Daily Life FAQ

Toilets

• City public toilets are free, generally staffed and increasingly stocked with paper; malls, metros and attractions all have them. Navigation apps show the nearest one — search 公厕 or "toilet".
• Squat toilets remain common; malls/hotels mostly have sitting stalls and accessible toilets (无障碍). Carry tissue as a backup for older facilities.

Tap water

• Do not drink tap water anywhere in China — boil it first or stick to bottled water. Every hotel room has a kettle (boiling is the norm); restaurants serve boiled/filtered water or bottled water free.
• Ice in major chains is filtered; street-drink ice, judge by venue.

Getting around daily

• Foreign map apps work poorly for China — download Amap (高德地图) or Baidu Maps; both have English versions (Amap's is solid) and show metro, buses, walking and taxis.
• Didi is the Uber of China — English version exists, works with your Alipay/WeChat payment setup.
• Metro signage is bilingual in every major city; station names are announced in English too.

Small culture notes

• Nap culture: offices and schools pause at noon; some small shops close 12:00-14:00, especially in smaller cities.
• Smoking is banned indoors in big cities (fines apply) — smoking rooms exist in airports/stations.
• Queues are standard; cutting is rare and frowned upon.
• Cashiers may ask if you want a bag (usually CNY 0.5-1) — bring a foldable one.

Weather-proofing

• Check pollution readings (AQI) in any weather app — most cities are far better than a decade ago.
• Summer in the Yangtze region is genuinely hot and humid (35°C+); winter in the south is damp-cold — pack by region, not by "China".