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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 />
你要去那里？ 你要去哪里？ "ni yao qu nali?" (you/ go to / where) means "Where are you going?"<br />
== Resources ==
{{nomadwiki}}
=== Maps ===
=== Links ===
→Resources
== Language ==
English in rural or even urban areas are rarely used. Get yourself 1. a phrasebook, easier to acquire when you're outside of China, were not easy to find in bookstores in China, and 2. a pocket dictionary, which generally available in China for 10 RMB in 2007. Baidoo, the chinese google, has a free translator, also for pictures. Here are some helpful phrases:
Chinese language use lots of tons. So if you don't speak chinese at all, it's probably better to write it (in character) because chinese people will not understand you. Also, the differents province have different accent (and sometimes differents dialect), which make it more difficult.
If you go to big city, most people know pinyin. But if you go to rural area, people only know character and can't read any pinyin.
=== Basic Vocab ===
搭便车 ''da bian-che'': Hitchhikeliterally "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 />
公路 ''gong-lu'': literally public roads, which means either highway or national road<br />
高速公路 ''gao su gong lu'': means expressway (expway) <br />
国道 ''guo-dao'' : national road<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 ===
我要去..."wo yao qu ...." ( I/want/go to) means "I need/want to go to . . ."<br />
在这里停就行 "zai zheli ting jiu xing" (at/here/stop/okay) means "please stop here"<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 ==
=== 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: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! ''
[[File:Amylin-luoping-china-1.jpg|thumb|250px|right|[[User:Amylin|amylin]] in the province of [[China]].]]
Maps.me may have wrong distances( for e.g. chengdu/kunming). There is a free map programm from chinese google(baidoo), its only in chinese, but helpful.
* Comprehensive guide about [https://warmroads.de/en/hitchhiking-in-18-china/ - Hitchhiking in China.] by [[User:Korn|Korn]] on https://warmroads.de
* [http://therichmikehitchhike.com/fresh-prince-huize/ The Rich-Mike Hitchhike] These two hitchhiked from Laos through China to Kazakhstan in 22 days
* [http://marcandoelpolo.com/como-es-viajar-a-dedo-autostop-por-china/ Information, tips and personal experiences of hitch-hiking in China (East and West). A 7645 km journey on 50 vehicles (only in spanish)]
* [https://warmroads.de/en/hitchhiking-15-000-km-through-china-15/ Hitchhiking 15.000 km through China]. A little exploration tour by [[User:Korn|Korn]].
== Nomadwiki & Trashwiki ==
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