Topic: Heading to China soon, any advice?

Been living in Japan for years now. Speak fairly decent Japanese, somewhat well-traveled, also been to Mexico (half-Mexican so I speak some Spanish), Canada and the States (I was born in the UK).
I've never been to China but all of me Japanese and non-Japanese friends tell me its really different than Japan, and pretty much any where else. Me and my partner (who is Chinese) will be there for about 5 days, so I just wanted to know if anyone had any general advice. I don't speak much Chinese, as my partner and I speak to each other mainly in Japanese), but I have started learning. Its a lot harder than Spanish and Japanese are.

By the way we're going to Shanghai.

Not much to recommend, really. Especially Shanghai is pretty "Western" if you will. Lots of shopping centers, little culture, apart from the bond by the river.
I don't really like Shanghai, but I guess for a first trip to China it isn't too bad.
And by the way: Chinese pronounciation is harder than the Japanese one, and being required to learn more symbols is more complicated, but Japanese has BY FAR the harder grammar. I wouldn't call either one easier or harder to learn.
I've studied both in university, by the way, and I've been to China 4 times now, been there once for half a year, and I'm heading there again in January.

Edit: Try and find some back alleys or generally smaller streets with small shacks serving as restaurants and the likes. Get some real Chinese food. Don't fall for any highly polished restaurant "palaces". And real Chinese food is way different from what you might know as 中華料理. ^^

That's cool. I guess I can see that about the grammar. But a lot of people try to tell me to just compare Chinese grammar to English, or Japanese sounds to Spanish (they do have pretty much the exact same vowels), but I think its better to just try not comparing and focus only on the language I am learning and try my hardest not to learn by always translating, which of course is possible when you get to the conversational stage. At some point for me, I reach this huge plateau where I can really get any farther in my learning and then boom, I just really start getting it. but yeah, Chinese has soooo many more sounds than Japanese. But being fluent or semi-fluent in Japanese really doesn't help when learning Chinese. They really are so different.

So you don't like Shanghai, what part of China do you like? My partner isn't from Shanghai, but he has quite a few friends there so he wanted to visit them, and he thought it would be fun for me for a first time.

In Shanghai they have the traditional script so it'll be near identical to Kanji. I speak Mandarin so I can't give advice on what Shanghainese is like :/

KeeperBvK is right, it's very westernised by now and there aren't that many things to be wary of. I guess at times Chinese behaviour may seem rude and unclean (especially if you're coming from Japan) but after a while you get used to it. I have relatives in Shenyang and Beijing, so it was embarrassing to watch them spit on the streets and yell loudly in Australia whenever they came to visit.

As for food, I wouldn't wander too far off the beaten track without someone from the area - it's hard to discern the really good street food from the ones that will make you sick. Also, each little province of China has its own unique flavour, so feel free to be a little daring with which restaurants you go to. Just beware that Sichuan food is unbelievably spicy, and some of the northern provinces serve a lot of offal.

No, they don't. Only Hong Kong, Macao, Singapur and Taiwan do.

As for regions I prefer: Yunan has preserved more of its authenticity and the fruits there are amazing as is nature in general.
Beijing has more culturally interesting places.
Xi'nan is an old capital of China and as such has lots of culture as well, but isn't as overrun as Beijing.
Fujian also has some interesting places like the traditional Hakka settlements or Xiamen and its adjacent island.

There is just SO much to see in China, it's basically impossible to see it all in one life. ^^

My friend is from the Northeast (Harbin to be exact, but he knows Shanghai fairly well). There are some times where he'll be out doing other stuff, so I know I'll want to explore a bit on my own, even if its just a casual walk around the area.

Oh, believe me I lived in North America for much of my pre-college life, so I've seen plenty, but yeah I haven't left Japan in years so it'll be a bit of a shock.

Is the pollution really as bad as people say it is? Is Shanghai clean or dirty. This is so weird, since I just quit smoking and I'm trying to get all healthy and eat better, and right away I'm going on this big trip to China.

Breathe as little as possible

That would be my advice. lol

Give the impression that you're poor. E.G Don't go around drinking a Starbucks coffee or wearing fancy / "normal" clothes.
I heard you that if you look like you have a lot / modest amount of money they will charge you depending on their guess.
Also keep away from the tanks blaring Jingles Bells or other music / noise, Unless you want a quick free power shower. (Said tank goes around washing buildings, not too sure if this happens in Shanghai though.)

A health and safety notice:
Don't drink the milk, don't drink the water (depending on source), don't drink the alcohol.
Bring your own water, lots of it.

Might be useful: http://www.shanghaiexpat.com/phpbbforum/is-shanghai-safe-and-...

Just don't drink the tab water without boiling it. Otherwise, water is just fine. As is alcohol. The most common beer in China is Qingdao, anyway, which is brewed like we Germans showed them to.

girls.

They love you long time

When in Shanghai, just walk along Nanjingdonglu. You'll inevitably be harassed by girls inviting you to a tea house or asking you if you want a massage. And that street isn't some shady back alley, but the main shopping mile!