Asking directions in China

I read this from someone who was cycling through China thought it funny but some what true.

"if you ask "how far is it to ______," you'll get either a) not far,
b) very far, or c) too far for a bicycle. if you do get a number, it'll
invariably be 2km, regardless of the actual distance.

you'll quickly learn never to ask "is this the road to ______?"
the answer is always yes!

so you switch to "which of these two roads will take me to ______?"
the answer usually is both will take you there. (or none, you can't
get there from here)

you think you're smart? so now you ask "where does this road go?"

and the answer...........where do you want to go? "


I think their loss of face will never allow them to tell you straight up they don't know.

real blokes never ask directions

where do you want to go?:lol8:

It's an exercise in frustration to ask directions from locals, but this is good incentive to get very skilled at navigation and figure out what works best for you.

I find an Ipad and GPS combination is the way to go, or some other way of getting maps on my mobile devices. Others may prefer detailed paper maps, or something to that effect.

If it comes down to asking locals, then the best thing is to keep asking and get multiple confirmations and verifications from different people.

Even if it all goes belly up, then a compass will more often that not, save the day. I was astonished to find once I was using a compass and talking to locals at the same time in the countryside, that they had no idea what I was using. I had to explain that it was your culture that invented the thing in the first place.

This one's been killing me for the last 10 years.
When you ask somewhere where something is (could be anything) you often get the same response.

Q: Where can I find the nearest gas station?
A: There isn't one here.

Chinese
Q: Qingwen, zui jin de jiayouzhan zai nali? 请问，最近的加油站在哪里？
A: Zheli meiyou. 这里没有。

yeah because there isnt one

"here"

or you would be able to see it!

On both occasions when I got lost, wet and cold from the rain, the same locals who were useless for directions gave me hot soup and a dry blanket to warm up.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by zhu

yeah because there isnt one

"here"

or you would be able to see it!

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Me thinks you must be Chinese with that logic.

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Originally Posted by slabo

the same locals who were useless for directions gave me hot soup and a dry blanket to warm up.

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+1, nice words slabo.


There are ways to get better answers from people. The thing is that a lot people have never been more than 100km away from their hometown, and took a bus to go there anyway. Back before i used gps and still relied on paper maps and local wisdom, i'd usually pick the closest place on the map in the direction i wanted to go, somewhere say 10 - 15km away, and ask which way to get there. People usually know how to get the next town.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by slabo

On both occasions when I got lost, wet and cold from the rain, the same locals who were useless for directions gave me hot soup and a dry blanket to warm up.

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Why is it that people who have the least give the most and the people who have the most give the least especially in China .

Quote:

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Originally Posted by felix

+1, nice words slabo.


There are ways to get better answers from people. The thing is that a lot people have never been more than 100km away from their hometown, and took a bus to go there anyway. Back before i used gps and still relied on paper maps and local wisdom, i'd usually pick the closest place on the map in the direction i wanted to go, somewhere say 10 - 15km away, and ask which way to get there. People usually know how to get the next town.

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Yeah I don't believe this .My family here is spread out across Xinjiang,Gansu and Tibet and alot of small towns in between all travel widely ever heard of Chinese New Year.Oh and and a far amount of them a have long ago got ridden of the motorcycle for a car.

Basically in China a journey that the average outback Australian would consider to be 'going shopping' would be the furthest 98% of Chinese drivers have ever been from home by car. Thus asking anyone for directions further than the nearest town would be utterly pointless, with the exception of a few truck or taxi drivers.

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Originally Posted by ZMC888

Basically in China a journey that the average outback Australian would consider to be 'going shopping' would be the furthest 98% of Chinese drivers have ever been from home by car. Thus asking anyone for directions further than the nearest town would be utterly pointless, with the exception of a few truck or taxi drivers.

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Unless you live in Xinjiang or the big T or even Gansu or Qingdao.90% of Australians live on the coast or nearby like China but if you ask an an" average outback Australian"if there is one directions you are going to get a 100% true and direct answer.Probably because if it all turns pear shape for you their the one's who are going to come and rescue you unlike China.

By the way Chinese drivers/riders in the above mention regions are traveling vast distances they just don't post here for obvious reasons.

This summer I will expect the usual influx of Chinese tourists driving and riding from down south hell I've even met people from Guangzhou driving to here.

Actually ZMC888 the average "outback Australian" can typically travel 500klms to go shopping that is if the wet season hasn't closed everything off in that case it is a helicopter or plane drop for must need supplies.

Really you can't compare the two countries.

Damo, I'll give you that some Chinese drivers do drive long distances, but that's why I said 98% of Chinese drivers. Which is about right. Go to eastern China, the amount of non-locally registered cars on the road in any city is about 0.5%. This is because most Chinese drive cars to gain face, using a car much in the same way they use bicycles and electric bicycles, thus clogging up the roads with pointless trips and even more stupid and selfish parking, mostly have no idea about local geography and even if they go somewhere far rely absolutely on GPS. Sure things are probably different in XJ, but that's the 2%.

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Originally Posted by ZMC888

Damo, I'll give you that some Chinese drivers do drive long distances, but that's why I said 98% of Chinese drivers. Which is about right. Go to eastern China, the amount of non-locally registered cars on the road in any city is about 0.5%. This is because most Chinese drive cars to gain face, using a car much in the same way they use bicycles and electric bicycles, thus clogging up the roads with pointless trips and even more stupid and selfish parking, mostly have no idea about local geography and even if they go somewhere far rely absolutely on GPS. Sure things are probably different in XJ, but that's the 2%.

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So you think this three day holiday 98% of Chinese car drivers are venturing no further than their city.I'd say it's a strong bet your wrong.

Funny most people on here are using a GPS of some form or another and rely heavily on them.

This year is a good year to get married and also have a child in China.Huge amounts of family are moving around this country(not just their home town) this year to go to wedding's and see the new kid and the preferred method of transport car.I bet it ain't just happening in XJ.

I think you only gain face now if you have a Porsche,BMW,Merc etc anything lesser than that it is just a means of transport.

You're just arguing for the sake of it.

Woohooo! BigD's got fired up!

Once I got lost and I was trying to find a little area in Lvshun called Dongjiguanshan scenic area. I was up in some little farming community on the side of a hill someplace and I asked these guys where it was once or twice and this fella had no idea what I was talking about. I finally figured it was my pronunciation and just tried throwing some tones in randomly, butchering the name worse, I'm sure. However, I finally blabbered something that these guys could understand and they pretty quickly told me to get out to the road, take the first two lefts and I would be there. Sure enough it was right there, just up an oddly straight, new road that looked like it ended off a cliff. Even though it was very close it was my trusty lazy tongue that was causing the problem.

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Originally Posted by ZMC888

You're just arguing for the sake of it.

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Seven months with out seeing or speaking to another foreigner has turned me into a cranky old bastard.Still think I am right.:mwink:

Could be time to go home.

It's tough living in China. Especially being isolated way out over in the west. Anyhow around here in eastern China they do more often than not do for stupid short pointless drives. However out west they clearly use their vehicles more logically.

I agree on the and even more stupid and selfish parking part and will go further their driving is stupid,dangerous and selfish.

There are six Porsche cayenne in this small town my brother in law bought the first one yep probably for face.With in a few months some one bought a Cayenne S one up man ship next someone bought a Cayenne turbo now just having a standard Cayenne is yawn per say.Have to laugh all the on board computer/displays are in English they can't read a word of it.

I especially like the idiot that bought the Ford F150 and after a month brought it around to me so that I could explain to him what everything does because everything is in English including the owners manual.The fool didn't even know it was 4wd with a turn of the dial.I should of just switched it to 4wd and left it there.I think this clown wins the prize for having the most unsuitable car for China but he has achieved having the biggest face of all in this small town it is bright/fluro orange and sticks out like dogs balls.Everyone now thinks he is cool except me.I am now expecting an influx of big F150 in this small town now.

But I digress if I ask someone where the LPG station is around here(it is 500 mtrs away turn right once then turn left once then straight ahead 200mtrs can't miss it)

I will invariably get a different response from each person I ask.The one I like is there is no LPG station near here.

I did sort of get the right directions a couple of weeks ago heading up into the mountains.

While in the city, asking any of the roadside vendors get's me to where I want to go 90% of the time.
Asking any pedestrian for directions results the answer "I'm not from here. I don't know"