Beijing Travel Forum

After reading some of the other postings I have a few more questions for my trip to China in April.....We don't fly often and have never locked our luggage or used the tie things people talked about in a posting....should we lock our luggage/or use the cable tie things? and if so why? Also does anyone know much about the China World Hotel? What are the Pearl market, Silk factory? How would I find out if the rooms at the China World Hotel provide blow dryers?

Call up the hotel and ask if they provide blow dryers for hotel guests.
I personally don't bother locking/tying my luggage, but then there's nothing worth stealing there.

Depends on what you're bringing with you. When we traveled to China we planned on traveling for an entire month so, we packed the minimal stuff and each carried one carry on each. Easy to fit into overhead copartment and, in case someone wanted to go through it, we controlled it.
Going to Africa however, we tied out bags up with the ties. Again, no problem but, we had to check in our medications, liquids, etc due to the more recent rules/regulations in place.

China is extremely affordable for purchasing clothing as well as any necessities you may require. Instead of packing heavy, pack light, buy an extra suitcase towards end of trip and use for your souveniers and excess clothing! Additionally, laundry (especially outside of hotels) is very cheap as they charge by the kilo.
More tips about packing on our pages.

Homer

Thoroughly agree with Homer and Eddie re packing lightly. However, we did lock our cases and use the tie things...maybe because we are Australian and there are quite a few instances where Australians have been detained in prisons around the world because of things in their luggage (as opposed to things being taken out of their bags):)
We also made sure our cases were secure whenever we left our hotel rooms as we had read about maids etc tampering with people's belongings. Don't know how real a problem this was though.

To lock or not to lock is difficult. We have had locked luggage, and unlocked luggage broken into in airports. Not much was stolen, we carry on our few valuables, but everything was gone through.

A warning: Johannesburg airport is notorious for theft, especially if you are in transit!

So try to carry on everything you cannot do without, and is allowed on the plane. Get tags/shrink wrap/locks put on if it makes you feel better, it does mean it will take longer to open, and remember: most luggage arrives and is untampered with.