Korean Job Discussion Forums

[ramen209]

To anyone who's been or knows anything about Yunnan province, China:
I'm considering a trip to Yunnan province, but don't speak Chinese.

How much Chinese does one need to speak to get by here? Is it possible to get by w/ minimal Chinese language skills?

Thanks!

[jmuns]

depends on where you go in the province, and what it is you want to do. have you been to other areas of china before?

[chris_J2]

Just take a Lonely Planet guidebook. It has the names of the cities in Chinese, (point to them when you want a bus ticket / 'piao'), & a useful language section. And the Roughguide Mandarin phrasebook, if you want to go deeper.

http://shop.lonelyplanet.com/Primary/Product/Destination_Guides/Regional_Guides/India_and_Central_Asia/PRD_PRD_1783/Chinas+Southwest+Travel+Guide.jsp

http://shop.lonelyplanet.com/Primary/Product/Pick_and_Mix_Chapters/Asia_pnm_chapters/North_Asia_pnm/PRD_DIG_302586/Chinas+Southwest++Ynnn+Chapter.jsp?bmUID=1255490860120

Some pics I took:

http://beta.trekearth.com/members/ChrisJ/photos/Asia/China/South/Yunnan/

http://www.treklens.com/members/chrisJ/photos/Asia/China/South/Yunnan/

Be aware that much of Yunnan is high altitude, & you'll feel 10 years older until you adjust in a day or 2. The Western Hills near Kunming are under rated imho. There was a ski lift up from the lower carpark.

[definitely maybe]

no problems when i was there in 2007. be sure to stop by the bad monkey in old dali and have a few drinks with the guys there. great time!

[D.D.]

Best thing to do in China is to have a mobile phone and a few numbers of friends who can translate in sticky situations or even just to tell a taxi driver or train ticket guy where you want to go. I survived being dropped into a small town in the middle of China with 0 Chinese. I was a vego then so I went into the kitchen and pointed and watched them prepare my meals at first. Chinese are pretty cool people and always understood I was culturally ignorant with no bad vibes about it. I wish I could say the same about this country.

[mellinger]

Hi,

I do think it depends on where you are going. I went to some really small towns....like FeiLaiSi and Yubeng. In these towns it was very hard to find anyone who spoke even a little English. I got lucky though, and found a group of four people from Hong Kong who spoke English. They were going to the same places I was, so it worked out. Otherwise, I'd say at least take along a Lonely Planet. By the way, if you get a chance, check out those places, they are stunning locations.

If you are going to be in bigger towns like Lijiang, or Kunming, then you'll be more likely to find English spoken at least a little.

Here are some photos from my trip: http://www.flickr.com/photos/theworldismycanvas/sets/72157616870137551/

-Mike