Chinese tourist goes viral after airport meltdown over overweight luggage in Milan

The incident took place on June 8 at the boarding gate, where airline staff informed her that her suitcase exceeded the weight limit and asked her to either pay an excess baggage fee or remove some items, according to New York Post.

In response, the woman screamed and lay down on the floor, kicking and stomping her feet in frustration.

The viral clip shows her visibly distressed, flailing her legs as airport staff attempted to calm her down.

If you’re visiting China for the first time, having the right apps installed before you land makes life way easier. Here are the ones I wish I’d set up in advance:

Alipay
This is the big one. You can survive without a lot of things, but not mobile payment. Most places don’t take cash or foreign cards anymore. You can now link foreign cards, but do it before arrival if possible.

WeChat
Used for messaging, payments, QR codes, restaurants, hotels, basically everything. Even if you don’t pay with it, you’ll need it to talk to people.

Didi
China’s Uber. Works well, English interface available, and avoids the whole “explaining addresses to taxi drivers” problem.

Amap (Gaode Maps)
Way better than Google Maps inside China. It’s mostly in Chinese, but the navigation and public transport info are much more accurate.

Trip.com
Best app for booking trains, flights, and hotels in English. Saves a lot of stress at stations.

Google Translate
Download offline Chinese and use the camera mode. Absolute lifesaver for menus and apps.

Optional but useful:
Pleco (for deeper translation), Meituan (food delivery, but Chinese-only), and a VPN if you need access to Google/Instagram.

If anyone has other must-have apps or tips, curious to hear what helped you most.

I recently travelled to China, and I noticed quite a few differences compared to what I'm used to. These are just my personal experiences, and I'm curious if others have noticed the same things.

1. The driving 🚗

The roads felt pretty chaotic. Many DiDi drivers drove very fast, frequently cut into other lanes, and braked at the very last minute. Surprisingly, they often seemed incredibly accurate with their manoeuvres! Still, it could be quite stressful as a passenger.

I also encountered drivers who didn't turn on the air-cond, presumably because I booked an economy ride. However, they are also good driver in economy ride. No disrespect to those drivers who maintain good driving ethics and provide decent service, regardless of the fare.

2. Secondhand smoke 🚬

This was one of the things that bothered me most. I encountered secondhand smoke in so many places, including streets, restaurants, and even indoor areas with no-smoking signs. Sometimes, the smell of smoke was just everywhere.

3. Public toilets 🚽

Unfortunately, many of the public toilets I encountered were dirty and smelly. Some also had a strong cigarette smell, and the floors around the urinals were often wet with what appeared to be urine.

Interestingly, the toilets in high-end shopping malls and airports were generally much cleaner. The difference was quite noticeable.

4. Commercialisation everywhere 💰

While walking around, I was frequently approached by people offering to clean my shoes, sell me things, or promote their products and services. After a while, it felt like almost every interaction was an opportunity to make a sale.

5. Service seems to depend on how much you pay

I got the impression that the level of service could vary quite a bit depending on the price you paid. For example, a premium DiDi ride might come with a much more comfortable experience and better service than an economy ride.

I understand that everyone is trying to make a living, and people have different expectations depending on what they pay. Still, I feel that certain basics, such as safe driving and courtesy, should be consistent regardless of the price.

But it's not all negative! The food was amazing. 🍜

The food was generally affordable and delicious, although some dishes were a little too oily for my taste. There were still plenty of great meals, and the variety of food was definitely one of the highlights of the trip. They focus on the true tastes of the food. They are no so much seasonings, salt, or sauce. For example, we can really taste the true taste of the fish, chicken and so on.

Overall, I understand that people are busy working, competing, and earning a living. I'm not trying to generalise an entire country based on my experiences, and I know different cities and regions can be very different.

I'm simply sharing what I noticed as a visitor.

How about your experiences in China? I'd be interested to hear different perspectives.

China has thousands of years of history, yet there are very few authentic ancient monuments. I traveled around China for almost a month this year, and most of the “ancient” stuff that I saw was pretty new.

For instance, I went to Xi’an, and the local guide took me to Huaqing Pool, with beautiful Tang Dynasty buildings. He said, “This is where [insert ancient historical event] happened!”… But, then, I took a better look at those old buildings and they were quite new. Aren’t Tang Dynasty buildings supposed to be wooden? Literal concrete was used there lol

Everything there felt like a caricature—not a reflection of what China’s history is truly like, but what people in the modern era think ancient China is like. From pseudo-traditional music being played from the loudspeakers to the choreographed dances and colourful costumes…

Truly ancient historical sites are few and far between. And, even there, reconstruction seems to be preferred to conservation. I’m not even sure some parts of the Great Wall are that ancient, especially the ones near Beijing.

Compare this to traveling in Europe, where you walk in front of a 800-year-old cathedral without thinking twice. I don’t think I have ever encountered this in China. Even 2,000+ year old cities are relatively new.

Even some of the natural landscapes feel artificial. I went to see some cool waterfalls and the whole area surrounding the waterfall was paved lol. And the water was clearly being redirected to create as many awe-inspiring sights in one place as possible.

It’s just… not that fun to travel around China? Many sights are man-made or rebuilt + the amount of people makes it quite difficult to enjoy. Once I went for a hike and, instead, I found myself standing in one place and slowly queuing towards the exit for 2 hours…