Hi. Journeywoman is a great website. I found it quite useful when deciding what to take wear to China but would still do it differently if I go again. I found Beijing, Xi’an and Shanghai to be extremely fashionable and contemporary – the shopping was incredible in Shanghai and the young women could be walking the streets of New York for all their fashion acumen. I took a couple of pairs of black pants – one dressy, one cargo-casual and jeans as well as a light pair of tweed pants. Everything coordinated with everything else including my black lightweight dressy jacket and a light raincoat. I took some brightly colored sweaters and t-shirts but found it was almost always too hot for sweaters, even on the Great Wall. I think it’s funny that our travel agent cautioned us about dressing warmly for the excursions, but I guess because we live in Canada (Vancouver), we just didn’t find the weather chilly at all. In fact, while it was 6 degrees centigrade in Vancouver (43F), in Beijing at it’s coldest, it was around 14 degrees (57) and that was in the mornings. I wish I had taken more dressy outfits as, contrary to what I’ve read on the internet, women really dressed up for the Peking Opera and the Tang Dynasty dinner show. Even along the shopping boulevards in Shanghai, I felt a little too casual.
P.S. Some of the women on our tour wore cotton summer jackets, capris and sandals in Shanghai – November 3 and 4! All in all, we LOVED China, especially our cruise up the Yangtze – (beware the so-called 5 star ship though – the bathrooms certainly leave a lot to be desired).
Cheers and happy travelling to everybody.

Alyse, Vancouver, Canada

I recently returned from a three week Fall tour in China. The weather in Beijing was warm but pleasantly cool everywhere west and south. The only rain was a light drizzle one morning of our Yangtze cruise. The most useful things I packed for my trip turned out to be scarves. I’d brought two pair of black jeans and ended up wearing them with one or the other black or red cotton blouse, since everything else I’d brought was too warm. The Chinese notice when you wear flattering colors and they appreciate your attempts to dress nicely. I didn’t bring any jewelry along, except for a silver chain with a pendant, and a plain watch. The only thing I noticed people staring at were my shoes. It was pretty funny after a while. My shoes were sensible, black loafers. I am fairly tall, so my shoes must have looked really big to the locals. Chinese women like to wear dressier shoes, heels and sandals, but I wanted to be comfortable. Next time I go there I will bring along some dressier shoes for evening activities. I loved China, found the people very helpful, perhaps because I speak some Chinese and that surprised them. I can’t wait to go again.

Kay, Fairbanks, Alaska

Chinese women and girls tend to dress somewhat conservatively. That is, no bikinis, no belly-button revealing clothes and no short shorts or skirts. Although some women do wear these types of clothing, it is often looked down upon and is seen as an invitation for men to harass women. I never ever had a problem with harassment in China and I’ve traveled all over for extended periods of time. If you’re respectful of the people, their customs and culture, they will in turn respect you.

Emily, New York, USA

I just read a couple of posts on people wearing gray or bland colors trying not to stand out in China. I’m living here and working as a teacher right now and I had to laugh. What you wear is unlikely to make you stand out either more or less than you will anyway. Unless you dress sloppily. The Chinese will appreciate it if you dress up and wear pretty clothes (you will rarely see women older than teenagers in jeans.). The Chinese wear velvet, sequins and other things Americans normally only wear for New Years parties on a daily basis. I found out the hard way. My first year here I lived in denim. I thought it practical for wear and hand washing. I will never think denim better for hand washing again. And it doesn’t necessarily wear better. This is my second year and I wear a lot of black, pink and purple, velvet and glitter. Dressing up has made a world of difference in how I am perceived. You can get by with just lipstick and blush as Chinese women rarely wear makeup other than lipstick. Scarves are also popular, but don’t bring them from home. Buy them here. They are cheap and more gorgeous than any I’ve seen in America. And lots of variety. Oh, and skip the sneakers. A lot of women wear heels here, too. And the Chinese also really love sparkly hair accessories, but, again, buy in China.

Kate, an American living in China