Can you skip the visa? Usually, yes.
The 30-day visa-free rule, the 240-hour transit policy at 65 ports, and what the officer at the desk actually asks to see.
Read →The practical half of China, sorted
Entry, money, connectivity, trains, beds, food and doctors — the unglamorous half of the trip, which is also the half that goes wrong. Every page is dated, checked against the official source, and written for a passport that is not Chinese.
Before you fly
Leave the cash at home
Bind a foreign Visa or Mastercard to Alipay, WeChat Pay or TenPayGo — email sign-up, no Chinese number — and know where cash still works.
Read →Beat the Great Firewall before you fly
A travel eSIM gives you uncensored data the moment you land. What to buy, what to set up first, and when you really do need a VPN.
Read →Land, tap, go — the China app kit
Alipay, Amap, DiDi and 12306; airport e-gates, metro, eSIM, ATMs, power and water — the toolkit to install before you need it.
Read →Getting around
Book a bullet train without the headache
Account setup with your passport, the booking window, the no-paper-ticket rule, seat classes, and what to do when a route sells out.
Read →Flying inside China on a foreign passport
Which ID works at the checkpoint, why the booking name must match your passport exactly, and the Tibet permit that catches people out.
Read →Getting around a Chinese city
The metro on a QR code, a DiDi in English, a taxi without a word of Chinese, and the shared bike you unlock with your phone.
Read →The registration rule nobody warns you about
Hotels register you automatically. Staying with friends or in a private rental, you have 24 hours — here is the online filing and what to bring.
Read →Once you land
Where to stay, and which hotels can actually take you
Not every hotel is set up to register a foreign guest. How to filter for the ones that are, and what happens at the front desk.
Read →Eating in China without reading the menu
Ordering by QR code, asking for less chilli and being believed, what the regional kitchens really are, and four manners worth knowing.
Read →Getting medical help in China
Which number to call, a public outpatient department versus a private international hospital, and what a Chinese pharmacy will sell you.
Read →