Best eSIM for China Travel
How to choose a China eSIM, when to install it, and what backup plan foreign travelers should keep before landing.
Read guideChina Trip Setup
Payments, internet, apps, visa, trains — everything to set up before China feels easy.
Before You Fly
Do these at home, when your passport, card, app stores, and backup options are still easy to manage.
China 240-Hour Visa-Free Transit: Does Your Route Qualify?
Use this route-first guide to check whether an eligible passport, a third-country or region onward journey, and the right ports can qualify for China's 240-hour visa-free transit policy.
Read guideChina Digital Arrival Card: Do You Need It Before Entry?
Find out whether you need China's digital arrival card, use an official filing channel before travel, and know the official on-arrival and paper-card fallback options.
Read guideChina Visa-Free Entry: Do You Qualify in 2026?
Check whether an ordinary passport from one of China's unilateral visa-free countries qualifies for a stay of up to 30 days, and learn when a visa is still required.
Read guideChina Weather Guide: When to Visit Each Region
When to visit China by season and by region: the two best travel windows, where to escape summer heat, the plum-rain and typhoon seasons to plan around, the 2026 public-holiday crowd crunch, and a quick best-months lookup for the north, Yangtze, south, southwest, plateau, northwest, and northeast.
Read guideHow to Book China Attraction Tickets
How foreign travelers should book tickets for major China attractions, including passport requirements, official channels, and English-platform workarounds.
Read guideHow to Book Hotels in China
How foreign travelers should book hotels in China, check foreign-guest acceptance, and avoid arrival-night check-in problems.
Read guideHow to Use Alipay in China as a Foreigner
How foreign travelers can set up and use Alipay with an overseas card, understand fees and limits, fix common failures, and keep backup payment options ready.
Read guideInternet Access in China: What to Know
A practical guide to mobile data, Wi-Fi, blocked services, and app preparation for foreign travelers visiting mainland China.
Read guideShould Foreign Tourists Set Up WeChat Pay?
A decision guide for foreign tourists considering WeChat Pay as a secondary wallet. Learn when its messaging and merchant-payment role is useful, what foreign cards can do, and how to test it before relying on it in China.
Read guideUsing a VPN in China: What Travelers Actually Need to Know
Do you even need a VPN in China if you have a travel eSIM or roaming? A neutral, practical look at what's affected, how travel-data routing changes the picture, the domestic apps that just work, and how to prepare — without recommending any product or giving setup steps.
Read guideWhat Apps to Download Before Visiting China
The essential China travel apps to download before departure, covering payments, maps, transport, translation, bookings, and communication.
Read guideAfter You Land
Airport, ride-hailing, and payment backup decisions for the first few hours on the ground.
Airport to City in China
How to choose between metro, airport express, taxi, Didi, and hotel transfers after landing in a Chinese city.
Read guideAlipay Troubleshooting for Foreign Visitors
A diagnosis-first recovery guide for foreign visitors whose Alipay card link, identity check, or merchant payment fails. Identify the failure, preserve the error, use the official support route when needed, and switch to a tested backup without guessing.
Read guideCash Backup in China
How much cash foreign travelers should carry in China, when it still helps, and why mobile payment should remain the primary setup.
Read guideChina Tourist Tax Refund: How to Claim VAT Back on Your Shopping
How foreign visitors claim China's departure VAT tax refund: who qualifies, the 200-yuan threshold, how much you get back, and the two ways to collect it — instant refund in-store or at the airport.
Read guideHotel Check-in in China for Foreigners: What to Expect
Not all hotels in China accept foreign guests. Here is how to find the ones that do, what the check-in process actually looks like, and what happens if you stay with friends.
Read guideHow to Use Didi in China
How foreign travelers can use Didi for taxis and ride-hailing in China, including payment setup, pickup points, and airport mistakes to avoid.
Read guideMoving Around China
High-speed rail, big stations, metro systems, and map habits that make city-to-city travel much calmer.
China Train Station Guide for Foreigners: From Arrival to Boarding
With a confirmed ticket and the original booking passport, this guide takes you from the correct station entrance through security, live departure boards, identity checks, gates, and your carriage. It does not repeat ticket-purchase choices.
Read guideDriving in China on a Foreign License: Permits, Rules, and Renting a Car
Your home license and International Driving Permit are not valid in mainland China. Here's how the temporary driving permit works, how to convert to a Chinese license for longer stays, what you need to rent a car, and when it's easier not to drive at all.
Read guideHow to Buy China Train Tickets as a Foreigner
Choose a purchase channel, use your passport details exactly, check both station names, and buy when official sales open. This guide covers booking decisions; station arrival and boarding are covered separately.
Read guideNavigation in China: Why Google Maps Fails and What to Use Instead
Google Maps works in China but its data is significantly less accurate than domestic alternatives. This guide explains the map gap, how to use Amap as a foreigner, and how to get around Chinese cities without getting lost.
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