Duckear,
I spent two weeks in Beijing and Nanchung this year. Very cold and dry in the north while cold and wet in the south at that time of the year. Suggest you follow advice on carrying documents, back-up copies of documents and a back-up to that. I even saved images of all documents to my PDA. Not that they would be valid, but an acquaintance of mine suggested that if you do lose the originals, and you have to visit the US Embassy, they will at least take you a bit more seriously -- potentially saving some time in getting the replacement paperwork started.
I carried all my originals on me, in a Victorinox Neck pouch worn under my shirt and other valuables in an Eagle Creek UnderCover™ Deluxe Security Belt. I just felt better having everything close to me [see aside in brackets below]. I also left paper and electronic copies of all information with my wife.
I took a very small Gerber and a Squirt P4 in checked baggage. No problems, even flying with-in China.
I would suggest some waterproof-breathable rain-gear. South of the Yangtze can be pretty warm, wet and damp this time of year.
What I needed and used most was my Adventure Medical Kits Weekender (packed in checked baggage) and AMK Ultralight .9 (packed in carry-on) customized to my preferences.
When I changed planes in Narita, exicted to be off the plane after 15 hours and in a new land and not focused on my immediate surroundings, I smacked the back of my hand against a metal sign inside the terminal, which is when I put the Ultralight .9 in my carry-on to use. I arrived in Beijing six hours later on Chinese New Years at 11:00 pm China time, which is when I was greeted with the information my checked bag somehow didn't make the trip across the Pacific -- it showed up two days later pretty much undisturbed except for the addition of the "we have looked at your underwear" note from the TSA. Even though I washed the wound with soap and water (we were staying at the Grand Hyatt and tap water was fine to consume), the back of my hand was already infected and throbbing. When my bags arrived, I cleaned, disinfected and treated the infection further and started on a course of Z-Pack, which my doctor was kind enough to prescribe as a just-in-case, as this turned out to be. Even by the time I returned to the states, it still wasn't really healed, and took another three to four weeks to clear up. Though it's a small scar, I'll carry it as a memento forever. Also, FAK came in handy for a few cuts and scrapes my friends acquired.
I carried phone numbers and addresses to the US Embassies in the areas I was going into. My cell carrier is Cingular, and for $5.00 / month, I was able to activate international roaming and dialing, and if I recall, calls home cost a reduced rate of $1.99/minute with that package added on. You can cancel that add-on upon returning to the States. My company also has office in Beijing and Hong Kong. Even though I don't know anyone there, I looked-up the address and phone number information of a few people there and stored on it paper and in my PDA. Just knowing I had them
If you're interested
The State Dept has some info and
Foreign travel info and registration The Katadyn is good choice and I carried one, but never needed it. Even when traveling to and south of the Yangtze through the Lushan area, I was able to get boiled water. And despite what I write below, everyone I met was kind, helpful and considerate.
To pass the time on the flight(s), you might consider "Frontiers of Heaven" by Stanley Stewart. A tale of his journey on the Yangtze from Shanghai to the Pakistan boarder. By the eight hours mark thorough the trip and looking how comfortable other passengers more well traveled than I seemed, I was wishing I had one of those travel neck pillow/supports.
[Re using the "hidden" pouches, glad I did. When I was in the Beijing train station, I had several shirts and some snacks come up missing out of my backpack, during the three hours waiting on the train. It must have been pretty obvious to everyone except me and my two friends, as we were personally escorted to our train car, about 30 minutes before posted boarding time by a uniformed (what state worked isn't) station employee, who was pretty much laughing and shaking her head at us.
Guess they saw our plight and got us out of there while we still had some possessions left. I will always remember looking back and the looks on the faces of the hundreds of people waiting to begin boarding -- some looked quite disgusted that we were put to the front of the pack, others looking at us like we were being "taken away" (and don't think that thought didn't cross our minds for a few minutes) and a few looked like they were just glad to see us go.
Please believe me, when you are in one room, literally out-numbered 500 to 1 on one of the busiest travel days of the year, and can't say anything more that "hello" (knee-how), thank you (she-a she) (my very poor attempt at typing how it sounded to me) and "Happy New Year" you'll not want to make a fuss, and be grateful for all the help you can get.]
Safe travels and enjoy.
Buckeye
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