We Just Visited Mainland China. How Challenging Was the Trip?

Exactly what degree of difficulty does travel to this area of the world hold?

Michael and I just finished a nine-day tour of southern China, and we absolutely loved it (and we’ll be writing more on exactly what we did and liked so much in the weeks ahead).

One of the biggest questions I had about travel to mainland China has now been answered: how challenging is it? What “degree of difficulty” does travel to this area of the world hold?

The truth is, at times, I thought, “This is less difficult than I thought it was going to be.” At other times, I thought, “Okay, I’m an experienced traveler, and this is throwing me for a serious loop.”

This, even though we’d hired a series of private guides for the entire trip.

China is extraordinarily beautiful. And yet…

What follows is a list of exactly what felt challenging. And at the end, I’ll make a final judgment — on a scale of one to ten — on exactly how “difficult” travel to China is in 2025.

But some caveats: we traveled many hundreds of kilometers and we spent time in multiple cities and villages, but of course, China is a massive country, and we still only saw one small part of it — and we didn’t visit the most cosmopolitan cities of Beijing and Shanghai.

Also, your mileage may vary. Some of this is just plain ol’ subjective.

The toilet situation is… complicated.

I hate to begin with the most “obvious” concern that many Westerners have about travel to Asia, but, well, it is a common concern. And it’s a real issue.

This area of the world is known for “squat” rather than “seated” toilets, and if you’re not familiar with them, they definitely take some getting used to.

The good news is that all Chinese hotels that serve Westerners have seated toilets (at least in the rooms), and so do some restaurants. Airports, train stations, and attractions that cater to Westerners may have one or two stalls with seated toilets, along with mostly squat ones — and because there are so few Western tourists, those stalls are usually wide open.

Also, public restrooms are free and wonderfully plentiful (as in most Asian countries).

The bad news is, you’ll often find yourself in many places where there are only squat toilets.

You’ll get used to it. Sort of.

And you’ll be in “travel” mode, with an inconsistent schedule, eating lots of unfamiliar and maybe sometimes even “questionable” food, so you’re more likely to need a toilet.

Finally, as with much of Asia, many restrooms don’t provide toilet paper, so you need to remember to carry your own (although you may find a roll at or near the entrance to the bathroom). Also, you can almost never flush used toilet paper; you fold it up and put it in the bin provided.

Bottom Line: Much of the world uses squat toilets; they’re supposedly much healthier and more natural than seated ones, and it’s not that hard to adapt. However, these toilets can be intimidating at first, and it definitely takes some getting used to.

It’s a different culture, English isn’t widely spoken, and non-Asians are often a novelty.

I mentioned toilets first because they’re what many people are curious about, but the fact is, they’re a good representation of the country as a whole: it’s different from the West.

• English is not widely spoken, and when it is, it might not be very good.

• Most businesses don’t accept credit cards; instead, in addition to cash, the country uses an app called Alipay, which can be tied to a credit card (although you might still encounter issues, as we did).

• Many Western apps and websites are blocked in China, requiring workarounds (and/or a particular VPN).

One of our big surprises was that China has a massive and flourishing tourism industry — it’s just almost entirely for Chinese tourists from other parts of the country.

At least in the part of the country we visited, Westerners are very rare — especially non-Asian ones.

And people stared, especially in the smaller towns and away from tourist areas. Children frequently gaped in open astonishment.