Before You Arrive Guide
Pre-Departure Process for a first-time traveller to China
Check whether you need a visa or you’re from a country that can enter China visa-free. If you’re moving onto a third country after visiting China, you may be able to enter China through the visa-free transit method. Read the requirements carefully.
Choose the cities you want to visit and do your research on flights. Confirm the airport you’ll be flying into.
Book a hotel room through a travel booking platform. I find Trip.com works the best, because it is one of the few major platforms that is actually tailored for travelling in China and has plenty of reviews for each hotel.
Download major apps. Do this before you travel to China. Install both Alipay and WeChat - majority of payments go through these two apps. You can have the other one as backup if one fails. See Payments section.
Verification could take a day or more so bear this in mind.
Connect credit cards to digital payment app (Alipay, WeChat or both - just in case). You don’t need to top up the payment wallet. Just bind your cards to the account and the payment will be taken directly from your cards when you pay.
Set up traveller SIM for mobile data. Refer to Phone and Internet section.
Get a translator app that talks. Refer to Translation section.
Get a tour guide if necessary. Please note that the vast majority of people do not speak English. If you are comfortable travelling independently and happy to use translation apps, ignore this step.
Deepseek is very relevant.
Checklist
Notify your bank that you’re visiting China (to lower the risk of your card being blocked)
Check the visa requirements and apply for a visa if you are not from a visa-free country. If you are travelling to a third country after visiting China, check the requirements for visa-free transit.
Bring at least 2 cards (credit/debit cards)
Passport
Return journey flight tickets
Hotel reservation in the cities that you’ll be visiting (assuming you are not with an arranged tour group)
Vaccinations and travel insurance coverage for China
Electric converter/adapter
Emergency cash
Download, register and verify your account on Alipay and WeChat.
Minimalistic App Setup
These are the apps that I recommend you install at the very minimum: Alipay, WeChat, Trip
Alipay: mobile payment, transport card, mini-apps, ordering food
WeChat: instant messaging (e.g. hotel reception, tour guide), mobile payment, mini-apps, ordering food
Trip: book hotels, trains, flights, tourist attractions
Other key apps are Amap and DiDi. You can refer to this page. You can access these apps either through standalone apps or as mini-apps within Alipay and WeChat.
Should I download the standalone app or use the mini-app inside Alipay/WeChat?
The standalone app often has a more user-friendly interface but it’s up to you whether you want to install the standalone app or use the mini-app. You’ll have to register separately for each standalone app which may be a hassle for some people. I personally prefer separate apps.
These apps have a language option in English: Alipay, WeChat, Trip, AMAP, DiDi, 12306, Dianping (last reviewed Apr 2025)
Things to Consider when booking your trip
When to Visit
Massive crowds during public holidays, avoid them if at all possible to have a better experience. Of course if you want to experience the festival, then it can’t be helped.
If you are visiting the southern half of China, beware that summers are usually hot and humid in many places. It depends on the location and altitude, check the weather patterns for the cities you are visiting. See the Weather Dashboard page for more information.
Hotels
A few hotels might not accept foreigners. They are not technically allowed to do this but anyhow check the policy section of the hotel for any indication that they only accept locals. Last thing you need is a bad experience.
Screenshot your hotel address in case you need to tell the driver.
Your Passport
When registering for anything using your passport, always enter your full name (surname, first name, middle names) in the exact order that it is shown on the passport. You MUST do this, otherwise it does not match your passport, and you could be refused entry - causing unnecessary hassle.
Your passport is required for: hotel check-in, booking train tickets and flights, entering a train station, getting through the ticket barriers, verifying payment method on Alipay/WeChat Pay, registering an account with some apps, buying tickets to attractions and museums.
Top Tips after arriving in China
General
Don’t drink the tap water. Recommend drinking bottled water.
There is no tipping culture. If you really want to, high-end restaurants might be okay with it.
Remember to carry tissues and hand sanitiser with you at all times. A lot of toilets still don’t have toilet paper, except for the big shopping malls.
Toilets are still mainly squat, not sitting down. The big shopping malls may have a cubicle for sitting down. The best toilets are usually here.
A lot of restaurants don’t have paper menus. You have to use the app by using Alipay or WeChat Pay to scan the QR code on your table.
To buy tickets for attractions, the easiest way is to visit the relevant page on the Trip app. However, not all attractions are available on Trip, so you may need to search for the official mini-app on WeChat. I would try buying the ticket online with your passport and if it fails, go to the ticket counter. At some tourist attractions (e.g. museums), you can just turn up at the ticket counter with your passport without booking tickets in advance.
Phone
Always have a power bank with you. You’ll realise how society is very reliant on phones nowadays.
Bring backup phone and additional credit cards in case your main one is lost or broken.
You can use a translation app to take pictures and translate it for you (e.g. menu).
China is a mostly digital economy, there are no “hard copies” for a lot of things (e.g. receipts). It is most likely that 100% of your transactions will be through mobile payment.
Mobile Internet and Local Wi-Fi
To access certain Western apps or websites back home, you either need to buy an eSIM before you arrive (if your phone supports it), use a roaming plan under your current mobile plan (expensive), or you need a VPN.
If you’re only here on a short vacation, then buying eSIM is probably the only thing you need. Most plans give reasonably generous data. Check if the plan allows you to share your eSIM as a hotspot. You can buy one off Trip.com or any website that offers them.
In my opinion, I wouldn’t say a local number is essential if you have an eSIM/roaming plan and you have enough data allowance. But getting one takes the hassle out of using standalone Chinese apps, as many of these require you to register with a local number or the app won’t function. Some of these apps can be accessed as mini-apps in Alipay and WeChat, but not all.
As of April 2025, a local number is essential for:- connecting to public Wi-Fi outside of hotels, food delivery, online shopping etc. Consider whether these are important to you. It is not essential for registering with the most important apps such as Alipay and WeChat Pay.
You should be able to get a local number at most airports after you land. Note your phone needs to be unlocked for the SIM card to work. You’ll need your passport to register.
If you want to use public Wi-Fi, you will not be able to access certain Western apps or websites without a VPN. If you are using your roaming plan or eSIM, you should be able to access the usual websites without a VPN. Just make sure you have the Wi-Fi function off. Whatever you wanna do depends on your personal circumstances and how long you’re in China for. Decide before you travel to China.
In summary, you can keep connected to family and friends back home through the following methods:
Roaming on your current mobile plan -> access all sites through phone
eSIM -> access all sites through phone
Local Wi-Fi -> access to some Western sites or apps is blocked unless VPN is used
Local SIM -> access to some Western sites or apps is blocked unless VPN is used
5G is practically everywhere in major cities and even in the countryside. Make sure you have enough data allowance and avoid streaming videos if you don’t have much.
Some western apps are useless for navigating China. Especially Google Maps.
Key blocked apps unless a VPN is used: Google, WhatsApp, YouTube, Instagram, X, Facebook, Wikipedia
Payments
Go to the Payments page for a detailed breakdown of the process.
Carry a small amount of cash with you in case your mobile payment fails suddenly. Your bank could suddenly block your transactions because it thinks fraud might be happening (this happened to a family member of mine and you probably can’t sort it out until you get back to your hotel).
If your first credit card fails and you struggle to sort it out, just use a spare credit card and go through the process of binding it to the app again.
There are maximum transaction limits - if you are paying for something over this limit, the payment is likely to fail. Please check Alipay or WeChat Pay for the latest limits.
Translation
Suggested translation apps:
Baidu Translate, Youdao, Microsoft Translator. Google Translate might work for you but it’s blocked for me.
Translation function through Alipay or WeChat:
You can use the QR Scan function for pictures or translation button for in-app content.
WeChat message translation:
hold your finger on the message and click translate. If the translated text is still in Chinese or the wrong language, there should be a “Switch language” button when you hold your finger over the translated text.
Photos or screenshots:
use the QR scan function, switch the mode to Translate, make sure the target language is English, and point it at the thing you want to translate.
Voice message function:
make sure the language settings are correct (English to Mandarin Chinese) and you can take turns to talk into the microphone. Depending on the app, you may need to press the play button to hear the translated message.
For best results when searching maps, translate the place or type of place you are looking for into Pinyin. Obviously, you can also copy and paste Chinese characters if you have it. Refer to Transport page.
Road Awareness
It is uncommon for drivers to give way to pedestrians. Watch out when crossing the road! You are responsible for your own safety!
Be careful on the pavement. You never know when a scooter/cyclist is about to pass you.
Public Transport
You can only buy train tickets 15 days in advance for train tickets on the official 12306 app. Apparently you can bypass this by using the Trip.com app - decide which platform you prefer.
How long to arrive in advance for a train journey?
At least 45-60 minutes before departure if you haven’t been to the station before. Some stations are massive and you don’t want to be rushing.
For a better experience, flights for anything across the country (2hrs+), trains for neighbouring provinces.
There are security checks for all railway and metro stations. You will need to place your bags inside the machine and walk through the metal detector. If your bags contain bottled drinks, you may be asked to take a sip, or give it to them for special scanning.
Try not to go during the big holiday periods - Spring Festival and National Day holidays. The crowds are huge, hotel prices go up significantly, and it’s often difficult to get train tickets or even hail a taxi in some areas! Unless you want to experience festivals, avoid!
Only take taxis at the designated taxi zone or through online apps.
Go to Transport page for a detailed breakdown.
Rental Services
The common ones are power banks and bicycles.
Swipe the QR code shown and there should be a popup. The service may ask you to pay a small deposit (e.g. 100 rmb in case you lose or damage the device). The deposit will stay there so that you can rent it next time so you will need to initiate the refund - it will not automatically be refunded as it assumes you want to rent it again.
There is a chance that it may fail for you - you may find that a local number is required or there is no option to verify using your passport.
Datasheet
110 Police, 119 Fire, 120 Ambulance
220V, 50Hz, Type A, C, I plugs.
GMT +08:00 time zone
Currency: RMB
Emergency Phrases
Hello 你好 (nǐ hǎo)
Goodbye 再见 (zài jiàn)
Thank you 谢谢 (xiè xiè)
How much is it? 多少钱 (duō shǎo qián?)
Yes 是的 (shì de)
No 不 (bù)
Where is the toilet? 厕所在哪里 (cè suǒ zài nǎ lǐ)
Glossary
"I Want To..." App Finder
Transport
"Where to Visit" tool