Things to bring to Beijing (clothes etc.)

[Brian US]

Deodorant is almost impossible to find. I also stock up on coffee and a few pair of good jeans. My hands get cold easily, so I actually need a good pair of mittens instead of gloves. This was hard to find on the street for larger men's mittens, so I ended up picking up a pair in the States.

For those staying out late, keep in mind there are a lot of fake alcohol brands and condoms sold in China.

[LoisLane]

I'm moving to Beijing for grad school for two years. For people who have had to pack for long-term trips to China like me, how many pieces of luggage did you bring?

Also, a question for the girls, are pads easy to find? I know that certain hygiene products can be hard to get.

[imron]

The longer you are going for, the less you should bring. Most stuff you need you can buy there quite cheaply so you might as well save yourself the trouble of carrying all those heavy bags.

[xiaocai]

Agree with imron. Now I always try to bring as little as possible even if I'm moving to an expensive place. I still remember dragging 40+ kg luggages along through the customs, while 500 other people waiting in the queue in front of me. One person will not need too much anyway, and if you do forget some thing which you think is absolutely necessary, it is not going to cost you an arm and a leg to buy it later, be it online or in specialty shops. If all these don't work out, you can still ask your friends or family to post you some from overseas, in urgent cases. Of course there is no way that you can get everything you used to be able to get back home, but that's the trade off of living abroad. If you can't sacrifice some, might as well just stay at home.

And yes, most Chinese women do use pads, and tampons sometimes. And most of us live in apartments instead of caves.

[roddy]

Two years isn't long term ;)

Travel light, and save the luggage allowance for taking stuff you've picked up back with you. Definitely only one bag, and it doesn't need to be a particularly big one. Although if you've got warm winter clothes to bring that will add some bulk.

[skylee]

And yes, most Chinese women do use pads, and tampons sometimes. And most of us live in apartments instead of caves.

If all these don't work out, you can still ask your friends or family to post you some from overseas, in urgent cases.

Not everyone has them. This strategy would not work for me.

[xiaocai]

Ah, skylee, you are just a little bit too, negative should I say, sometimes. Alright, tell me if you ever get into this kind troubles next time, I will try my best to help, and I am serious.

[gougou]

Two years isn't long term

Then again, many of us started with 6 months or a vacation only and are still around years later...

[dnevets]

Very surprised at some of the recommendations on this thread. Do people really think it is so difficult to find deoderant, aspirin, dental floss, cold remedies, moisturiser etc? All of these things were really easy for me to find in Xi'an, so I'm guessing the same should be true for any reasonably-sized Chinese city.

The only thing I really had trouble with is shoes, since I have quite big feet. For most brands, I'm size 44, and many shoe shops didn't go higher than 42. Those that claimed to be size 44 or 45 were actually just size 42, but with a different label inside :-D So apart from big shoes... I'd only think about more 'niche' items. For me, it's Marmite. Passport, big shoes, marmite - ready to travel!

[Freek]

For anyone who didnt realize... (cmon large cities in china are up to date with western world) !

Please people, beijing is one of the largest cities in the world, bringing all its advantages.

It has state of the art shopping centers and malls.

It might take a little longer to find stuff, but everything is there, also european brands in european malls and supermarkets.

Take your toothbrush and certainly;

- One or two creditcards. Losing yours is very troublesome in china, make sure you have a chinese bank account for emergencies

- Your passport + visa

- International phone and numbers in case of emergency

For medication or incase of sickness/health problems

- There is a hospital for foreigners with foreign staff

And yeah, the longer you stay, the less you should bring. Im travelling with hand luggage only and staying for a year. Killer ;D

[ohitsgary]

A friend of mine who's been to China a few times before told me to underpack. You will more than likely buy a lot of things there to bring back home. I guess you should only the bring essentials, such as clothes, a jacket or/and jumper to cattle the cold, camera, glasses (if you wear them), toiletries, medical drugs, laptop perhaps. You can easily buy your other essentials you may have forgotten when you're there. Make sure not to be overweight in baggage cos that will bring hassle and headaches.

[langxia]

Very surprised at some of the recommendations on this thread. Do people really think it is so difficult to find deoderant, aspirin, dental floss, cold remedies, moisturiser etc? All of these things were really easy for me to find in Xi'an, so I'm guessing the same should be true for any reasonably-sized Chinese city.

The thing is those are rather personal things, it is not that you can not find em in china but it is more that if you are used to a brand and like it you might not find it in china.

Especially deodorants, you can find em now but your choice is rather limited. And for example I do think that a lot of deodorants actually make me more smelly than without so if I find a brand and smell I like I tend to stick with it for a long time.

[LoisLane]

Thanks for the luggage tips. I realize China is a modern, developed country, I just know from past travels that sometimes tampons are easier to find than pads and vice versa in different places, so I was just wondering what China's situation is.