I don't speak Chinese. Will I encounter any problems going through customs in Beijing?
I will be flying to Chongquing (CKG) through Beijing (PEK) with a Chinese friend to visit his home. I am American and speak practically no Chinese. Will I have any trouble going through customs in Beijing (due to language barriers)?
In particular, will I be able to speak to customs agents in English, or will my friend be allowed to help with translation?
Best Answer
It's unlikely that you would encounter problems solely due to a language barrier. In my (limited) experience, border officials in China (at major international airports) speak English well enough to do their job with English-only passengers. Also, since you already need to get a Chinese visa for your trip, the hard work has mostly been done. Your interaction with the border official will probably not be more than nod, check photograph, check visa, stamp, done.
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Can you travel to China without speaking Chinese?
In short, you can rest assured that a trip to China does not require you to speak Chinese. It is possible to get around China sometimes using only English and most certainly using voice translation apps on your phone or Mandarin phrasebooks.Do they speak English in Beijing?
After all, Beijing is a capital city with a big foreign population, right? Overall, there are many Chinese people who speak very good English, although some are a bit shy in actually using their language skills. But whether you encounter those English speaking locals really depends on the specific location.Johnny Orlando, DVBBS - I Don't (Official Video)
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Answer 2
Although I have never entered Beijing, I got through PEK several times as a transit. In my experience you can just use English and it has no problems at all.
PEK is one of the largest international airports in the world and I'm sure that if you exclude passangers from China, Taiwan, and Hong Kong, at least 80% people that are going to get through the immigration or customs don't speak Chinese.
In fact I don't believe there exists an international airport that doesn't have enough officers who speak English.
However, be assured that sometimes they have slightly awkward accents (from American standards).
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