No matter what you plan to do when you go travelling there is no doubt that learning some of the local language before you go will stand you in good stead.

From haggling in a market to finding out what is really on your plate, there is nothing quite like being to make yourself understood. Of course, some tongues are more difficult than others to pick up and if you are planning on going to China then it is going to take a bit of patience and dedication to get the basics learned.

It certainly isn’t impossible to learn Chinese if you are an English speaker, or vice versa, and it is becoming an increasingly popular option for intrepid travelers and business people looking to tap into the huge Asian market place.

Once you get to Asia you will be both delighted and relieved that you made the effort. Something as common in China as eating out on the street changes from being a nightmare of confused hand signals to being a pleasurable and memorable experience if you are able to communicate with the locals.

This same improvement can be found in almost every walk of life if you go prepared to at least attempt to speak Chinese. You can chat to hotel staff about the kind of room you want, learn interesting stories from people you bump into and feel as though you are genuinely soaking up the culture of the country through its people.

Making your trip in this open manner is guaranteed to not only give you a better vacation: it could also change your life forever. Learning how the Chinese people live and making friends and contacts on your travels are things which are certain to make you think in a way you have never thought before. Whether this results in you staying on longer in China or simply coming back home with new knowledge and a different attitude to life is impossible to know before it happens but whatever comes of it there is no doubt that it will be interesting.