Visa-free entry, mobile payments, high-speed trains, foreigner-friendly hotels — and the destinations worth your days. Plain-English guides, kept current.
Who qualifies for China's 240-hour visa-free transit, the 30-day visa-free policy — Canada included since February 2026 — and the paperwork to bring.
Read the full guideBefore you book anything
Most first-trip anxiety comes from doing these four things in the wrong order. Work top to bottom and the rest of the trip plans itself.
Visa-free rules for 54+ nationalities, the 240-hour transit scheme, and what to show at the border.
Check entry rulesChina runs on QR codes. Link your own card to Alipay or WeChat Pay before you fly.
Set up paymentsWhat is blocked, why a travel eSIM sidesteps it, and the apps to install before departure.
Sort your connectivityPassport-as-ticket on 48,000 km of high-speed rail, plus hotels that accept foreign passports.
Book transportHow to link your Visa/Mastercard to Alipay and WeChat Pay before you land in China, what the fees really are, and where you still need cash.
Violent crime against tourists is rare in China. The real risks are pickpocketing, a handful of well-worn scams, and traffic — here is what to watch for in each city.
Read moreThe questions people actually ask before a first trip to China — visas, money, phones, trains, safety and language — answered short, with a link to the full guide for each.
Read moreReal numbers for a China trip — flights, high-speed rail, hotels, food and tickets — with three daily budget tiers and the specific things that blow a budget.
Read moreHow to use Didi with a foreign phone number and card, what a taxi should cost, how to avoid the airport tout, and what to do when the driver cannot find your hotel.
Read moreHow many days Beijing really needs, how to visit the Great Wall without a tour, and everything to eat, see and book in China's imperial capital.
How to see the Terracotta Warriors properly, bike Xi'an's Ming city wall, and eat through the Muslim Quarter — plus realistic timing from Beijing by train.
Read moreSee giant pandas at the Chengdu Research Base, eat your way through Sichuan, and plan day trips to Leshan Giant Buddha and Mount Emei. 2–3 days.
Read moreA vertical city where the ground floor is on the 22nd storey. How to read Chongqing's levels, what to see, and why the hotpot here is the original.
Read moreA practical Shanghai guide — the Bund at night, Yu Garden, the French Concession, and the best day trips by high-speed rail. 2–3 days is enough.
Read moreA realistic 10-day China itinerary — 4 days Beijing, 2 in Xi'an, 3 in Shanghai — with day-by-day plans, booking order, budget math and visa-free notes.
The manners that matter in China — chopstick rules, tipping, queueing, gifts and face — plus the handful of things that cause real offence, and what to do instead.
You do not need Mandarin to travel China. You need about twenty words, the four tones explained without the linguistics, and a translation app that works offline.
Read moreOrdering, sharing, the lazy Susan, tea refills and who pays — how a Chinese restaurant meal runs, what confuses first-timers, and how to order without a menu you can read.
Read moreVisiting Chinese temples and religious sites without being the tourist everyone photographs — dress, thresholds, incense, photography rules and the places you should not enter.
Read more
