Before you go
Survival Mandarin
You don't need to study the language for a trip. Find the phrase you need and tap it — it fills the screen in large Chinese for you to hold up to a driver, waiter or shopkeeper. The pinyin is a rough guide to saying it.
Basics
Taxi & getting around
Restaurant
Shopping & money
Pharmacy & feeling ill
For anything serious, go straight to a hospital — these are for saying what’s wrong.
Problems & help
A translator app does the rest — see the apps to install. For pointing at menu items, an AI or camera translator beats memorising food words.