logos on the back of the card to those on the machines. Different bank machines accept different cards issues by different foreign banks. Also, the amounts allowed to be withdrawn per transaction vary from bank to bank. The best you can hope for is about 3,000RMB per transaction up to a maximum of 12,000RMB per day – so plan ahead of you’re a big spender.
– Many places have western sizing for clothes and shoes, but many also do not. Never buy based on the tagged size, you really need to try each piece of clothing on as sizing can vary between items of the same type. Most people who wear a medium or large in North America will find themselves in a 2XL or 3XL in China. Pant sizing seems to be spot on with North American sizing, but larger sizes (44+ are few and far between). Often they charge a little more for larger sizes.
– Most stores which cater to foreign customers have jacked up prices. You can get massive discounts if you’re willing to negotiate. Don’t worry about the language barrier as every stall will have a bunch of staff and calculators. Be friendly, playful and charming and you can easily get 50% off. If you’re talented and pick up a few words in Chinese, you can get as much as 75% off. Be willing to walk away as they’ll often chase you down the corridor if they think you’ve given up. Don’t worry if they don’t try to bring you back, take the last price they gave you and try to get a better deal somewhere else. Getting frustrated, angry or shouting will not help you get a better deal in any way. Once a deal has been struck, you must go forth with it as the vendors can get exceeding angry having had their time wasted. You really should try everything on and check the quality carefully as it can vary drastically from stall to stall.
– The quality of products can vary greatly, but in the same general area they all buy from the same wholesaler and the products almost identical from stall to stall. Don’t believe them when they say that their product is superior to that of their competitors, it’s usually the same stuff and frequently the same people own many different booths. A better quality product will be noticeably different in finish and fit. Don’t hesitate to examine the products at several stalls before making a purchase; you’ll quickly get to know what’s available and what the right price should be.
– Be careful buying a cell phone in China. Most will not work in North America, but many should be fine for Europe and the Middle East. (There are four different GSM cell phone bands plus CDMA in use today. North American has 900mhz and 1850mhz where as China is 850mhz and 1800mhz. The vendors probably don’t know this and will tell you that it will work when you get home – it won’t) Best know your stuff before buying a cell phone here as many are knock offs and you may end up with a sub-par phone. Even if the phone is legitimate, you can almost certainly find it cheaper in your home country.
– There is a vast array of designer knockoff jeans available in all major markets. Quality is about the same throughout though pricing can vary slightly. At Luo Hu station (Shenzhen), the best you can hope for is 120RMB where as on Beijing road you can easily get 100RMB (but no less). Be sure to try on each pair of jeans. Most guests buy at least a dozen. Be sure to get the length hemmed for 10RMB, or work it into the deal.
– Don’t bother bringing luggage to China. We suggest you bring only a few personal items in a small bag. Once here, you can buy decent quality luggage for about 430-500RMB. Take note that all the bags are almost identical, only the label (Samsonite, Victorinox etc…), wheels and pin striping change. The four wheel models are convenient for gliding through airports, but are likely less durable especially over rough terrain. The two wheel models seem to last longer.
Handbags and Purses – China has a flourishing market for knockoff handbags and purses. Some are of a unique design with a big brand name logo (Gucci, Prada, Chanel etc…). Some are a decent quality replica of the real thing and are indestingushable from the real thing from a few feet away. (about 80-150RMB). The best of course are the exact copies, almost impossible to distinguish from the authentic article; these are rarer to find and you may have to ask, they usually come with a real metal stamped serial number, an authenticity card and other small features that make them a lot more expensive (around 400RMB). Be wary of buying from a catalog, they usually charge more for catalog items and it’s simply easier to look at products on the shelf.
- All shoes here go by European sizing, so you may want to figure out what size you are before coming. Again you must try on both shoes to make sure they are the same size and fit well. Shoes can be had for as little as 50RMB, or as much as 400-500RMB. A decent quality dress should should be in the 200RMB range.
– There are tons of fashion shoes and boots for women, though you need relatively small feet. Excellent deals can be had starting from 40RMB at the way up into the thousands. The average female guest will need a suitcase dedicated to shoes.
– Clothing: Purses, Dress shirts, t-shirts, long sleeve shirts, sweaters (seasonal), light jackets, socks, underwear, knockoff watches, jeans, lingerie, purses, shoes, runners, ladies boots, ladies high heels, silk ties, belts, wallets, purses (yes we know we listed them three times, and deservingly so), knockoff sunglasses, prescription sunglasses and regular eye glasses, wigs. Electronics: cell phones, small gadgets, children’s toys, RC helicopters. Other: Golf clubs (great quality), all kinds of keepsakes, figurines, paintings, carvings, tea pots.
- Don’t bother with lighters, they aren’t permitted on the airplane. Cell phones may not work in your home country. Anything made with an animal skin (other than leather) may get confiscated as they can’t tell the different between endangered and non-endangered species at customs. Food stuffs may or may not make it through customs. Anything overly bulky will be hard to carry and there won’t always be trolleys available except in airports.
Chinese culture is amongst the oldest in the world. By the Chinese calendar it is the year 4000 and over this period of time they’ve developed many customs and habits that the western world can find odd. By no means is this guide designed to disparage the Chinese, but it is simply pointing out the differences between Chinese and Western culture.
This is often the largest problem for travelers to China. There are a few chain restaurants in China such as KFC, McDonalds and Pizza Hut, but these are few and far between except in the most travelled tourist areas. Many local restaurants do not have English menus so you’re only choice is to order by pointing to someone else’s plate or learning a few words in Chinese. Some restaurants have picture menus and a few even have English words, though the phrasing may be a little odd.
Chinese food in North America is completely different than that of mainland China. You will not find garlic spare ribs, General Tao chicken or egg rolls anywhere. Expect a lot of fried noodles, fish, duck and stir-fried vegetables. Food is also prepared differently; chicken is usually boiled then served cold, with the head and chopped into pieces, fish is cooked whole and it is very boney and if you can find any form of steak it will be of an odd texture and marbled with fat.
Of note is the fact this it is a lot of work to eat food in China. Many restaurants do not offer knives and forks so you can expect your food to come pre-cut into bite size pieces. You will have to master the use of chopsticks or carry a fork around with you all the time. You will also have to get used to the fact that the Chinese expect that their food comes with the bones. You will not find chicken breast or drum sticks anywhere; you’ll need to gnaw the meat off of cut-up bones almost all the time.
The Chinese like their food fresh and most households go to the market every day, so in-season food is available and out of season food is not. You’ll frequently see ducks, geese, chickens and pigeons in cages outside of restaurants. Anywhere that serves seafood will have an array of aquariums containing live fish, shrimp, prawns and other aquatic delicacies. Some restaurants will have an even broader selection including turtles, snakes, crocodiles and wild birds. You may even see a cook dog. Don’t let any of this alarm you though. You can expect to receive the meats that you ordered and nothing else as the more rare delicacies listed above are quite a bit more expensive and you’ll never receive a substitution without paying a lot more for it.
If you are weary of ordering foods by guessing there are plenty of fruit markets and stalls. Apples, grapes, pears and other fruits and vegetables are available all day. In addition, several Metro Tow Trucks employees speak English quite well, so you can always give them a call and then hand your phone to the waitress for translation.
A Note for those on Halal, Kosher and Vegitarian diets: It will be extremely difficult to satisfy specific dietary regiments in China. The practices of Halal and Kosher foods/food preperation are exceptionally rare (remember that religion is banned in China). Although there are wide varieties of vegetables available, there is little to guarentee that the food has not been in contact with meat products. Also, many restaurants do not have vegetable only dishes.
Only GSM world phones can be expected to work in China. Using your SIM card from home in China is likely extremely expensive ($5 per minute or more). If your phone has been unlocked (most phones are not unlocked when you received them from your service provider), you can buy a Chinese SIM card and use it in your phone giving you a Chinese cell phone number. If your world phone is not unlocked, you should consider trying to have it unlocked before you fly out as it may be difficult to find someone with the knowledge to unlock it in China. iPhones are easy to unlock and work very well for cellular, email and surfing services in China.
We can easily set up a service for you whereby you can have a local North American phone number automatically forward to your Chinese cell phone at no charge. The reverse is true as well; we can provide you with a special number in China that permits free calls to Canada and the USA.
China is a very safe country. For such a dense and often impoverish country there is comparatively little crime. Penalties for crime are swift and punishment is harsh. There are many police around and they can be spotted by the blue and red lights that are continually flashing. Likely the only time that you will be robbed is if you over pay for a hand bag at Luo Wu Station. People are more likely to say “Hello” and try out their best English phrases on you, or ask you to pose in a picture with them. Westerners are held in high regard and well treated throughout. Be wary of the police, it is unlikely they will ever judge in your favor and it will always end up costing you money.
Getting around in the Panyu are is quite easy. There is effective public transportation in the form of public bus, taxi, moto-taxi, private car service and the exceptionally clean, efficient subway system. If you plan to use the subway system, it would be a good idea to buy a subway card which can be refilled at 7-11 Stores. Within Panyu we have a couple of motorcycle scooters and a pickup truck which make getting around very quick. Our neck of Panyu is very small and you’ll quickly become accustomed to the area.
Metro's factory is located in Panyu which is a small district on the outskirts of Guangzhou, a city of 14million people. Though not a common tourist destination, Panyu has a couple of interesting attractions to see.
Chime-Long Paradice is the largest amusement park and safari zoo in all of China. It has everything from a water park to roller coasters to lions and pandas. The zoo portion can be done in about half a day, but it is well worth it. Dinner at the resort restaurant is excellent, though expensive. No reports yet on the water part, amusement park and other attractions. Wikipedia Article
Though not for everyone, a few hours at Machine City is a unique opportunity to see new and used industrial machinery on a scale that isn't available anywhere else. From a 3000 ton press to a 8 meter lathe, they have absolutely everything you could image.