Why do most americans ( at least the people that I know)hate traveling to China?

I don't mean to be offencive, but a lot of Americans don't know whats going on outside of their own state, never mind outside their own country. Average American could be right with the propaganda idea.

I love living in China. I hate the travel process. I have to fly 12 hours (give or take) and then I have to connect to another flight (which may or may not be the same day I arrive in Beijing) to get to the city in which I live. I do all this with my husband and my two children (ages 9 and 10). I have to deal with jet lag not only for myself, but for my children and be patient with them as they readjust. The entire process is exhausting.

However, I love being there!

I do not know any of the people you know. All the people I know would like to go to China. The only problem I have in going to China is the time spent in the plane. It gets kinda long sitting in a seat for 12 to 14 hours at a time, each way. This is my only dislike about going to China though.

I should think you would have to ask THEM....since, WE probably don't agree with them.

I'm sure, many people have this image of China as third-world, uninteresting, low-class lodgings, and people all dressed in boring, gray, shapeless clothing.

There's an impression that the whole country is really colorless, and that one is taking their life in their hands going there...food is dangerous, etc.

Plus, there are difficulties with going. It's a VERY long way, and there are visa requirements that make it prohibitive. And I'm pretty sure, it hasn't been open to travel for terribly long.

Personally, I have a lot of travel wishes, and only one river cruise in China is among them.

Well, I can't speak for most Americans, but I can speak for myself...

China is a very interesting country, and there is a lot of stuff there that is well worth seeing. That said I did speak with a number of other foreigners who found the country to be extremely tiring to travel around. A lot of it had to do with:

1) The crowds--the population density in China is so much greater than it is in most parts of the west. I'm hardly agoraphobic, but pushing your way through crowds gets old fast.

2) The sheer difficulty of traveling. There is essentially zero English language penetration in China outside of major cities (and in major cities it often seems like all the English speakers are trying to sell you something and/or rip you off) and the completely different writing system can make it very easy to get lost and very difficult to get un-lost.

3) You constantly feel like people are staring at you. Again once you get out of major cities there aren't a lot of non-Han Chinese people wandering around, and a white guy like me with a red beard sticks out like a sore thumb. I actually had random people coming up to me and asking to take a picture (which was kind of cool) but also a lot of people who were just watching me, which felt sort of unsettling. Also I kind of got angry when a Chinese guy in Nanjing randomly pinched my arm hair.

4) The pollution. You would not believe how dirty my baseball cap was after one month in China...

And don't get me wrong--I like China, and I want to go back. But it is a strange and exhausting place for a westerner to travel around.

i don't get it. are you talking about people who have traveled to china and hated it. . . ?

maybe it wasn't what they thought it would be.

or are you talking about people being, basically, forced to go to a country they don't like. . ? they don't have to go. no one's making you go to china if you don't like it or want to go. . .

about 90% of the people i have met that have traveled to china loved the experience. i'm American, i enjoyed my time in china. i cannot wait to go back.

i am American and people that you know must have no interest in being curious ... i mean most Americans love to travel and take a vacation anywhere...... we fascinate people who travel and love to travel... maybe some people don't like to go to chine cuz its overcrowded and while in a vacation people choose places like the beach or somewhere stress free... and most Americans not me don't like to eat things they are not used to so maybe that's why but i would love to travel to china !!

i have to agree with Sailor and Banana Man my no longer secret admirer.

10 to 12 hours flights can be tiring, but once i arrive in China, my depression and anxiety is all gone.

China is my prozac.

I have to agree with sailor8 sitting on an airplane for 12-14 is not fun and is most likely the reason they do hate.

one explaination is that the people you know are all those who are anti-china