Water in China

Sorry if this subject has been covered many times before but i'd really like
some advice re the water situation in China. While in Russia I was extremely
careful, ate no salads, showered with my mouth closed, brushed my teeth in
bottled water etc. Do I need to be this careful in China? For example, if
i'm offered Peking/Crispy Duck in a retaurant am I going to have to avoid
the green stuff in cae it's been washed in tap water? Thanks in advance for
any replies. xiv

louis xiv wrote:
Sorry if this subject has been covered many times before but i'd really like
some advice re the water situation in China. While in Russia I was extremely
careful, ate no salads, showered with my mouth closed, brushed my teeth in
bottled water etc. Do I need to be this careful in China?

Probably. You are unlikely to have salad in China except in some hotel
restaurants. But yes esp. if you are outside the big cities use
bottled water. In many hotels they supply you with boiled water in
thermos in your room.

For example, if
i'm offered Peking/Crispy Duck in a retaurant am I going to have to avoid
the green stuff in cae it's been washed in tap water?

I wouldn't go that far.


Thanks in advance for
any replies. xiv

In article , louis xiv
says...
Sorry if this subject has been covered many times before but i'd really like
some advice re the water situation in China. While in Russia I was extremely
careful, ate no salads, showered with my mouth closed, brushed my teeth in
bottled water etc. Do I need to be this careful in China? For example, if
i'm offered Peking/Crispy Duck in a retaurant am I going to have to avoid
the green stuff in cae it's been washed in tap water? Thanks in advance for
any replies. xiv

That depends on your immune system. Some people easily get stomach
upsets, while others (like me) can eat whatever they want in a place
like China. While I China I only drank bottled water, but brushed my
teeth with tap water and ate salads in restaurants.

You might try to limitate exposure to the local bacteria in China, but
unless there is an outbreak of typhoid or other dangerous disease, it
might not be necessary. But that depends on how well your digestion
system adapts to a developing country.
--

Alfred Molon

http://www.molon.de/Galleries.htm - 6000 photos from Asia, Africa and
Europe

louis xiv wrote:
Sorry if this subject has been covered many times before but i'd really like
some advice re the water situation in China. While in Russia I was extremely
careful, ate no salads, showered with my mouth closed, brushed my teeth in
bottled water etc. Do I need to be this careful in China? For example, if
i'm offered Peking/Crispy Duck in a retaurant am I going to have to avoid
the green stuff in cae it's been washed in tap water? Thanks in advance for
any replies.

I think this hyper-strict avoidance of local water is counter-productive
unless you have reason to believe it's tainted with something that will
definitely make anyone sick, such as cholera or hepatitis.

Otherwise you are better off giving your system a chance to adjust to the
encounter that you are inevitably going to have with the local bugs sooner
or later. If you insulate yourself completely, and then your unplanned dose
(bottled water that hasn't been filtered properly, etc.) is large, you'll
get far sicker than you would have otherwise.

In China I drink bottled water in remote areas, and tap water in larger
cities. Never have any problems.

miguel
--
Hit The Road! Photos from 36 countries on 5 continents: http://travel.u.nu
Latest photos: Queens Day in Amsterdam; the Grand Canyon; Amman, Jordan

"louis xiv" wrote in message
k...
Sorry if this subject has been covered many times before but i'd really
like
some advice re the water situation in China. While in Russia I was
extremely
careful, ate no salads, showered with my mouth closed, brushed my teeth in
bottled water etc. Do I need to be this careful in China? For example, if
i'm offered Peking/Crispy Duck in a retaurant am I going to have to avoid
the green stuff in cae it's been washed in tap water? Thanks in advance
for
any replies. xiv

Don't drink tap water, or brush your teeth with it. Most hotels will
provide you with boiled or bottled water. Drink bottled water when you're
out and about, but make sure that the bottles are sealed when you buy them.
Tea, of course, is always made from boiled water and makes for a safe water
substitute. As in many countries with questionable municipal water
sources, some unscrupulous street sellers refill empy bottles with tap
water.

As for the "green stuff," we feasted on Peking duck, which includes
scallions, a number of times on our most recent trip to Beijing with no
ill-effects. However, normally we avoid uncooked foods, including raw
vegetables, in China. My wife, who is from China, habitually peels fresh
fruits and, even after living in the US for more than 10 years, watches me
with shock and awe when I eat an apple without peeling it.

PTravel wrote:

Don't drink tap water, or brush your teeth with it. Most hotels will
provide you with boiled or bottled water. Drink bottled water when
you're out and about, but make sure that the bottles are sealed when
you buy them.
... My wife, who is from China, habitually
peels fresh fruits and, even after living in the US for more than 10
years, watches me with shock and awe when I eat an apple without
peeling it.

Have you ever considered that what you wrote here might be the result of
your wife's emotions, rather than based on pure science ?

I, not having a strong stomach but used to eat and drink normal food (not
deepfrozen and microwaved supermarket food) in the west, have never got any
serious problem in China with food or water.

Sometimes, i wonder why people worry so much about the water in China but do
not worry at all when they eat kebab and that kind of risk-food.

"Dieter Aaaa" Dieter wrote in message
...
PTravel wrote:

Don't drink tap water, or brush your teeth with it. Most hotels will
provide you with boiled or bottled water. Drink bottled water when
you're out and about, but make sure that the bottles are sealed when
you buy them.
... My wife, who is from China, habitually
peels fresh fruits and, even after living in the US for more than 10
years, watches me with shock and awe when I eat an apple without
peeling it.

Have you ever considered that what you wrote here might be the result of
your wife's emotions, rather than based on pure science ?

My point was that even the Chinese are careful about fresh produce and water
in China.


I, not having a strong stomach but used to eat and drink normal food (not
deepfrozen and microwaved supermarket food) in the west, have never got
any
serious problem in China with food or water.

You've been lucky. Tap water in many cities (Shenzhen and Guangzhou are two
that come to mind) is quite polluted. Virtually all hotels in China
(including those that cater to in-country Chinese guests, i.e. "not
foreigners") furnish boiled or bottled water in the rooms. When I go to
China (which is relatively frequently), I do exactly what the Chinese do: I
eat anything and everything, as long as it is cooked, and I only drink
boiled or bottled water (or tea, beer or motai).


Sometimes, i wonder why people worry so much about the water in China but
do
not worry at all when they eat kebab and that kind of risk-food.

I'm not sure what you're referring to by "kebab," but Chinese cooking
methods are very effective at killing potentially harmful bacteria (I've
only once contracted food poisoning in China -- I think it was deliberate,
but that's another story). There's nothing risky about eating
properly-prepared Chinese food.

People who visit China worry about the water in China because the Chinese
worry about the water in China -- they don't drink tap water, either, at
least not without boiling it first.

x-no-archive: yes

PTravel wrote:
"Dieter Aaaa" Dieter wrote in message
...
PTravel wrote:

Don't drink tap water, or brush your teeth with it. Most hotels will
provide you with boiled or bottled water. Drink bottled water when
you're out and about, but make sure that the bottles are sealed when
you buy them.
... My wife, who is from China, habitually
peels fresh fruits and, even after living in the US for more than 10
years, watches me with shock and awe when I eat an apple without
peeling it.

Have you ever considered that what you wrote here might be the result of
your wife's emotions, rather than based on pure science ?

My point was that even the Chinese are careful about fresh produce and water
in China.


It's a cultural habit born from centuries of careful eating habits,
esp. since agriculture has been based on "natural" fertilizer even up
to today.


I, not having a strong stomach but used to eat and drink normal food (not
deepfrozen and microwaved supermarket food) in the west, have never got
any
serious problem in China with food or water.

You've been lucky. Tap water in many cities (Shenzhen and Guangzhou are two
that come to mind) is quite polluted. Virtually all hotels in China
(including those that cater to in-country Chinese guests, i.e. "not
foreigners") furnish boiled or bottled water in the rooms. When I go to
China (which is relatively frequently), I do exactly what the Chinese do: I
eat anything and everything, as long as it is cooked, and I only drink
boiled or bottled water (or tea, beer or motai).


Food poisoning in China usually come from the eating utenzils. That's
why a lot of my friends have a habit of washing the chopsticks and
bowls in hot water before the meal.


Sometimes, i wonder why people worry so much about the water in China but
do
not worry at all when they eat kebab and that kind of risk-food.

I'm not sure what you're referring to by "kebab," but Chinese cooking
methods are very effective at killing potentially harmful bacteria (I've
only once contracted food poisoning in China -- I think it was deliberate,
but that's another story). There's nothing risky about eating
properly-prepared Chinese food.

People who visit China worry about the water in China because the Chinese
worry about the water in China -- they don't drink tap water, either, at
least not without boiling it first.

On Wed, 24 Aug 2005 21:37:12 GMT, the renowned "Dieter Aaaa" Dieter
wrote:

PTravel wrote:

Don't drink tap water, or brush your teeth with it. Most hotels will
provide you with boiled or bottled water. Drink bottled water when
you're out and about, but make sure that the bottles are sealed when
you buy them.
... My wife, who is from China, habitually
peels fresh fruits and, even after living in the US for more than 10
years, watches me with shock and awe when I eat an apple without
peeling it.

Have you ever considered that what you wrote here might be the result of
your wife's emotions, rather than based on pure science ?

I, not having a strong stomach but used to eat and drink normal food (not
deepfrozen and microwaved supermarket food) in the west, have never got any
serious problem in China with food or water.

Sometimes, i wonder why people worry so much about the water in China but do
not worry at all when they eat kebab and that kind of risk-food.

Why do you think it is it risky? Because it's prepared by Muslims?


Best regards,
Spehro Pefhany
--
"it's the network..." "The Journey is the reward"
Info for manufacturers: http://www.trexon.com
Embedded software/hardware/analog Info for designers: http://www.speff.com

On Wed, 24 Aug 2005 19:23:15 -0400, Spehro Pefhany
wrote:

Sometimes, i wonder why people worry so much about the water in China but do
not worry at all when they eat kebab and that kind of risk-food.

Why do you think it is it risky? Because it's prepared by Muslims?

Perhaps he's talking about doner kebabs (gyros?), which are slowly
cooked on a vertical rotating spit. I've sometimes been a bit
concerned about them too, but its nothing to do with it being prepared
by Muslims.

They're fine if there's a steady trickle of customers buying them
because the less well cooked meat under the outer surface has a chance
to fully cook by the time the next customer arrives. The problem is
that at busy times some of the meat being removed may not have had a
chance to fully cook, and so could be dangerous. I've noticed that
when that happens the vendor will sometimes cook the meat for a couple
of extra minutes on the hotplate before serving it. I'm sometimes
concerned that under pressure to serve many customers at once, they
might not have time to be as careful as they should.

Chris