Taxis
Taxis in China are very cheap and convenient. However, you need to be aware of a few things first before getting in. The meter — Make sure the taxi has a meter. if there is none, get out, it's not a genuine taxi. If there is one, make sure the driver starts the meter. If they don't, just say 请打表 (qǐng dǎ biǎo). If they refuse, get out and take another taxi. The reason for this is if they don't hit the meter, it is usually because they are either not a genuine taxi, they are trying to rip you off or there is some other conspiracy going on.
Negotiating Fares — On longer trips, it can be worth your while to ask the driver to not hit the meter and negotiate a price instead. This could end up saving you money in the end.
Sharing — It is quite normal to share taxis with strangers on longer trips. For example, when I was leaving Xi'an, I went to the bell tower to catch a shuttle bus to the airport. The tickets for the bus were about 35 RMB. As I was going to purchase a ticket, a taxi driver approached me and asked me to take his taxi. Now, a taxi all to yourself would commonly cost 100 RMB if the driver agreed to not hit the meter. However, he was offering a ride for 25 RMB as he had three other passengers who were paying the same amount.
Know your route — If possible, get an idea of the general route the driver needs to take to reach your destination, as they could go a longer way and charge you more. In some situations, the driver may not even know where your destination is but won't say anything.
This actually happened to me in Xi'an. We were going to a friends apartment, but the building was quite new, so the driver didn't actually know exactly where the address was. He didn't tell us this and just drove around the suburb. When we asked him if he knew where it was, he said yes and kept driving. Eventually it became obvious we weren't getting there and we asked to pay and get out. With a bit of walking around and asking for directions, we finally got there.
Motorcycle Taxis
Motorcycle taxis are much faster and even cheaper than cars as they can weave in and out of traffic with ease. They don't have meters, as they are usually not an official taxi service, just some people trying to make a living, so you need to negotiate a destination and price before you hop on. A warning though, they are not for the faint hearted—it's quite a thrilling ride at times. 
Rickshaws
Another possible mode of travel is by rickshaw. This is very convenient, and very cheap. Again, you negotiate a price before getting in. Keep in mind, the generally won't take you a great distance, they will usually only go several blocks, so you may need to negotiate the destination as well.
Pick-Pockets
Like many other countries around the world, having your things stolen by a pick-pocket is a very real danger. In China, it happens out in the open in broad daylight, and despite what you may think, witnesses virtually never say or do anything to stop it, and they have very good reason not to. If you see someone having items stolen from their bag or pocket, don't say anything. Pick-pockets usually work in groups, with one person doing the dirty work, and sometimes another close by to try and block most people's view of what's happening with more further down the street keeping watch. If you do anything, it can get dangerous and you may very well get hurt.
Some thieves work alone, and in some parts of China, I've seen children stealing with an adult standing nearby keeping watch.
They can be very cunning, and you won't even know you've been hit until it's too late. Some thieves even use chopsticks as an aid to lifting items out of pockets or bags.
I know a true story of my American friend in Xi'an who was walking on the street outside the university we were studying at early one morning. He had earphones in his ears as he was listening to music on his iPod. It was cold, so he had both of his hands in the front part of his hooded jumper. His ear became itchy, and just as he lifted his hand up to scratch it, the music stopped. He reached back into his jumper only to find there was no iPod attached to the other end of his earphones. He looked all around him on the ground but it was no where to be seen. He asked people standing around on the street if they'd seen anything, but no one was willing to help.
My advice is to walk with your bag on your front, or put anything valuable in a pouch strapped to your body. If you choose to simply put things in your front pockets, it would be a good idea to walk around with your hands in your pockets.
Be constantly aware of your surroundings. Occasionally look to either side of you, or over your shoulder as you walk, even during the day. if you are observant enough, thieves usually stand out and are pretty obvious. If you see someone stealing from someone else, try and remember what they look like so you can recognise the thieves that operate in each area you frequent.
When I was studying in Xi'an, there was a busy and narrow street that I would take almost every day. I noticed there were about three or four thieves that worked that street. Every time I walked past them, I would subtly acknowledge them by making eye contact and smiling. Eventually, they would smile and give a little nod of their heads whenever I walked past them. In the eight months I spent in Xi'an, I would have seen at least ten or fifteen people having their bags or pockets raided on busy streets in broad daylight, however I never had anything stolen.
Street Food
Along the busier streets all over China you will find stalls selling food and snacks cooked right there on the street. This food can include meat skewers, squid, mutton and bread, Chinese style pancakes and burgers, and even fried insects.While this food can be delicious and very convenient, you should be aware of what exactly you are putting into your mouth, and the risks involved.
Some street vendors use 地沟油 (dìgōuyóu) or "gutter oil" in their cooking. This oil is either simply recycled oil used over and over, or it is made by collecting sewerage and boiling it down to extract the oil. Animal fats and recycled cooking oil are also added. This oil can be very dangerous for your health as it contains harmful bacteria and carcinogens.
I must stress that gutter oil is not in use everywhere. It has been estimated that one in ten of all restaurants, eateries and street stalls within China use it, although it is most likely to be used in the cooking of street food, especially for deep-fried foods.
From experience, you can usually tell where gutter oil is being used from a very strong sickening stench. I smelled this stench every time I passed a particular stall in Xi'an that was selling deep fried foods. Although it is possible it may not have been oil made from recycled sewerage, I am certain it was at least made from oil that has been recycled and reused over and over again, which in itself is very unhealthy.
You can see some news stories on this topic by Radio Free Asia and NTDTV.
I want to emphasise that I am not trying to put you off going to China or from trying the delicious street food there. I only included this story as I think it is important to have more knowledge on this issue and to keep it in the back of your mind when trying street food.
Money
The currency of China is known in English as Chinese Yuan (CNY), although in Chinese it is called 人民币 (rénmínbì), meaning "the people's currency", hence the common abbreviation RMB. The symbol for the RMB is expressed as either ¥ or 元.The division of the currency is basically like dollars, dimes and cents. One 'yuán' (元) is divided into ten 'jiǎo' (角), and one 'jiǎo' is divided into ten 'fēn' (分). It is important to take note that 'yuán' is often referred to as 'kuài' (块) and 'jiǎo' as 'máo' (毛) in spoken Chinese.
The notes used today come in 100, 50, 20, 10, 5, 2 and 1 yuan, and 5, 2 and 1 jiao. The coins come in 1 yuan, and 5, 2 and 1 jiao. It is still possible to come across 5, 2 and 1 fen notes and coins, although they are very rare as they are no longer being produced.
Fake Money
The security features to look for on the 100 yuan note are:
- A watermark on the left-hand side of the note, which when held to the light shows an image of Mao Zedong
- An unbroken metallic strip threaded down the width of the note, with a holographic image of '¥100' appearing as the strip is shone in the light
- The '100' in the bottom left-hand corner will change colour from green to a sort of silvery blue as you change the viewing angle of the note
- To the right of the colour changing '100' is another '100' that appears when held to the light as the paper is thinner in that area
- To the right side of the watermark you will see an image of an old Chinese coin with a square hole that will appear when held to the light as each half of the coin on either side of the note merge
- In the top left-hand corner next to the coat of arms is a '100' filled with a pattern formed by tiny 'RMB100' and '100RMB'
- There are textured areas on the note that can be felt when you rub your thumb over them, such as over Mao's coat, over the red lines on the right-hand side of Mao, over the braille in the bottom right-hand corner, and over the PRC coat of arms in the top left-hand corner
- In the top right-hand corner, another '100' should only be visible if you place the note horizontally in front of your eyes
If you are learning Chinese, it is worthwhile noting that the numbers appear differently on bank notes and legal contracts. Traditionally, this was to eliminate the potential for changing the amounts by adding extra strokes.
The characters 一，二，三，四，无，六，七，八，九 and 十 appear as 壹，貳，叁，肆，伍，陸，柒，捌，玖 and 拾.
The characters 百，千，万 and 亿 appear as 佰，仟，萬 and 億.
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