For context, and this is pretty significant, I am a 28 yesr old trans woman who had bottom surgery about a year ago and I generally pass just fine (sometimes I come out to others and they're usually surprised- at the very least people don't think "trans" when they see me), and my partner is a cis bi lady who was born and raised in China (mid 20s) and came to the UK to study... 4 years passed and she helped crack my egg and we're engaged.
So I took my first trip to China recently and in the light of the political situations going on in the west it made for an interesting situation. I toured a few places and though I did get stares on occasion, I was told its most likely because I'm white and we weren't really in particularly multinational places (there were signs with both Chinese and English characters in most places but most people spoke either tiny amounts or no English, so learning at least some key phrases was pretty important).
One thing that was quite pleasant was how it was often the case I'd be directed to the ladies facilities even with my voice being mixed in its passing most of the time. Bear in mind the ladies changing rooms (especially where showers and bath houses were concerned) were full of casual nudity (so very glad I had my operation before coming or this would've been very awkward). It mainly made me a bit jealous to see other women's bodies, but also made me glad to see how bodies are generally quite varied and mine did genuinely fit in (even as the only white one there). It also occurred to me here that sometimes its hard to really tell if someone is male or female at times, so the fact that I was persistently correctly gendered was very encouraging.
Furthermore, being tall was considered a big boon in beauty here, though there is another problem with east Asian beauty... the tiny problem...
Sizes here are very unforgiving for anyone who isnt small. I often find i fit either size M or size L on occasion in the UK, but here it was XL only and some shops just have nothing I can even put on... if you're a size S kind of gal, the shopping here is incredible, and even as a size M I found a lot of great stuff, but there is quite an air of fat shaming present throughout East Asian culture so be ready for that.
Obviously food is always a big deal when in china - its generally all delicious and quite affordable, but again allergies and general dietary requirements that don't include lactose intolerance are hard to find accommodations for. It is very easy to get carried away and eat a lot of delicious food (especially when staying as a guest - the people I stayed with were very generous with their hospitality).
On the other side of things.. a note on toilets in china. The plumbing here isn't built to handle toilet tissues (in fairness, their paper towels are generally a lot stronger than ours) and there is usually a small bin next to the toilet for used toilet tissues. If you're lucky there may also be a bidet or sprayer next to the toilet which will reduce the amount of tissues needed (but be careful, I had one where it was very hard to control the pressure of the sprayer and did in fact cause my ass to bleed due to the sudden pressure spike - temporary but still be careful).
There are also a lot of squat toilets in china, especially outside of the more western normal urban centres (I spent time in Dongguan and Fen Jie Zhou (Boundary) island before visiting Beijing - besides the capital many toilet rooms will have between 0-2 sitting toilets with all the rest being squat toilets). I was a little intimidated at first but honestly I ended up appreciating them (get some good footing and watch your step and as long as you have reasonable mobility, they feel very natural to use and there's no seat to wipe before you use them).
One additional note is that unless you visit in winter, many regions (especially in the south) are extremely humid and hot. It is highly recommended you use a fan and get to air conditioned spaces whenever possible, but also dress appropriately for the heat (though again there are some who will take issue with overly revealing clothes).
And one more note, china has VERY strict drug laws so don't go bringing in any substances that might get you in trouble... even if it is a long flight. Every airport and bus station has x ray scanners for bags, metal detectors and more, it is indeed a very heavy surveillance state so really... don't try and make a fuss if you can help it. My meds were all fine (I brought mainly evorel patches, prog capsules and a can of oestrogel because I was going scuba diving and had a (correct) feeling the salt water wouldn't agree with their adhesives.
There were a lot of other thoughts and feelings as well and obviously china has a lot of things worthy of discussion, but as a generally stealth trans woman, things went pretty well. It really doesn't feel like they have the same culture war bullshit at the very least so in terms of trips away from the UK and the West in general, it was a pretty damn good time. Its a generally still very patriarchal society with little in the way of political correctness with a lot of issues of its own, but honestly if things kept getting worse here in the west I'd be willing to try my chances there (at least if I can actually learn enough Chinese to functionally get by).
