Field notes from

CHINA

May 10, 20251 min read

China was the trip that gave me the biggest culture-shift in the shortest amount of time. Everything works through one app — payment, transit, food, calls, all of it. Once I got WeChat Pay set up, the whole country basically opened up.

The food was the headline. Beijing duck in Beijing, hotpot in Chengdu, dim sum in Guangzhou — each region is its own cuisine, and none of them resemble what 'Chinese food' means back home. Bring an appetite and a willingness to point at menus.

The surveillance is real and visible. Cameras at every intersection. Facial recognition at metro gates. It's interesting to experience and worth keeping in mind for what you say and where you say it. The general advice I got from a local friend: 'only talk about the weather and sports.'

Logistics tip: download a working VPN before you land — most western apps are blocked, and you'll want maps that aren't government-curated. Also, save offline translation packs in advance.

From the camera roll