1. Communication: Very few Chinese people know how to speak in English.

Do try to learn a few Chinese words before traveling to China. If you are short of learning the basics of their language, do at least bring with you a basic phrase book with transalation in Chinese characters that you can at least show the locals.
It is very useful since it is as simple as showing it to the local people for them to easily understand what you are saying.

2. Transportation: Motorcycle is not allowed in some parts of China.

A local said this was their action to prevent the crimes like robbery/snatching while riding in motorcycles. I was curiuos when I saw herds of bicycles on the streets and main highways minus the motorcycles.

Brightly lit stores line up the intersection of the downtown district of Chang-an

3. Getting around: Taxis have wire harness around the driver.

It was like riding a police car having a wire harness or more like a wire fence around the driver. They said that this is protection from the danger of robbery. Most taxi cabs also don’t issue receipt, but you can haggle on taxi fares. We were advised to pay just a maximum of 20RMB for a 20-minute ride to our hotel.

*Make sure to have a Chinese translation of the hotel or place that you are staying which can be easily understood by the driver.

*A really interesting thought from friend who was with me in China when we saw the monument – “We checked for the name plate when we returned to the monument but it was already removed. But thinking about its shape, it seems like a sundial, a device used in the olden days to tell time by position of the sun and the shadow it casts.”

4. Phototaking: Chinese locals (and Chinese elders) are not used to people taking photos of their place.

This is maybe because, it was not a tourist area in China. When I brought out my camera and tripod, elders approached me and were curiously looking at the lcd screen of my camera.

5. Dining Custom: Tea is used to clean the dining utensils.

Unless you are dining in a hotel, a local mentioned that it is customary to wash the utensils before dining to assure cleanliness. What’s unique is that you use TEA to wash them. After washing, you can start enjoying drinking your hot cup of tea.