Entry
Visa-free entry, explained
Do you even need a visa? The 30-day unilateral exemption, the 240-hour transit rule, and an eligibility checker that reads your passport and trip in seconds.
Official source ✓
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The homework, already done
Visas, getting online, paying by phone, trains, and the police-registration thing nobody warns you about — the unglamorous half-dozen that make or break week one. Written by people who just fumbled through it, dated, and linked straight to the official source. Notices expire; these stay.
Before you fly & the first 48 hours
Staying connected
Getting online: eSIM, SIM & the VPN question
Google, WhatsApp and Instagram are blocked — but a travel eSIM gives you uncensored data the moment you land. The fix, the alternatives, and when you really need a VPN.
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Payments & money
How foreigners pay in China
Bind a foreign Visa or Mastercard to Alipay, WeChat Pay or TenPayGo (email sign-up, no Chinese number), learn where cards and cash still work, dodge the 3% fee — with a "will my card work here?" picker.
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Staying connected
Apps & facilities: the arrival toolkit
The phone apps and real-world facilities that make China easy — Alipay, WeChat, TenPayGo, Amap, DiDi, 12306, plus airport e-gates, the metro, eSIM, ATMs and power — with step-by-step scenarios.
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Moving, sleeping, eating, shopping — and getting help
Trains & transport
Trains in China: booking 12306 as a foreigner
The official rail site and app work with your passport once you know their quirks: account setup and passport verification, the 15-day window (60 days by reservation on the Beijing–Shanghai lines), the no-paper-ticket rule, seat classes, and sold-out fixes.
Official source ✓
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Trains & transport
Flying inside China on a foreign passport
Your passport is the only ID that works, why the booking name must match it exactly, the Tibet permit that catches people out, and the security rules on liquids and power banks.
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Staying legal
Accommodation registration: the 24-hour rule
Hotels register you automatically; a friend's place or a private rental is on you, within 24 hours. The 2026 online filing, what to bring, and the penalties — with a checker.
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Food & dining
Eating in China without reading the menu
Ordering by QR code, asking for less chilli and being taken seriously, the regional kitchens in one page, hotpot decoded, vegetarian and halal, and the manners that matter.
Official source ✓
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Accommodation
Where to stay, and which hotels can take you
Not every hotel is set up to register a foreign guest. How to filter for the ones that are, which booking platforms take a foreign card, and what happens at the desk.
Official source ✓
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Trains & transport
Getting around a Chinese city
The metro on a QR code, DiDi in English, a taxi without a word of Chinese, the shared bikes, getting in from the airport, and which map apps actually work here.
Official source ✓
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Health & safety
Getting medical help in China
Call 120 — then which of the three hospital doors to walk through, why your passport is enough to register, the green cross that marks a real pharmacy, the medicine names to point at, and the paperwork your insurer will want back.
Official source ✓
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Shopping & money
Tax refunds for foreigners in China
The 2026 departure tax refund, end to end: the ¥200 per-store threshold, what the agency fee actually leaves you, taking the money in the shop, and the order of airport counters — plus why Hainan's duty-free allowance is a different scheme.
Official source ✓
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Maps & navigation
Maps and navigation in China
Google Maps is blocked and wrong by hundreds of meters here — the country runs on a different coordinate grid. The apps locals actually navigate with, how to switch Amap to English, planning routes on hotel Wi-Fi, and getting across town without saying an address.
Official source ✓
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No guides in that group.
New tools and focused answers
Check a passport · browse visa policy data · Mutianyu vs Badaling · Forbidden City tickets · Harbin 2027 · Terracotta Warriors · Alipay card fees · Tax refunds · Maps & navigation
Download before you fly · the daily toolkit
支
Alipay 支付宝Pay by QR almost anywhere — links a foreign Visa or Mastercard.
PAY
微
WeChat 微信Messaging, mini-programs and a second QR wallet.
CHAT · PAY
滴
DiDi 滴滴出行Hail a taxi or private car — the app runs in English.
RIDES
✈
Trip.com 携程Hotels, flights and train tickets — Ctrip's English app.
BOOKING
高
Amap 高德地图Live maps, metro routes and walking — Apple Maps uses it in English.
MAPS
译
Pleco 词典Offline Chinese dictionary with camera translation.
TRANSLATE
美
Meituan 美团Food delivery, tickets and everything local by QR.
FOOD
评
Dianping 大众点评Reviews and rankings for food and sights — China's Yelp.
REVIEWS
Emergency numbers
Free from any phone — even with no SIM. Operators are Chinese-speaking; ask your hotel front desk, or try the government hotline — English support varies by city.