A group of six girls—myself included—embarked on their journey to Beijing on Oct. 1. The trip was bound to be a success, planned to be a break from school, and meant to provide insight into Chinese culture. And for the most part, it was exactly that. It was a success because of how much we learned. It was a break from school because of the lack of classes. And it provided insight into Chinese culture because of its happenings.It was on the third day of the trip, two days after arriving to Beijing, when my bag was stolen on the Mutianyu section of The Great Wall. With it, I lost everything-- passport, wallet and train ticket. The situation had been completely preventable, and this is why you should read the following fragments of advice I can provide.TIP No. 1→ DO NOT LEAVE YOUR BAG UNATTENDED.The main factor that facilitated my bag’s theft was the fact that I kept leaving my purse lying around! I know, not exactly the smartest thing in the world. We wanted to get Instagramazing pictures, and bags don’t make up an amazing picture. Instead, the entire group would put our bags down, pose, look at the picture for five minutes, then if we did not consider the picture Instagram worthy, we’d repeat the steps all over again. This meant our bags were unmonitored for about six minutes every picture! Oops. Apart from these technicalities, my biggest regret was giving my purse over to the girls and wandering off on my own to finish walking the section of the Wall. The girls were tired and wanted to sit down, so I decided to leave them with my own heavy burden-- my purse; I left them with the responsibility of my passport, my wallet, and pretty much everything else except for my phone. Yeah, incredibly selfish and not the smartest decision either. I wouldn’t burden your friends like that either. TIP No. 2→ LOOK EVERYWHERE.We searched the sides of the wall in case they had taken the money and dumped the bag, searched trash cans, and even asked bystanders if they had witnessed the situation. In the end, we found an extremely helpful bilingual 中国人 to explain the situation to the police. Basically, talk to random strangers, they’re not all out to get you like mom said. TIP No. 3→ CONTACT THE POLICE IMMEDIATELY.We were thirty minutes into the issue by the time we were able to contact the police. We got the phone number, a fluent Chinese speaker, and the correct facts all written down in order to avoid misunderstandings. We were able to explain the entire situation to the police, and fortunately, they filed a police report and ordered a request for the cameras to be monitored. I was surprised they were so intent on helping us despite the unlikelihood of the purse being found. Shout out to the 警察! TIP NO. 4→ MAKE FRIENDS WITH THE POLICEA special thanks to “Howard the Helper.” Howard is the Security Manager at The Great Wall. He had our inside info and was eager to explain how the Chinese legal system works through WeChat calls and text messages. He even kept texting us until long after we left Mutianyu. TIP NO.5→ RETRIEVE YOUR POLICE REPORTWe made a mistake in Mutianyu. Once a police report is filed in a specific district, the issue has to be carried out by that specific department. In other words, we could not rely on the police in any other section of Beijing. Due to these regulations, I was unable to retrieve the police report in any other station, and no police station would re-do the document since it had already been filed. Technically, I had to go back to Mutianyu to obtain a paper that would read I had lost my passport. This paper was my ticket out of Beijing.TIP NO. 6→BEND THE RULES.We were at a dead end. We did not have the money to go back to Mutianyu for the police report, and I could not use a copy of my passport to travel back to Shanghai without this paper. So I decided to bend the rules, again shout out to “Howard The Helper” who planted the idea in my mind. I found a police station nearby my embassy; worst case scenario I could run back and demand shelter (Just kidding, embassies were closed for the Mid-Autumn Festival). At the police station, I made up a story. According to the police station’s records, I lost my passport the night before Mutianyu on a night out drinking nearby. They bought the story, and I finally got the police report. Had the police been aware of the true situation, I could have been detained. Thankfully the situation went by smoothly, and I was able to retrieve a police report stating I was passport-less. TIP No. 7→HAVE A LOT OF PATIENCE.The next day, we went to the train station to see if I could re-claim my train ticket with a copy of my passport and the police’s official document. They gave me a negative answer. After several calls, misunderstandings, and being transferred from one office to the next, all they could do was allow me to buy a new ticket. They did promise, however, that I might be refunded once I arrived at Shanghai.TIP No. 8→DO NOT BUY THINGS USING OTHER’S NAMES.An idea that seemed incredible at the time was buying a train ticket with someone else’s passport. A huge no-no. Our documentation was checked one by one when we were boarding the train. Had we gone through with this plan, I’d probably still be homeless and broke in Beijing.TIP No. 9→ ALWAYS TRY.A huge factor that played part in my success to get on that train was that I always tried. I tried bending the rules, and risked being retained. I tried talking to strangers and asking for their help, who I was surprised to see were all extremely helpful and excited to contribute in some way. And finally, I tried getting my train ticket money back in Shanghai and I did! They said it was impossible, HA, amateurs. TIP No. 10→ FISHY FISH: (F)*** (I)T, (S)HIT (H)APPENS.I think this tip speaks for itself. Don’t get overwhelmed by obstacles, don’t lose your faith in humanity. While bad things may happen, there’s ALWAYS, and I do mean ALWAYS, a way. Everything will work out in the end. This article was written by Ori De Angelis. Please send an email to [email protected] to get in touch. Illustration Credit: Gabriela Naumnik