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As in many countries, on major roads try to hitchhike from a service station, toll area or some other place where traffic has to stop or slow. Standing on the hard shoulder or the motorway works fine as well though.
To get to the toll area/service station use a map, GPS or Google map to show you where the road begins. there is also a Chinese website the shows the actual toll stations. On arrival to the road, use the outstretched arm and hand wave described above.
http://therichmikehitchhike.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/DSC00321-fotor.jpg
The first alternative is to use the "sign system", preferably in Chinese not Pinyin (the Romanist script) showing where you want to go. Both hand and sign approaches is used locals in some areas (eg Guangzhou). When you are standing by the roadside, having a sign indication where you are going can be very useful. If you don't speak Chinese, a sign can also help avoid misunderstandings as many people will not know what hitchhiking is and won't understand what you are doing. a sign is the most common way to hitchhike on the highways of China, but because the concept of Hitchhiking is not well known in China, it means that only people going to this actual place will stop you for a ride, and never people who go on the road to this place. Some might suggest you write a destination that is closer than to where you are actually going - perhaps a sign with a city 500 km away is better than one that is 1000 km away. This is complex though. If you have a sign for the closer city, a driver who is going to the further city may pick you up and leave you at the closer one, not understanding your futile attempts to inform them that you want the further city. That's why another good way to hitchhike on Chinese high-ways is to talk with drivers.
The first character of a vehicle's number plate is in Chinese and indicates the home province and then there is a roman letter indicating the city in the province (A is always the capital). If you are in Anhui and see a 川 (chuan, standing for Sichuan) with an A and some numbers, that's from Chengdu. If one is heading in the direction of home you can use it as a criteria to select a car to stop.
If you want to sleep while on the road, you will have no problem pitching a tent. People will usually not bother you. However do make sure your belongings are not on show and therefore do not pitch a tent directly on the road (which is also a bit dangerous). You will find there is plenty of traffic at night also. You can try to pick a slow and comfortable truck, you might only make 400 km in 8 hours but if that's at night and avoids an accommodation cost, who cares? The lack of malice (at an individual level at least!) of the Chinese makes most of China easy to hitchhike day and night without fear. There is little fear of being attacked or robbed though of course such activities exist everywhere, and as always girls should take extra care.
== Public Transport ==