Hey, One of the major problems that I faced while travelling in china is not knowing chinese. Asking directions or hailing a cab or ordering in a retsurant is a big pain. I tried this service called www.chinahelpline.com...you can call 021-6100-9700 from anywhere in china and get connected, they have wonderful staff who help u in giving orders to anyone in chinese. just tell them what you want to tell the driver or waiter in english and they will converse with the person in chinese and make them understand , its pretty cheap also compared to hiring interpreters or getting robbed or wasting time. I just loved it .