Do I Need To Know Chinese For My China Trip? Do I Need A Tour Guide? A Practical Mini-Guide

18 Sept

Written By YenKid

This is a question I get a lot from virtually every friend new to China.
If you’ve not read my bio, I’m Chinese, raised in an English speaking country, and living in China. So actually, I can greatly appreciate the common language issues faced by visitors to China, both from the foreigner and Chinese perspectives. I aim to dispel your worries. No matter where you’re from.
Perhaps you’ve heard people saying you can get by with English. Or you should learn beginner’s Chinese. Let’s break it down.

I have hundreds of Chinese friends. Only a tiny percentage speak fluent English. I often joke I’m the best English speaker in the district. But I must emphasise - there’s no need for you to worry.
No question, Hong Kong has by far the highest proportion of English speakers. You can speak English in most places. If you’re visiting Beijing or Shanghai, I still think you can be independent throughout your whole visit, even if you don’t know a single word of Chinese. You’ll still be okay in other big cities like Guangzhou, Shenzhen, and Chengdu. But once you venture into smaller cities, you will encounter far less people who can speak or even understand English. Remember there's always the translation apps to communicate!
If you do want to speak in English, you’ll have better luck if you approach a young person. In theory, most young people have a basic listening level of English, but they may not have the confidence to say much more than “hello” (due to the lack of opportunity to use it). Don’t be shy to approach them though. Chances are you’ll have a delightful conversation. I’ve personally come across so many young people who love a chance to practise their English with native speakers.
Let’s go through the typical scenarios so you have nothing to fear.

Major international chains should have at least one English speaking staff. Most local chains have no English speaking staff, except for high-end chains. So, if English speaking staff is a must, don’t book cheap hotels. I say, just use a translation app.

All airports, metro stations, and railway stations have signs in English and Chinese, so you shouldn’t have any major issues there. Sometimes, you may encounter some weird signs which can be hilarious, but this rarely happens on critically important signs - usually you can figure out the meaning even if it is mistranslated.
The DiDi app provides an English option and the only compulsory communication with the driver would be providing them with the last digits of your number to start the journey. Try having a conversation with the driver if you’re up for it. I heard many interesting life stories this way.
If you want to take a bus, it is a bigger challenge because bus information is almost never in English, even in most big cities.

Many restaurants have gone fully digital. This means that there are no paper menus at the table and no waiter to take your order.
You look at the menu by swiping the QR code, usually located on your table. As you look through the list, you can add items to the basket. Use the in-app translation function or take a screenshot to translate the items on the menu. Most of the items should have pictures, so you can rely on that too.
To place the order, you normally need to pay on the app, but sometimes you place the order first and then pay at the counter after your meal. Often, you don’t need to say a single word.
If you are struggling to order on the app, the staff can still help you order using their own methods. So, don’t fret, just gesture and use a translation app to communicate.
This process applies to nearly all restaurants, except for small independents and street food stalls which uses the traditional way of ordering. Definitely check them out despite the language barrier. Don’t just go to fast food chains because you’re too anxious to say what you want.
Take a look at my step by step guide How to Order Food and Drink in China? A Mini-Guide.

In most supermarkets and shops, you’ll find the shelf labelling and food packaging is only in Chinese. Just open up your translation app if it’s not obvious and you don’t wanna risk it. One of my friends accidentally bought squid but didn’t eat seafood at all.

For major attractions like the Forbidden City, most of the information will be provided in English as well as Chinese.
Smaller attractions are less likely to provide information in English as they are usually far less visited by tourists.
Obviously if you want the full tour experience, that’s where a guide fluent in English will help enormously. There are plenty of excellent guides.

I had a friend say that she was dying to visit China but the language barrier was holding her back. I said to her, “don’t worry about your inability to communicate, just use a translation app and point if you need to say something.” So don’t let language put you off, you’ll be very glad you did it.
By all means, learn a few basic phrases before you come - I’m sure locals would appreciate your effort. Or if you’re like me, use your trip as a deadline to learn as much Chinese as possible haha.

I’ve talked about the language barrier and the potential scenarios. China is very suitable for solo travellers, families, females. But you may still want to consider a tour guide for many reasons.

Ask yourself these questions:

How comfortable do you feel with using a translation app? You might need to use it in some scenarios (most people can’t speak English to a good enough level). Note you don’t really need to say anything at restaurants that allow you to scan QR codes to order.
How comfortable do you feel with occasionally using gestures to communicate with other people?
Do you want absolute freedom to handle your itinerary and how your time is spent?
Are you okay with spending a lot more time planning routes, transport arrangements, places to eat using Chinese apps?
Are you okay with handling all bookings for attractions yourself?
Do you prefer organised private transport? Remember you can book this separately - it doesn’t have to be part of an organised tour.
How important are professional guides at famous attractions for you? e.g if you want to hire a one-off English-speaking talk guide for an attraction, you can do that at top attractions like The Forbidden City.
Would you rather have restaurants chosen for you or would you rather be spontaneous? Quality of restaurant can be very subjective, so there’s no guarantee even if recommended by tour guides, but is often better than choosing blindly.
Do you want to meet other people? This is a good way to meet other people who share the same curiosity as you.

If you’d rather someone help you out with most of these things, go with a tour guide. Hopefully, this helps you decide whether you need one. You don’t have to book one that early. You can even do it if you change your mind during your trip. In addition to guides for your entire trip, there are tour guides for the specific city, tour guides for one day, and tour guides for specific attractions.

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