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Q: What's the one thing you wish you had brought with you on your first trip to China?
I'm planning on going soon and I just want to make sure I bring everything I need that I can't buy in China.
Thank you!
there are other flavours of toothpaste
if you are unsure of being unable to buy it, because of the location of where you are, bring it with you
Diarrhea medicine. Bring loads.
Tampons if your female and that's what you use. Only towels here.
And a pack of cup soups, for when you get homesick
mArtiAn:
Women here use towels? I dry my hair with towels. And f***ing cuppa soup!?
ScotsAlan:
Cuppa soups are small and light, and they can transform a few slices of not so good bread into a half decent snack.
I hate traveling with big heavy cases. I go as light as I can. And cuppa soups are light and compact.
royceH:
The Scotsman is correct. Packet soups are most important. And shaving gear. And deodorant. And if you're staying for any length of time you'll need to bring some new socks and underpants too. None of these things (real) are available in China.
something to stop me shaking my head , however they had alcohol at the Airport in big bottles ,so all is good
Orange Bud, Silver Haze. at least 10kg... just to see china as it is B-)
Nessquick:
But the best one for survival here. I loved the days, when i travel to China. Prague - Amsterdam - Shanghai. Arrived to Amstr at 10am a leaving at 6pm... wow, I was brave to find the right gate in time 
1. Diarrhea medicine
2. Headache/Painreliever/Hangover medicine (Ibuprofen)
3. Condoms that fit
As you can guess, my first trip here was a drunken romp of a shitfest!
bigbshigo:
dude... totally. I feel stupid reading the back of condom boxes in order to find the size. most all of them are 52mm... way too thin! Durex makes two styles that are 56mm (i think Perfect Fit and something in a blue box) but very rare to find!
cooter:
I was performing this exact arduous task just this past weekend. And...omg! I found some I hadn't seen before...don't remember the exact name....Durex branded and supposed to be super slim, "like not wearing a condom at all". 49mm....I felt a little tinge of pain just thinking about it 
Deodarant! Difficult to find here...
Nessquick:
almost every lianhua shop, or bigger suppermarkets in the chemical sections have some pieces to choose from, every where have Watson stores, mannings, where can you buy. really at least adidas or nivea deos' for 20-30kuai . and big cities have Sephoras and others, so it is not that difficult, unless you need some specifi
Depends where you're going, if you're going to a small city I advise -
Tampons - (if that's your preference over towels).
Deodrant - (can't find it in any stores near me).
Perfume - (If you're an avid perfume wearer, bring a full bottle and spare if you can - not only can i not find my favorite brand anywhere, i'm lucky if i can find any kind).
Books - No foreign book stores in my city, i suggest about 5 to keep you entertained for a while.
Tea - If you're British or have a tea fetish like me, bring some tea bags like tetley's or PG tips etc.
Flat shoes - I cannot for the life of me find flat shoes here and if by some chance that I do I can't get them in my size!!
Vitamins - It's hard to say what nutrition, if any, you get from the food over here, so I suggest to bring a good multivitamin to take everyday so you can be sure that your insides are being looked after. With all the fake food scams over here I would suggest you bring some from home rather than buy here.
Painkillers - headaches, aches and pains etc.
Clothes for all seasons - Stupid me, but as I came during summer -95% of my suitcase was summer clothes, and when winter came I had to fork out a lot to buy warm clothes. Make sure you at least bring 2 thermal types and also lighter clothes.
Mosquito repellant - for when the sun kicks back into action.
A lot of the above you can find here, but like I said if you're in a small city like me, these are the things I've struggled with. And when I go to a bigger city, shopping for these things isn't the first thing on my to do list.
sorrel:
i bring garlic tablets.
good for what ails you and a preventative to so many common problems
also a mosquito repellent as they don't like the faint odor from your skin
A large bottle of advil- Chinese stuff doesnt do anything.
Your fave snacks... lots of them. you can find things here but if you really love say mint chocolate for example, its either non existant or ass.
If your lazy but still wanna cook sometimes I always bring those lipton sidekicks, there like 99cents back home, near weightless. You can find meat to cook, but sides can be a hassle so those always helped me out.
BBQ sauce for said meats. Trust me youll need it to battle the roughness of the meats.
Axe body spray, they dont have it in 99% of places and if you do find it its like double or triple the price. On a teachers salary most dont wanna spend 90 plus on body spray but its humid as hell most the year, youll be glad you had it.
If you have bigger feet bring an extra pair of kicks. 7 years and ive found exactly one pair in my size. Too ugly to consider buying. And it should be cheaper back home anyways.
bc powder, goody's or stanback for headaches
mucinex for chest congestion, not from a cold, from the pollution
heavy duty wrangler or levi work jeans, all fabrics here are very thin, not durable and made to last less than a year. have wranglers that are 10 years old.
scotch tape, the tape here is worthless for wrapping gifts or hanging decorations
powder or pellets in the can drano for toilets, nothing here works that you can get at a supermarket
three hole binders here are pretty lousy also
if you like zebra pens, bring refills with you, havent found any in china
Forgot to say, bring a loaded Kindle. It's very difficult to buy foreign books here. But you can still buy books on your Kindle account. I loaded mine with low price classic collections.
But just bring a normal ebook kindle. Not the tablet. Amazon does not sell music and video here, only books.
Lol, you will be amazed at the number of people who try to swipe your classic kindle screen, and ask why it's not in colour.
More Solphedine for the headaches and number 2. teabags.
#1. Cipro
#2. Ibuprophen
#3. American sized condoms
i brought a one cup coffee brewer that is light and small to carry in my suitcase while travelling to different factories. All the hotels have a water boiler for tea... and that is what you use to boil the water to pour into the contraption that holds the coffee grounds above your cup.... great coffee in your room at any hotel!
1) If you travel in the wild and want to shave : good razor blades.
2) Imodium.
3) Washable earplugs.
4) Books. Foreign books are quite hard to find, small choice.
5) Ready-made paste to bake pies and quiches. Quiche lorraine, I miss you.
Ground cinnamon. In China I have only found cinnamon sticks, the cinnamon powder is always mixed with other spices.
I second the ibuprophen (or whatever works for you)
razors
condoms
or
tampons
or maybe both?
Some $$ you may exchange if need be.
Ball point pens
underwear and socks
Scotch tape
sometimes I would like to have a petrol fueled kick ass chainsaw. Something a Canadian lumberjack would use (the real lumberjacks, not the Monty Python kind) Then I would walk up behind old people who parade their little shit plastic noise boxes and rev that thing Hannibal Lector style to overpower their tunes.
royceH:
C'mon Scan, you've never seen real lumberjacks skip and jump, press wild flowers and such? Never?
C'mon Man....where do you hang out?
I suggest you visit your local bar tonight and report back you didn't see any high heel wearing lumberjacks in there....and if you do, I'll tell ya I don't believe ya!
DrMonkey:
How about a vuvuzela ? It would be more environment-friendly, and you can pretend that you are playing music (to be said with your best poker face).
Scandinavian:
I've never been to Canada. My knowledge about luberjacks come from Monty Python and some show on Disco Very Channel about these dudes trimming trees while hanging from a helicopter.
Enough money so that I could have got off the aircraft and lived in Singapore instead.
I guess I wish I'd brought just a skerrick of language with me. I survived ok without any but a little would've made life easier.
Ni hao, pijiu, bing de, shen zi..for example.
