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|BW = CN|hitch = {{Good}}<rating country='cn' />

'''China''' is the most populated country in the world and tourism is blooming booming with its rapidly expanding economy, but hitchhiking is only practiced practised sporadically and don. If you follow the advice in this page you will most likely have a wonderful time hitchhiking in China.Although it't expect English can solve your problems. Despite relatively low crime rate compared to many western countriess not really common, local more and more people tend to believe that picking a stranger on understand the road is unsafe especially on concept of hitchhiking (if you use the highway and local Chinese also feel hesitated to get aboard on strangers' carsword da-bian-che).

Because of it's size, among other factors, it'Thumbs hard so talk about China with general info. hitchhiking in the west of the country, as in Tibet, is different than in the east. hitchhiking in rural areas is different than on highways. the difficulty also varies. Generally speaking it'' gesture s possible to categorize it like this: the more developed the road is perceived as "good" and taken as a greeting, Chinese drivers the less chance people will probably "thumb" ask you for money, the faster you back will get and say "Hello" without thinking of stoppingmore likely you should stop drivers by sign or by talking with them while they are stationary. The most common signal for hitching is the more rural the roads are the more hand waving you will have to outstretch your arm do and gently wave more explaining beforehand that you do not pay for the trip. also, on rural roads it. Drivers will try 's easier to drop you at a bus or train stationfind camping spots.

Traffic Safety is an issue as traffic regulation is practiced practised half-heartedly. Expect people to honkrather than brake, to drive while holding a phone, overtaking while going uphilldrive on the hard shoulder, overtake in unsafe places, or combinations of theseand more. Buckle up if you can. But when talking about 1.3 billion people, you can expect a big difference from one to another. Some hitchhikers reported travellers report that the driving style in China is a way safer than in Russia and neighboring neighbouring countries. Chinese usually don't exceed the speed limit much and they do buckle up(130km/hr on expressways).

==How-to==Western concept of hitchhiking__TOC__Hitchhiking is not really know for everybody, as expected, doesnso the famous ''Thumb''t exist gesture used in most countries to indicate you want a lift is not fully understood in China, and although it will still work, will probably wont be very effective. When many For Chinese this gesture Is more readily understood as meaning "good" or "OK" so drivers feel unsafe will probably not think of stopping. The most common signal to pick ask a vehicle to stop is to outstretch your arm and gently wave the hand up a strangerand down, but this isn't the willing one is likely a driver of commercial vehicles (especially small vans) and they expect a chargemost recommended way to hitchhike.

Even if Also, taxis are really common in the country. If you successfully hitchhikewithout a sign, you will probably have a lot of taxi stopping by to take you. What I would recommand is to have a sign with writing 搭便车 (Dabianche - Hitchhiking) on it is painfully slow and generally won't get . The translation litteraly mean "free-ride", so you to your destinationwill not have any problem with money. Also, this will save you from some awkward situations if your chinese accent is bad : When you pronounce it's more than 100km. slightly differently, "Hitchhiking being " become "eating shit" which can be understood as an unusual phenomenoninsult or the fact that you are looking for the toilet. By writing it, there is no misunderstanding. You can also write the bus and rail system is efficient and relatively cheap for travelling a long wayname of the place where you want to go under it.

To increase your successAs in many countries, on major roads try to hitchhike in from a gas service station, toll area or some other place where traffic has to stop and car parks or slow. Standing on the hard shoulder or the motorway works fine as well though.To get to the toll area/service station use a map, GPS or Google map to show you where cars stop or any places that cars tend the road begins. there is also a Chinese website the shows the actual toll stations. On arrival to slow downthe road, use the outstretched arm and hand wave described above.

Second The first alternative is appearanceto use the "sign system", preferably in Chinese not Pinyin (the Romanist script) showing where you want to go. Stinky Both hand and hairy foreigners with sunglasses and ripped jeans look scary to sign approaches is used locals in some local areas (eg Guangzhou). When you are standing by the roadside, having a sign indication where you are going can be very useful. If you don't speak Chinese, a sign can also help avoid misunderstandings as many peoplewill not know what hitchhiking is and won't understand what you are doing. Dress decentlya sign is the most common way to hitchhike on the highways of China, but because the concept of Hitchhiking is not well known in China, better wear glassesit means that only people going to this actual place will stop you for a ride, have and never people who go on the road to this place. Some might suggest you write a shave (gooddestination that is closer than to where you are actually going -student look)perhaps a sign with a city 500 km away is better than one that is 1000 km away. This is complex though. HoweverIf you have a sign for the closer city, a driver who is going to the further city may pick you up and leave you at the closer one, Chinese tend not understanding your futile attempts to be tolerate of all weird foreigners because they think they areinform them that you want the further city. Just donThat't avoid looking like a hippie or beggars why another good way to hitchhike on Chinese high-ways is to talk with drivers.

It is also unwise The "talking" system generally means getting to say your final a place where the drivers are stationary (gas stations, toll stations etc.) and ask them where are they going or hand them with a small letter indicating what are you doing. most people will politely tell the truth about their destination and if it this is far away because drivers may assume in your direction, show in simple sentences and hand questers that you want them to take you to therejoin the ride. Pick the nearest major waypoint and say saying "往 X 方向thank you" (Wang X fangxiang) (In the direction in advance can also be of X")help.

Bring a gaosu gong lu (public highways) atlas. ThatThe hitchhiker's gonna be your Bible. The cheapest ones are at the gas stations (30-40 yuan). Since you'll probably need beforehand to get to any gas station, you can buy your atlas at any big bookstore around (60-100 yuan). The most appearance is important feature on the atlas : dressing fairly smartly and having a clean appearance will be the toll and parking areas, make sure your atlas displays that informationhelp you greatly. Don't expect Students in China tend to get one in English or even bilingualdress more conservatively and males usually have short hair. It wouldn't be practical either, since most roadsigns is a good idea not to wear sunglasses as they are in chinese. Buy one road atlas in chinese, it will be easier to get locate yourself, not as commonly worn and to might make yourself clear when you point out your destination to any driverlook sinister.

Cars have the character from their province and It is important to note that on highways most drivers will not expect to be paid for a roman letter indicating the city in ride, even though they probably do not understand the province (A is always the capital)concept of hitchhiking. If However, you are in Anhui and see a 成 (Chengdu's "Cheng") with will find that some numbers and an Adrivers, particularly on side roads, that's from Chengduwill ask for payment before you get in. These clues just tell you where the cars are from, but if they are outside their province, 50% chance they are traveling outside, 50% they are heading back home, so This is no problem as you can use it as a quite reliable critteria make your decision whether or not to select which cars to stopget in. SometimesHowever, 4 cities in the same highway some drivers may ask for payment once you have A the first one (capital), then B, C and Dreached your destination. If in doubt, try to signal that you go from do not want to pay before you get in the capital and wanna head far thru this highwayvehicle. Generally speaking, don't you will find in China that most people who pick Byou up are extremely generous, cos yea it may be going to the fourth city but most probably it occasionally overly so. On highways many drivers will stop let you off their car only if they are sure you know where it belongs, at the 2nd one. Etcyou are going and is in good situation.

If At any case you want need to sleep while on bring a map with you, either download from the net buy one at the roadfirst opportunity. The Gao su gong lu network is very complex, just pick a slow and confortable truckyou may get lost very quickly, you'll make 400km or end up stuck in 8h but that's better than getting into a city (count all the time for a day. You should have a map in Chinese, so that other people can understand where you are going. You may be able to get in pick up some Chinese characters and out + expenses) and even better than sleeping at understand the tolls or gas stationsnames. The lack of malice However if you are struggling, consider getting a Pinyin for yourself as well, if you can find one (at an individual level at least!they are not very common) of the Han. Maps can easily be found in service stations, supermarkets and book stores, makes most of China easy city maps cost around 10Y while road atlas costs around 30Y (2012) - if you find a Pinyin one expect it to hitchhike 24h without fear. Chinese folks are genuinely good peoplecost much more - only foreigners would buy them.

With all the above said, it should be added that China It is probably '''the''' best country always a good practice in the world China to use have someone write a [[hitchhiking polite letter]]. The main impediment to hitchhiking in China is the huge communication barrier Chinese about who are you and the fact that people simply don't understand what where you're doing, which want to go. A short "destination note" is precisely what important for showing immediately to the letter driver. After entering a car it is also highly recommended to include some more letters of information about you, especially if heading fora long drive. In my experienceyou can explain practical things about your doings, what hitchhiking in China after I got myself a hitchhiking letter became ten times fasteris, and go on telling about yourself and you travels, with people picking me you thoughts and hobbies and other fun stuff. this opens up the driver to you and if your letter has pinyin as soon as they read well it and taking me exactly where I wanted can also help the driver with his English (many Chinese want to learn English but are shy to go. I really recommend itpractice).

==Regions ==There are probably big differences between The first character of a vehicle's number plate is in Chinese and indicates the home province and then there is a roman letter indicating the different regions city in Chinathe province (A is always the capital).:''please add more info if If youare in Anhui and see a 川 (chuan, standing for Sichuan) with an A and some numbers, that've hitched s from Chengdu. If one is heading in many parts the direction of China''home you can use it as a criteria to select a car to stop.

* [[File:Flag If you want to sleep while on the road, you will have no problem pitching a tent. People will usually not bother you. However do make sure your belongings are not on show and therefore do not pitch a tent directly on the road (which is also a bit dangerous). You will find there is plenty of Hong Kongtraffic at night also.svg|30px|border]] [[Hong Kong]] Special AdmYou can try to pick a slow and comfortable truck, you might only make 400 km in 8 hours but if that's at night and avoids an accommodation cost, who cares? The lack of malice (at an individual level at least!) of the Chinese makes most of China easy to hitchhike day and night without fear. Region There is little fear of China* [[File:Flag being attacked or robbed though of Macaucourse such activities exist everywhere, and as always girls should take extra care.svg|30px|border]] [[Macao]] Special Adm. Region of China* [[Tibet]] Autonomous Region* [[:Category:Sichuan|Sichuan]]* [[:Category:Yunnan|Yunnan]]

=== Inner Mongolia === I hitchhiked around several villages in the western GobiThere are Service areas on highways, using Erenhot as a base. Truck drivers do not expect tips--at leastit have gas station, they did not when I offered money to them. Howeverbig public toilets, private drivers will often request inordinate amounts of money for short distancesshops, so it's best to ask "Doh Shao Chian?", which means "how much?" before getting in. Chinese is the majority language, especially in the citiescoffeshops. As a Mongolian speaker who only knew a few words of Chinese, people were surprised at me, but pretty accommodating--outside of cities, there is Drivers usually at least one person in the room who speaks Mongolian. You should know that, if will drop you leave the cities, the police WILL detain you here at least once, and you should make according time allowancesoff there. In such a case, do not panic--they will actually be It is very helpful and friendly when they realize convenient to sleep there. Sometimes you're not a criminal. They will even can take shower if some of shop sellers offer you to the station, ask you questions, and when satisfied, release you. Have your visa ready, and expect to be asked "What are you doing here?". The whole process takes between one and three hours. Be prepared for this situation, as it happened to me three times (sellers live in service areas in as many days. Consequently, anyone considering hitchhiking here MUST be able to speak enough Mongolian or Chinese to get through this situation.dormitory)

[[File:Hitching-luoping-china.jpg|thumb|300px|right|Hitching out of [[Luoping]], [[Yunnan]]]]

“Highway” doesn't mean The expressways are often new and fast (100-130 km/h), where as the second level roads may be really bad and a fatal error, where there are a lot less cars and other rules for hitchhiking. Stick to highways if you want to travel fast.Most of the entrance to the highways from the same as cities in occidental countries but express ways China, have a toll. Using the "talking system", go there and talk straight to the drivers, pointing at the letter or map. be earnest. Say something like: "Nihao! Qing wen, ni qu nali? Wo qu zheli, ni ne? Ni qu zheli ma?" (Hello! Excuse me, where are great for you going long distances? I go here, and you? Do you go here?), etc. As of 2007 Keep saying "Oh hao hao, xiexie a lot of expressways !" (Oh good good, thanks, ah!)Like mentioned above, Chinese people will typically tell you the truth about where are still under constructionthey going, and most traffic consists of trucks that once they do so, if you ask them to go with them and they have free space, they will hardly say "no", either because they are just too naive or because they don't go too fastwant to lose face. When  At the tolls, if you talk to the booth workers and the guards and tell them where are you cangoing and what is your purpose, try they will often offer you to hitch ask the drivers for you as they keep passing with normal their cars. There are quite a few cops on through the booths to pay the expresswayfee, but sometimes they will not know who to ask and will try to ask only specific cars, and so it doesn't seem is recommended to be a problem also continue relaying on yourself.Sometimes some guard may look like they frown at you or even come to walk along you and ask you some questions. most of the time smiling and showing them. Cops help the cards or letters with the information on you rather than being a problem, they even stop buses for will satisfy them to let you continue ask drivers for freea lift.

The expressways are often new and fast (100-160Km/h)When no tolls around, go to the rest areas where as the second level roads may be really bad and a fatal error. Stick to highways if you want can talk to travel fast.Most of the entrance to the highways from the cities in Chinapeople easily, have or look for a toll. Go there and talk straight to the driversjiayou zhan, pointing the atlasa gas station. Show them your notice. Go like: "Nihao! Qing wen, ni qu nali? Wo qu zheli, ni ne? Ni qu zheli ma? Wo shi yi ge ren!" (Hello! Excuse me, where are you going? I go hereWithout a big sign, and you? Do you go here? I am just one person!), etc. Keep saying "Oh hao hao, xiexie a!" (Oh good good, thanks, ah!) Unlike in Europe, ppl never got picked up there will typically tell you with the truth about where are they going, and once they do so, if you ask them to go with them and they have free space, they will hardly say "no", either because they are just too naive or because they passing cars (of most don't want stop); with the sign, it took from a few minutes to loose faceseconds.

At the tolls== Language ==English in rural or even urban areas are rarely used. Get yourself 1. a phrasebook, if easier to acquire when you talk 're outside of China, were not easy to the booth girls find in bookstores in China, and the guards and tell them where are you going and what is your purpose2. a pocket dictionary, they will often offer you to ask the drivers which generally available in China for you as they keep passing with their cars through 10 RMB in 2007. Baidoo, the booths to pay the feechinese google, has a free translator, so you can just sit down and waitalso for pictures. Here are some helpful phrases:

When no tolls aroundChinese language use lots of tons. So if you don't speak chinese at all, go it's probably better to the rest areas where write it (in character) because chinese people will not understand you can talk to people easily, or look for a jiayou zhan, a gas station. Without a big signAlso, I never got picked up there with the passing cars differents province have different accent (ofc most dont stopand sometimes differents dialect); with the sign, which make it took from a few minutes to secondsmore difficult.

== Language ==English in If you go to big city, most people know pinyin. But if you go to rural or even urban areas are rarely used. Get yourself a phrasebook (beforehand) area, people only know character and a pocket dictionary. Here are some helpful phrasescan't read any pinyin.

===Basic Vocab===搭便车 ''da bian-che'': HitchhhikeHitchhike literally "free-ride". That's probably what you want to write on a big card board, although it's a rare word in Chinese and many people do not know what it means. <br />

謝謝 谢谢 ''Xie xie'' : Thank you<br />这裡 这里 ''zhe-li'': Here<br />那里/哪里 ''Na-li'' : There / Where?(only different in tone)<br />服务区/服务站 "Fu-wu-qu/Fu-wu-zhan": Service Area<br />收费站 “shou-fei-zhan” Tollgate<br />

===Conversations===

你要去那里？ 你要去哪里？ "ni yao qu nali?" (you/ go to / where) means "Where are you going?"<br />

Chinese, like many Asian languages, is a tonal language which means a change in a pitch will drive to different meanings. Without basic training, most westerners will find it hard to pronounce Chinese well at an decipherable understandable level. If you plan to learn a bit, Pleco is a must-have dictionary app. But if you just print the Chinese characters out and show them to the driver, things will work pretty smooth. Hong Kong and Macao use traditional, more complicated characters, but they can read either way for the most part.

Police will usually not care about you and will more likely try to be helpful than make trouble. However, this can also mean taking you away from the motorway to a bus or train station.Sometimes (closer to official areas like Beijing and Shanghai) the police will insist you will go away to some other place, but if you insist they will most of the time let you stand with your sign/continue to ask drivers around.It also happens when a police officer will treat you like a privileged person, will take photos with you and will stop cars for you or even get you on the bus for free.You may also get free food and assistance with signwriting. nobody will say anything but this is an awkward experience when everybody around you pay lot's of money for the drive and you sit there after the police officer stopped the bus for you.Usually when dealing with the police in China, it is best to just smile and be naive but firm with your goal, and be independent about it. you are doing fine, not disturbing and in love with China. == Personal experiences == ''August 2017: Hitchhiked from Kashgar to HongKong. through: Urumqi, Kumul, Xining, Chengdu, Kunming, Nanning, Guangzhou. Spent most of the time in Xinjiang and Tibetian Areas. No mayor problems. I figured out that having a drawn map with me, with the main roads and cities on it (written in chinese) and a small letter explaining in chinese would help the most. However, in the tibetian areas I figured out that many people cannot read chinese, hence it makes sense to write the map in tibetian and chinese. Sometimes people would ask for money in advance, in tibetian areas seem to be some shared taxis also.Further I was once picked by the police in Amdo Tibet, they told me, I am not allowed to be there... Hence, in the next city I had to register, make a lot of selfies, they brought me to a hotel where I had to stay and they told me I have to take a bus the next day. the next day I hitchhiked further without problems ;)Tip: having an offline translator is the most useful thing for china! I travelled many parts of the world without speaking common languages with the people living there and always found a way of communication. But in China, it was even hard for me to explain the map where I want to go and where they want to go... sign/body language works so different to mine there... Still - awesome peopel and experience!''  ''In the South the police was unaware, or friendly but very confused, to [[User:Guaka|Guaka]] and [[User:Amylin|amylin]]. Most of the time the police didn't do anything while walking along the highway or trying to hitch. Once, at the highway entry of [[Kaili]] in [[Guizhou]], they started talking, found someone who spoke English, and brought the hitchers to a bus station, where the police paid for a bus ticket! Another time the highway police was very confused again, and it took 2 1/2 hours to find a translator and be left alone at a highway entrance again.''  ''[[User:Fijau|Fijau]] hitchhiked through Xinjiang, Gansu, Shaanxi, Henan without being bothered by police. In Xinjiang police even helped him to get a ride. Problems started to occur in Zhejiang (Eastern China, near Shanghai). Several times police didn't let him onto the expressway through the toll gate and took him off the expressway while passing by.''  ''[[User:peraht|peraht]] somehow always gets helped by police. Especially when it's getting dark or at night it's sometimes very useful to rely on them. Not only next to pay tolls but also on service areas (there are almost always some police officers). Sometimes they will give you something to eat, take pictures with you, the usual stuff. In Jiangxi or Anhui they caught her a ride, took pictures of her and the driver's passports, which was for safety reasons and actually OK, but also of other visas she had in her passport. Probably only out of curiousity and to test their apparently new camera.''  ''[[User:lukeyboy95|lukeyboy95]] had a fantastic time hitchhiking in March 2013. Not without its dramas, but no adventure is. I kept to the Western fringe, avoiding most cities. I had a sign that read de-bien-che, in characters, and this was mildly understood by some. Roads are excellent, fast and new, and distances can be very large. I beat my record, at 1200km in one day in the North West region. Big cities are a total horror, try and get trains out where possible. Have your little list of phrases ready to point at, it isnt rude. The Chinese are spirited people, and connecting with them wasnt a problem. If they look like taxi drivers, or a little hard up, reiterate that you cant pay money for the ride. One thing of note was that at the border with Krygyzstan, the immigration police wouldn't let me past unless I was in a taxi. A little overnight protest outside their spanking new offices brough results, and the next day they put me in a pick-up. An interesting border, and be careful with this. In general I found the police enormously helpful, kind and well meaning. On two times, they put paid for a train for me, drove me out to the highway, even gave me money and invited me into their homes. China holds many adventures for the the hitchhiker! '' Hitchhikernick - was there in October 2016 for 2 weeks and Jan 2017 for 10 days. Hitched all of the eastern half of China with ease. At many highway tolls the staff would help me get a ride, only one had an issue, but luckily a driver pulled up when the staff were warning me they were going to call police. Police did help me on a few occasions as well. Waiting time was about 10 minutes in most cases, though there were odd occasions where I had to wait a while. Visited most of impressive National Parks in this time frame and Huashan 3 times to get a good photo of the famous plank walk. Camped out discreetly and publicly very easily as everything is orderly and compacted into the cities with open spaces inbetween, totally opposite to india. Border crossings were straight forward but crossed both from Vietnam and into Mongolia by transport. Hardly ever got asked for money and managed to communicate with apple maps and sign language/images/gestures. Even managed to hitch out of Beijing twice without difficulty.

[[File:Amylin-luoping-china-1.jpg|thumb|250px|right|[[User:Amylin|amylin]] in the [[Yunnan]] province of [[China]].]]There are not so many online or offline maps in English. ''Do'' buy a map though, even if it's in Chinese, maps of provinces are cheap (10 yuan) and very useful, you can point to it and people might sometimes understand what you mean. You ''can'' buy a map of China with names in English and Chinese, but because of the scale it's not very useful while hitching.

Note: Be aware of Chinese maps - sometimes they are developed for the (often quickly changing) future! They show highways which are not yet existing, or they having wrong distances between cities. Its always good to have two or three maps (the province maps as well) and then search for the truth in the middle.

* [http://www.yourworldyourhome.com/hitchhiking-china/ Eric's tips on Hitchhiking China.] * [http://www.muhranoff.travel.ru/chinA/chinmain_en.htm Hitching in China], a Russian Website with tons of information. Some of them it available in English.

[[Category:China| ]]