Bring toilet paper and hand soap/sanitizer: 

China still has the old squat style toilets at most public locations.  Hotels and fast food restraurants will have western style toilets if you can hold out until you can find one.  And sometimes even McDonalds will let you down.  While in Shanghai the McDonalds I found had squat toilets.

Barter for better prices from the street vendors:

Unfortunately most of China still works with the barter system. A good starting point is to divide the initial asking price by four when making a counter offer.  The vendor will then laugh at you and act like your offer is crazy and insulting.  But in reality they are just playing the game.  At this point they will usually counter with an offer only slightly lower than their original price.  My recommendation is to just walk away at this point.  Don't worry they won't let you go anywhere without your China Doll that you want oh so bad.  If you are insistent on walking away they will almost always come back with a price about one third of their initial price.  When time is short you probably should this take this deal or else you will be there all day.  I really don't think that this system works as well for them as they think.  It took me over 2 hours to spend $100, and honestly I don't it would have been possible to spend my money any faster.  If they had set low prices to begin with I would have easily spent $200+ on souveniors.

Don't Drink the Water or Eat the Street Vendor food:

You can buy a 1.5 liter bottle of water for about 75 cents.  It is not worth the risk of ruining you trip over a couple of dollars in bottled water per day.  The vendor food is not as bad if you see them cook it and you know it was heated throughout.  The truth is I tried Beijing's ever popular meat on a stick, and I was just fine.  But when I got back from my trip the debate started as to what meat I actually ate.  It wasn't chicken, or steak. 

Buy a good travel guide with Chinese and English Writing:

Believe it or not most people in China can't read English characters.  So if you show them a piece of paper that says "The Great Wall" on it you are just wasting your time.  Make sure your travel guide has all of your major destinations in Chinese. 

Ride the Subway: 

Most hotels have subway maps available for your use.  And for about 50 cents you can get from one side of Shanghai to the other.  Inside most subways in Shanghai there is a display showing your current location on the subway route.  And if you ever get lost in Shanghai the people there are very helpful and will guide you on your way.  In Beijing the displays always work inside the subway, but the people aren't too helpful.

Use you hotel travel agent: 

The employees at most hotels speak english and are very helpful.  They can book flights and tours for you.  If you are short cash wait until you arrive in China to book all of your tours; they will be cheaper there.  Also get them to write down any destinations in both Chinese and English.  And don't forget that your hotel is the most important destination of all.  If you don't have your hotel name and address written in Chinese you won't be able to take advantage of my next tip.

When you are lost take a cab:

The taxi system is highly regulated by the government.  This mean that it will always cost the same to take a cab now matter where you are.  Just make sure they run the meter.  The minimum fee is $2 and about 20 cents per kilometer.  So even an hour cab ride all of the way across town should be under $30.  This can be a nice security blanket when you are trying to travel without taking tours.  Instead of walking around for an hour to find your way home--just hail a cab and you will be there in no time.  This is why it is so important to have everything written in Chinese.  Don't let them fool you when they say the subway is closed.  The subways run past 10pm.

Don't trust people who speak English:

Every person who came up to me speaking english was trying to scam me.  Mainly use common scense.  If someone is being too nice there is probably something else going on.  While people in China might be very interested in foriegn visitors--there are also generally very shy.  The two major scams are the art show with extra high prices on mediocre art, and the tea house scam--where a group of youths take you to a tea house and you get stuck with a $100 plus bill. There is also the classic american who seems to loose his wallet everyday.

You are very rich:

The GDP per capita in China is around $15k.  Compare this to the US and almost $50k.  If you visit New York City or any large city you are always going to be at great risk for pick pockets or other thiefs.  No imagine a millionare on the subway in New York City.  You are an obvious target that stands out from everyone.  Don't put anything in open pockets of jackets or pants.  Carry a backpack or purse with a zipper to keep anything of value.

You are Safe:

Violent Crime is almost unheard of in China.  When someone commits a crime, the people make an example of that person.  They discrace their family and become social outcasts.  It is too bad that South America has not adopted these same values.

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