PRACTICAL
The practical stuff, sorted.
Most Western passports need a tourist (L) visa, but many nationalities now enjoy visa-free entry for 15 or 30 days. The rules change frequently and vary by country, so check your nearest Chinese embassy's website before booking anything.
Current visa-free and visa-on-arrival schemes are easiest to verify on the Chinese government's visa portal or through your country's travel advisory.
Many nationalities can stay in China for up to 10 days (240 hours) without a visa when transiting through designated cities to a third country or region. You enter through a participating airport and leave from another — your airline or a travel agency can confirm the current list.
This is the easiest way to tack a week in China onto an Asian trip.
Paperwork is simple: a passport with 6+ months validity, a photo, return flights, hotel bookings and a rough itinerary. Processing usually takes 4–7 working days. A travel agency or visa service makes the paperwork nearly painless.
Bring your passport to the embassy in person for biometrics where required.
Your hotel registers you with local police automatically — there is nothing to do. Keep your entry stamp and passport handy; some stations and hotels ask to see it. If you plan to stay more than 24 hours in a city, your hotel handles all the paperwork.
Alipay and WeChat Pay are used for absolutely everything — from street food to metro tickets. Most international visitors link their foreign card to Alipay in the app before arriving. It takes ten minutes and unlocks the whole country.
Set it up while you still have home Wi-Fi; verification is easier at home.
Carry ¥300–500 in small notes. Some small shops, markets and rural areas still prefer cash, and it is a lifesaver if your phone dies. Banks and large hotels exchange currency; airport counters work but give worse rates.
UnionPay is everywhere; Visa and Mastercard work at most bank ATMs, so withdraw local currency directly. For shops and restaurants, do not rely on foreign physical cards — many terminals only take domestic cards or QR payments.
Big hotels and international chains accept Visa/Mastercard, but the small corner shop will not.
Tipping is genuinely not part of the culture — restaurants, taxis and hotels do not expect it. Rounding up a taxi fare or leaving small change is fine, but anything more is politely refused.
Buy a China eSIM before you travel. Note that mainland China blocks Google, Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp and many Western services — check that your eSIM provider explicitly allows access to these, or bring a working VPN.
A travel eSIM that routes through Hong Kong servers is the common workaround.
Many popular VPNs are blocked or unreliable in China. Download and test yours while on home Wi-Fi, then again at the airport. A VPN that does not connect on day one will not fix itself — have a backup plan.
Some premium eSIM plans include uncensored routing, which removes the VPN question entirely.
Install Alipay (payments, metro QR, ride-hailing) and a good translator app. For maps, Amap or Baidu Maps work without VPN and have English modes; Google Maps is unreliable inside China.
DiDi (China's Uber) works through its own app or the Alipay mini-program with an English interface.
Most hotels offer free Wi-Fi, but speeds and reliability vary — business hotels are the safest bet. Some international sites are blocked on local networks, which is exactly when a VPN earns its keep.
China's high-speed rail network connects all major cities and is faster than flying for most routes under 1,500 km. Book through Trip.com or the official 12306 app with your passport number. Arrive 30–60 minutes early — security and ticket gates take time.
Seats are comfortable and stations are spotless; the system genuinely rewires how you travel.
Every major city has a clean, cheap, English-signed metro. Machines accept international cards, or you can scan the Alipay metro QR at the gate. A day of metro rides costs less than a coffee.
Taxis are metered and cheap, but drivers rarely speak English. Have your destination written in Chinese characters — the concierge can write it for you. DiDi lets you hail a car with an English interface and pay through Alipay.
Always confirm the meter is running, or just use DiDi and skip the conversation.
Fly for routes over ~1,500 km such as Beijing–Chengdu or Shanghai–Xi'an. Domestic fares rise quickly, so book early. Rail is still the better city-centre-to-city-centre option.
HelloBike and Meituan bikes unlock by scanning a QR code with their app (or via Alipay) and cost pennies. Perfect for the last mile in flat cities like Beijing, Shanghai and Hangzhou.
Outside hotels, airports and major tourist sites, English is sparse. A handful of Mandarin phrases will get you remarkably far, and the effort is genuinely appreciated.
nǐ hǎo (hello), xièxie (thank you), duōshao qián? (how much?), zhège (this one), bù yào là (not spicy), cèsuǒ (toilet), xiàdān (I'd like to order), mái dān (the bill, please).
A translator app with offline packs handles menus and conversations — point your camera at a menu and read the result. Pleco is the best Chinese dictionary app, worth installing even if you never plan to learn the language.
For taxi drivers and shop staff, showing the Chinese text on your screen beats pronunciation every time.
Get your hotel's name and address in Chinese characters — the front desk will happily write or print it. Show it to taxi drivers and people on the street instead of struggling with English pronunciation of a Chinese name.
Violent crime is rare, and streets feel safe at any hour. The realistic risks are the same as anywhere busy: pickpocketing in crowds and tourist-target scams. Keep your phone and wallet zipped in dense areas.
The classic tourist scams are the 'tea house' invitation, art students who 'need help with a project' and taxi drivers pushing 'special' shops. A polite smile and a firm 'bù, xièxie' — no, thanks — then keep walking, ends it every time.
Tap water is not drinkable; buy bottled water (it costs pennies). Pharmacies are everywhere and sell most basics over the counter. Big-city hospitals have international clinics. Bring prescription medications with a doctor's letter in English and Chinese.
Police: 110. Fire: 119. Ambulance: 120. Operators can arrange English help, but a Chinese speaker on your side speeds everything up. Save your hotel's front desk number too.
Remove hats and sunglasses inside temples, keep voices low, and follow the signposted rules. Photography is usually fine outdoors but often banned inside prayer halls — look for the no-camera icon before taking a photo.
Never stand chopsticks upright in a bowl of rice — it resembles funeral incense. Do not spear food with them, and do not point at people. When serving others, use the serving chopsticks if provided. It is polite to let elders start eating first.
Public confrontation is deeply uncomfortable in Chinese culture. A smile and patience resolve more than raised voices. Note that 'yes' can mean 'I heard you' rather than 'agreed' — for important things, confirm details in writing or with numbers.
Remove your shoes when entering someone's home, and follow your host's lead in traditional restaurants where slippers are offered. In general, when in doubt, watch what the locals do and mirror it.
Warm and often lovely across the south, with blossom season at its peak. Northern cities can still be cool and occasionally dusty. Pack layers.
Hot and humid across the east, with monsoon rains. This is also peak domestic travel season — book trains and hotels early. The west (Yunnan, Sichuan highlands) stays cooler.
The best season for most of China: crisp air, clear skies and comfortable temperatures. September is ideal for the west and highlands. This is also when you will find the best food-festival energy.
Cold and dry in the north — Beijing can drop to −10°C — while the south stays mild (Guangzhou 15°C+). Crowds thin out and prices drop. Harbin's ice festival is the winter highlight.
Northern cities can see smog in winter. Check a real-time AQI app and pack an N95 mask if you are sensitive. The south and the west are generally cleaner.
