getting directions

[wix]

Does anyone else have trouble asking Chinese people for directions? I find it incredibly frustrating continually being given vague directions.

There could be several things happening. (1) People don't know where the place is but don't want to admit it. But I think this is rarely the case. (2) Chinese people are poor at giving directions. When I was in Thailand I was told that this was the case in Thailand by a Thai colleague. She said that because not so long ago Thailand was mostly a village society people knew where everything was and never needed to give directions. (3) The location is obvious to the person giving directions therefore they don't feel or understand the need to give more detailed directions. I think (3) is the most likely reason.

There are a couple of things that drive me crazy. One is the use of shangmian (meaning up or upper side). People use this not when talking about going upstairs or up a hill, but in places that are totally flat. Obviously they perceive the place as being "up" but it leaves me totally confused. The other is people just saying "ohh, it's in Zhongshan Road" or "it's in Wenhua district". It might make sense to them but when you are in a strange city and don't even know the name of the road you are standing in it is completely useless.

Does anyone have any good suggestions about how to get good directions or any stories about receiving bad directions or whatever?

[Guest Anonymous]

During my trip to Chongqing, I found out that people there tend to give directions in terms of "left" and "right" instead of "north" or "south" as I'm used to. After speaking to a couple of people, I found out that generally speaking, northerners give directions by saying "north", "south", "east" or "west" while southerners tend to just say either left or right because northern China is mostly just plains while southern China is more mountainous. When you live on the plains, it's easier to distinguish north, south, east or west. However, when you live in a mountainous region, it's easier to just say either left or right.

With that said, I don't believe I've ever had trouble following directions given to me by the locals when I visited Beijing and Shanghai. Maybe once or twice (but mainly because I didn't know the streets) but no more than anywhere else I've been.

[ChouDoufu]

I always went straight to those CITS places to get directions (when I'm travelling. I've found the people who work there to generally be nice and friendly and often times they'll give you maps (they usually have free ones and ones you can pay for) and you figure out how to get where you're going on your own.

I'm bad at giving and taking directions in any language though...