Everything you need before you touch down in China
Entry rules, payments, internet, apps — checked against official sources, dated, and updated when the rules change. I don't sell tours, and I don't take promotion fees.
- Every fact sourced — each claim links to the official page it came from
- Dated — every page shows when it was last verified
- Independent — no tours, no paid placements
What a first trip actually involves
Ten things, in rough order. Every guide carries the date it was last checked.
Entry & visas
Who needs a visa, who doesn't, and how the 240-hour transit rule works.
US passports aren't on the 30-day visa-free list — but 240-hour transit covers them if they fly on to a third country.
Internet
eSIM vs VPN vs local SIM — and what actually works.
A travel eSIM usually routes around the blocks. Check the routing before you buy.
Payments
Alipay, WeChat Pay, and what to do when a card fails.
Transactions under ¥200: no platform fee. Above that: about 3%.
Apps
The six apps that cover most of a first trip.
Google Maps doesn't work here. AMap does.
Transport
Trains, airports, metros, taxis.
Your passport is your train ticket. Book about 15 days ahead in peak season.
Hotels
Booking when some hotels can't host foreign guests.
A minority of domestic hotels will turn you away at check-in — check before you book.
Packing
The things people forget.
Power banks need the CCC mark to fly domestically.
Insurance
What actually matters.
Foreigners usually pay upfront at hospitals — evacuation cover is the risk that ruins a year.
Arrival card
The form you can do online.
File it in the 72 hours before you land. You get a QR code.
Your checklist
A prep list built for your trip.
19–23 items, sorted by when you actually need to do them.
Preparation runs on a clock
Four stages. Your dates shift; the order doesn't.
- Confirm your entry path
- Check your passport validity
- Book flights
- Book a hotel that takes foreign guests
- +3 more →
- Set up Alipay
- Add WeChat as backup
- Choose eSIM, roaming or local SIM
- Install the essential apps
- +4 more →
- Fill in the online arrival card
- Screenshot every booking
- Pack: adapter, CCC power bank, medications
- +2 more →
- Turn on your eSIM
- Test Alipay on something small
- Official taxi queue or DiDi
- Let the hotel register your stay
Who runs this
A developer who lives in China. English is my second language — and that's exactly why the facts here are checked against Chinese-language official sources first.
How I verify
Every factual claim links to the official source it came from — an immigration notice, a payment platform's own help page, a railway rule. Each page carries the date it was last checked, and a changelog of what changed.
When I'm wrong, tell me
Corrections are the most useful thing you can send. I aim to fix it and log the change in that page's changelog within 48 hours.