I have traveled and lived in a number of countries. I have studied a number of languages ​​and language, in general, as a linguistics major, in college. So, I have a good understanding of language, in general, and I know that language and communication is about more than just talk. When, I first came to China, four years ago, it was a last minute thing, but I did buy some Chinese language CD's and learned some rudimentary words and phrases. However, what I learned was a paltry smattering, and could not be taken as knowing the language, but I got by with other forms of communication. Of course, the biggest challenge is that the written language, comprised of over 50,000 separate written characters, is so different from the more familiar written languages, in the West.

Moreover, even though, officially, China has one language, Mandarin (Putonghua), there are actually over 50 separate languages, in use in the country, and many people, especially, in the small villages and outlying regions, can only speak in their regional languages. Although street signs, in larger cities are also written, in Pinyin English, that is not the case, in most of the country and for most things, like store signs, product labels or menus. That problem aside, I have always relied on other forms of communication, in any country, when I did not have the words to express my needs or desires. A smile and a playful attitude, I have found, can get one pretty far.

In addition, simple words and phrases, like hello (ni hao, in Mandarin; lei ho, in Cantonese), goodbye (tsai jian, in Mandarin; bye bye, in Cantonese), please (ching, in Mandarin; mgoi, in Cantonese ), and thank you (xie xie, in Mandarin; mgoi, in Cantonese), go a long way. Moreover, for travel, in China, you can take along a small Chinese-English-Chinese dictionary and show people words, in the dictionary. After that, being funny, charming and engaging are communication actions that transcend spoken language. Moreover, every merchant, from the small corner store to the large department store, has a calculator, so that they can show you a price, in numbers.

Language issues aside, the first trick to traveling in China is to use a Chinese travel agent (for example, E-long travel or C-trip) to book both your flights and hotel rooms because you will get a good discount (when in Rome … but, you're in China, so …). The prices that you can get, through those types of agencies, are actually lower, usually much lower, than those that you will get by dealing direct. In fact, on one trip that we took, we wanted to extend our stay at a hotel, and they told us to call the agent because we would get a better price on the extension. Even if you do not call an agency, in advance, to book a room, there are usually agencies around airports, train and bus stations.

You get a double benefit as a foreign traveler, in China. First of all, hotels and restaurants pay their staff and pay for supplies in Yuan, not dollars, so they are priced like Western hotels and restaurants, but the Yuan is cheap in terms of dollars or Euros. For example, we rented a small bungalow on our recent trip to Xi Chong, an isolated beach, south of Shenzhen, for ¥ 150 per night. I used to stay in a large hotel, in Guangzhou, before I got an apartment, for ¥ 300 per night; one of my more frugal (cheap) friends always stayed in the smaller room with no river view for ¥ 150 per night.

So, do not be lulled into thinking of prices, in China, in terms of buying power of your home currency. Understand money, local or foreign, in terms of its local buying power, not in terms of your home country currency's buying power, in the other country. The second benefit that you get, traveling in China, is that energy costs are subsidized, so trains, planes, buses and taxis are still cheap, in terms of any currency, local or foreign, because of the subsidies, not because of the purchasing power of the Yuan.

For example, a round trip airfare for a 1,000 mile (each way) trip might cost ¥ 1,000, which is about $ US150. Most Chinese take trains and buses, even on long trips. Some of my foreign friends have also taken two-day train trips to the north, and they say that it is good way to meet people and to see the country (personally, I think they are just being cheap). A one hour train trip (two hours by bus) costs around ¥ 70. I pay a private driver to take me to the university where I teach, which is about an hour's drive, mostly on highways, ¥ 115.

Although tips are not part of the culture or the expectations of staff, in some Western hotels and restaurants, they are expected, and I always leave money in the room at a hotel and at Western restaurants that we frequent. When it comes to the price of anything but restaurants, always negotiate prices. All Chinese think that foreigners are rich. They know that ¥ 70 is just $ 10 to an American, but what they don't realize is that that $ 10 won't buy us dinner, in America, while ¥ 10 can buy them (and me) dinner, in China. As a result of their misunderstanding of the relativity of money (see "You're Missing the Point" and other analyses on our In Country Analysis page of the Website), I have had people try to charge me as much as 10 times the real price in Yuan. Remember: one Yuan should buy you about as much as one dollar or one euro buys you at home.

I am a "natural local", which means the way that I like to travel is to act as though I have just moved to the area rather than being a tourist (although it is hard to convince people, here, that I am a local , but some still do believe me). I have already lived in over a dozen places, this century. My method is to tell local people that I am moving there (which I am, although it may be for as short as a week or a month), and ask them what there is to do around the area. You learn much more about a place, that way.

People love to help you discover the inner secrets of their towns. I am also very friendly and say "hi" to everyone on the street (here, "hi" is "ni hao" or, in some parts of Guangdong province, "lei ho"). That always gives you a good barometer of the friendliness of the city: the more people who smile and say "hi" back to you is a good measure of friendliness. For example, in New York City, most people will look at you like you're crazy and pick up their pace, while about 85 percent of the people in Philadelphia will say "hi" back to you, and some will even be the first to say "hi". Montreal is about 75 percent, and Quebec City is even friendlier, even if your "Bon jour" shows that you are not a native French speaker.

In most cities, in China, even tiny villages, people are so tickled that you can speak Chinese and that you have taken the little bit of time to pay some attention to the that they will smile and say "ni hao" ("lei ho ") back to you and may even give you a thumbs up (Xi'an being a real exception to that rule of thumb). Try these simple methods, yourself, when traveling, especially, if you are trying to get around, in China.

I have been getting by and getting around without much difficulty since I came to China four years ago, right from the very start. Sure, it's been scary, sometimes, when I have felt isolated and was having trouble trying to figure out how to get what I want or where I want to go. But, I just took a breath and decided to relax and have fun with it all. I have never been one who has put much stock in words, in the first place.

I am a physicist who has been able to talk and think in the much more precise language of math, and I studied linguistics because I was interested in the interplay of language and thought. I always ask a lot of questions and teach my students and assistants to do the same because words have different meanings to different people, in the first place. However, language is also about much more than just words. Don't be afraid of language barriers, be creative and have fun.

PS When you get a call in your hotel room, late at night, asking if you want a massage, it isn't really a massage that they are offering.