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Deep guideChecklists, exact setup steps, and the traps first-time visitors fall into — short enough to read in ten minutes, specific enough to actually use.
Ninety per cent of first-trip stress is decided before you leave home. Work through this list once, properly.
# Visa-free transit is rule-bound. You must enter through an eligible port, stay within the permitted area and leave for a third country or region within the window. Booking a return ticket to where you came from breaks the condition. Confirm current rules with the National Immigration Administration (NIA) before you pay for anything.
Power banks: the 3C rule catches foreign visitors. Since 28 June 2025, China's civil aviation authority refuses power banks on domestic flights unless the unit itself carries a clear 3C mark — China Compulsory Certification, the local safety mark. Chargers bought in Europe, the US or Japan carry CE, FCC or PSE instead, so they are turned away at security even though they are perfectly legal at home.
Domestic legs are the trap. It is not only the flight that brings you into China: any flight inside the country — Beijing to Xi'an, Shanghai to Chengdu, or a domestic transfer — is screened to the domestic standard. A power bank bought after arrival, in a Chinese shop or airport, carries the 3C mark and passes.
Energy, quantity, use. Up to 100Wh (roughly 27,000mAh at 3.7V) needs no approval; 100–160Wh needs the airline's approval; above 160Wh, or a rating you cannot read, is refused outright. Carry-on only — never in checked baggage — maximum two per person, no charging devices in flight, and units with a power switch must stay off.
If it is refused, airports usually offer three ways out: hand it to whoever sees you off, post it from the airport courier desk, or leave it in airport storage. Before you fly, check that the mark on the body is clear and not hidden by a sticker, and look your model up in China's official recall list (State Administration for Market Regulation). Trains are easier: high-speed rail only asks for a legible rating of 100Wh or less.
A large Chinese airport takes about 60–90 minutes from touchdown to the train platform. Here is the sequence.
Some flights hand out a foreigner arrival card. Fill it in with your flight number, hotel address and the purpose of your visit. Keep your passport and both boarding passes within reach.
Fingerprints and a photo, then the officer's questions. Answer directly: purpose, how long, where you are staying, and — for transit — show the onward ticket. Have the hotel address in Chinese ready.
Nothing to declare goes through the green channel. Rules on cash over the equivalent of USD 5,000 and on certain medicines are enforced — declare rather than gamble.
Activate your roaming or travel eSIM while you wait for bags. If you want a local SIM instead, buy it at a carrier counter in the arrivals hall with your passport. Airport Wi-Fi usually needs a local number or a code from a kiosk.
Withdraw the equivalent of a few hundred yuan from an airport ATM if your cards are not yet bound to a payment app. Bank ATMs at the airport are the reliable option; skip the currency exchange desks.
Signposted options, in order of reliability: airport express rail or metro, the official taxi rank, then ride-hailing. The express rail is usually the fastest way to the centre in traffic.
Use the official rank. Anyone approaching you in the arrivals hall asking "taxi? taxi?" is not a licensed driver. Follow the signs to the taxi queue or the rail platform.
China is a QR-payment country. Setting this up on day one makes everything afterwards — trains, taxis, street food, museum tickets — dramatically easier.
Setting up Alipay
Download Alipay and register with your home mobile number — you do not need a Chinese number. Choose the international/English interface if it is not detected automatically.
Add Visa, Mastercard, JCB, Discover or Diners Club. Both credit and debit cards generally work.
Photograph your passport and complete the face scan as prompted. Do this on good Wi-Fi before you travel — it is the fiddliest part of the process.
Two directions: scan the merchant's code and type the amount, or show your own payment code for them to scan. Both are standard; the second is faster in busy shops.
Then set up your backup
Same principle, same card binding. Two working payment apps means a failed verification or a frozen account does not end your trip. WeChat also doubles as the messaging app most people in China actually use.
Carry a few hundred yuan for the rare cash-only counter, and keep one physical card outside your phone case. Renminbi cash is legal tender and merchants are expected to accept it.
On fees. Smaller transactions on international cards are often fee-free, while larger ones may carry a service fee set by the payment scheme. Terms are changed from time to time — check the fee notice inside the app rather than trusting a number you read somewhere.
On tipping. Not expected and not customary — in restaurants, taxis or hotels. A service charge may already be included at upscale venues.
Two honest options. Pick by how much you depend on your usual apps.
Turn on roaming with your home carrier, or buy a travel eSIM before departure. Your phone then behaves much as it does at home and your usual apps keep working — the least fiddly option for a short trip. Check your carrier's daily rate first.
Registered with your passport at a carrier shop or airport counter. Data is cheap and coverage is excellent, but services and apps popular outside China are generally not reachable on local data plans. Plan your app set accordingly.
| Mode | What you need to know |
|---|---|
| High-speed rail | Book on 12306, the official railway platform, which has an English app and website and takes international cards. Your passport is your ticket — scan it at the gate. Booking opens roughly two weeks ahead and popular routes at holiday time sell out within minutes. |
| Metro | Every major city has a cheap, extensive network with English signage. Pay with the transit mini-program inside Alipay or WeChat rather than queueing for a ticket machine. |
| Ride-hailing | DiDi has an English interface, links to international cards through Alipay/WeChat, and removes the language problem entirely: the destination is already in the app. |
| Street taxis | Metered and cheap in most cities. Drivers rarely speak English — hand over the Chinese address. Avoid unlicensed cars at stations and airports. |
| Shared bikes | Useful for the last kilometre. Unlock through Alipay or WeChat; stay off the pavement and out of bike lanes' opposite direction. |
| Domestic flights | Faster than rail on long hauls, but add two hours at each end. Passport check-in is standard. |
Trains, practically: arrive 40 minutes before departure for security and boarding; oversized luggage goes through a separate check; food is sold on board but station snacks are cheaper. Your seat and coach numbers are on the ticket in the app.
None of these are dangerous, all of them are expensive or annoying. They are also remarkably consistent across cities.
A friendly stranger practises English with you, then suggests tea or an art show. The bill arrives in the thousands. Decline politely and keep walking.
"Great Wall today, cheap!" sold near stations and hotel districts. Book through your hotel or an official ticket channel instead.
Around the October Golden Week and Spring Festival, trains and hotels sell out weeks early and every viewpoint is shoulder to shoulder. Check the calendar before you fix dates.
Most places are, but a few cash-only counters remain — and in reverse, small vendors may not take a physical card. Carry both.
Outside major hubs, menus and signs are Chinese-only. A camera translator and offline maps are not optional extras; they are how you eat and get home.
Carry tissues — public toilets often have none. Several cities ban eating and drinking on the metro. Drinking tap water is not the norm; bottled or boiled water is.
Photography: temples, museums and some heritage sites restrict tripods and flash; never photograph security facilities, police, or military sites. When in doubt, ask or don't shoot.
Save these before you need them. In a real emergency, the first call is always the emergency number, not your insurer.
Report it at a police station and get the written report. Then contact your own country's embassy or consulate — they issue the replacement travel document you need to leave. Keep a photo of your passport in cloud storage so the details are recoverable.
Call your insurer's assistance line first; they will direct you to a hospital they work with, often an international clinic in a major city. Keep receipts and reports — they are what makes a claim payable.
Freeze the payment apps from another device, then contact your carrier. This is the scenario where a second payment app and a physical card earn their keep.
Do not simply turn up at the airport. Call 12367 and explain; there is a procedure, and dealing with it in advance is far cheaper than at the border.
Rough guides to help you budget and date the trip. Prices vary widely by city and season.
Mild temperatures, clear skies and the best light for photographs. Late September runs into the October holiday — go early in the month.
The first week of October and the Spring Festival period. Book transport and accommodation weeks ahead or shift your dates entirely.
July and August are hot and wet in much of the country; December to February is cold in the north but comfortable in the south. Indoor museums and hot springs make both work.
| Item | Typical range |
|---|---|
| Metro ride | A few yuan per journey; a day of sightseeing rarely costs more than a coffee back home. |
| High-speed rail | Second class between neighbouring big cities is usually a few hundred yuan; long cross-country legs cost more. Book early for the cheapest seats. |
| Hotel | Wide range. International-brand mid-range hotels in first-tier cities are the biggest single line in most budgets. |
| Meals | Street food and noodle shops are very cheap; restaurant dining mid-range; fine dining in Shanghai or Beijing is comparable to any global city. |
| Attractions | Most major sites are ticketed and increasingly require advance online booking — often through Alipay or WeChat mini-programs. |
Citizens of the eligible countries can, through the 240-hour visa-free transit scheme — but only if they are genuinely transiting to a third country or region, enter through an eligible port and stay within the permitted area. It is not a general tourist visa waiver. Check the current list and conditions with the NIA before booking.
No. Alipay and WeChat both register with a foreign number. A local number is convenient for restaurant queues and some Wi-Fi logins, but not required for a normal trip.
Yes. Renminbi cash is legal tender and merchants are expected to accept it. In practice most payments are by QR code, so treat cash as a backup rather than your main method.
In hotels, airports and big-city attractions, enough. In everyday shops, taxis and smaller cities, very little. Translation apps and pre-saved Chinese addresses close the gap almost completely.
No. Tipping is not part of the culture and can cause mild confusion. Upscale restaurants and hotels may add a service charge to the bill.
Violent crime against visitors is rare, and cities are well lit and heavily policed. The realistic risks are petty: overpriced taxis, tourist scams and pickpocketing in crowds. Normal precautions are sufficient.
Rail tickets open around two weeks ahead; book the day they open for holiday travel. Hotels can be booked later except during national holidays. Major attractions often require timed online reservations.
This guide is an aggregator, not an authority. When it and an official source disagree, the official source wins.
Policies, app rules and prices move. If something here is out of date, tell us and we will fix it — that is how this page stays useful without a big team.
One email when the visa-free rules, eligible countries or port list actually change. No newsletter, no noise — a handful of messages a year at most.