The little things I’d bring home from China

I’d like to bring quite a few things home from China. Most of them are the small things that make a day easier. And, obviously, tea.

Adapted from my travel notes dated 31 August 2026.

The coffee

The choice, the easy ordering, the speed, the clever little lid. The prices, especially the prices.

On this trip, an Americano with orange juice cost me no more than £2. Hello?

I’d appreciate a cup smaller than half a litre, but that’s a minor complaint. I hadn’t been drinking coffee for ages. Now I’m hooked again.

Loose-leaf tea everywhere

I am a tea fanatic. The sort who brings seven kilos of tea home from Asia. True story.

Give me the chance and I’ll happily live on the stuff. Finding loose-leaf tea in my hotel room and at the airport made me disproportionately happy. The tea ceremony at the airport nearly finished me off.

I love it when, back in Bali, the girls ask, “I’ve got pu-erh. Anyone want some?” or “I’ve got oolong. Shall we?”

I’d happily bring that habit to England. Please give me something more exciting than another PG Tips bag.

Metal seats on the metro

I can jump into mud and get absolutely filthy. Public transport seats are a different matter.

The clean metro carriages and metal seats I saw in China were such a relief. Why are we so attached to fabric seats in London?

Perhaps this is personal. A pub manager has spent three years telling me off for moving tables over a carpet that appears to be about 300 years old. At some point, surely, the carpet is the problem.

Having everything in one app

Alipay brought together so many things I needed: transport payments, the hotel, food, maps and even a translator. The translation wasn’t perfect, but it was there.

I felt the same about WeChat. Having things in one place makes a difference when you’re trying to find something on your phone and your patience is disappearing by the second.

Gojek used to be my Roman Empire. Now Alipay has joined it.

The trains

China’s trains made quite an impression on me.

I still remember getting excited when Hyundai trains arrived in Dnipro. I became a fan of Asian trains then. I can feel affection for the old Soviet ones as a childhood memory, but I don’t want to spend another twelve hours in one.

Being able to connect cities by train is something I really value. I’m not a fan of buses or taxis, and taking a plane for a ninety-minute flight feels wasteful.

My conscience does occasionally make an appearance. Even after I’ve had AI making memes for two days. Apparently I have to pick my environmental sins.

Platform markings that make sense

Which way do I go to change trains? Where will my carriage stop? I’d like those answers before the train arrives, please.

The floor markings I noticed showed carriage positions, while colours helped identify the front and back of the train. Such a small thing. So much less running around in a panic.

I also appreciated being able to choose a window or aisle seat without an extra charge on the journeys I took. With London’s prices, that really shouldn’t feel like a luxury.

Power banks and hot water

The rentable power banks caught my attention, too: pick one up, charge your phone and return it at another station or in another city. I liked that idea a lot.

And hot water at stations. Sometimes there seemed to be only hot water and no plain drinking water, but for tea or noodles? Very useful.

Honestly, I’d bring the tea first. The sensible platform markings can come with it.

Another letter from this trip: what happened when English ran out.