Prepare for China
Choose the part of the trip you are preparing, then open the guide for that exact task. Save a fallback that remains usable when a phone, account or provider fails.
Start with the whole entry route and finish with the first-trip readiness check. Already in trouble? Open the emergency call card or the lost-passport route.
01 · Money and payments
Set up a mobile wallet, then keep a separate card and a modest cash backup; check fees before paying.
- Mobile payments and recovery →
- Wallet fees and exchange rates →
- ATM, cash and exchange choices →
- Pay a travel-agency deposit from overseas →
- Pay an individual service provider →
Practical setup, test and fallback
A linked card is not a completed payment.
What can fail
Identity checks, issuing-bank fraud controls, VPN/location conflicts and some merchant QR types can still reject a transaction.
Set up and test
Verify identity, link a card and complete a small transaction where your wallet permits. Prepare both Alipay and Weixin Pay when possible.
Keep a fallback
Carry a second card from another network and a modest amount of RMB. Cash is legal tender, with specific rules for online-only and unattended services; a small merchant may not have change.
Cash acceptance rules · checked 5 September 2026 ↗
02 · Internet, phone setup and app access
Choose roaming, travel eSIM or a local SIM for your device, keep bank SMS working and save the first-night plan offline.
- Choose eSIM, local SIM or roaming →
- Buy and activate an airport SIM →
- A minimal app setup and independent backup →
- WeChat signup and verification →
- A WeChat card prompt when you only need chat →
- Backups when foreign apps fail →
- Recover from a failed VPN →
- Hotel Wi-Fi without a local number →
Practical setup, test and fallback
One failed data plan can disable several travel tasks at once.
What can fail
eSIM activation, data roaming, hotel Wi-Fi, VPN access or overseas SMS can fail at the exact moment a taxi, QR menu or verification code is needed.
Set up and test
Install and activate as far as the provider permits, save APN/activation instructions, confirm roaming settings and keep your home number able to receive bank SMS.
Keep a fallback
For a failed data plan, keep a second usable provider or staffed Wi-Fi/local-SIM route. For a broken or lost phone, two plans on that phone are not a backup: use a second charged device, or carry a paper arrival pack with the hotel’s Chinese address, confirmed bookings and support numbers and take it to staffed airport transport or your hotel reception. Save the same records offline when the phone still works.
03 · Train tickets, stations and boarding
Buy for the passport you will carry, wait for actual ticket issuance and save the exact station name in Chinese.
- Passport booking and station entry →
- 12306 or Trip.com: choose the channel →
- Find your ticket’s exact station →
- Large suitcases on high-speed trains →
- Wheelchair space and assistance →
- Missed trains and rail connections →
- When an overnight train is worth it →
Practical setup, test and fallback
The failure point is often identity and station workflow, not ticket search.
What can fail
Name order, passport review, account verification, a changed passport, wrong station or the wrong gate can cost hours.
Set up and test
Confirm passenger verification, match the passport used for purchase and save the exact station name in Chinese. Allow time for security.
Keep a fallback
Bring the original passport and use the staffed ticket counter or manual passport gate when automated gates do not accept it.
Original passport and rail rules · checked 5 September 2026 ↗
04 · Flights, baggage and airport connections
Match the full airport, terminal and booking to the connection; a short advertised layover can need airline confirmation before payment.
- Airline booking or payment failure →
- Passport names on an airline ticket →
- China Eastern trolley and backpack rules →
- A 105-minute PEK international connection →
- A two-hour PVG international-to-domestic connection →
- A 65-minute Guangzhou international connection →
- A Shenzhen domestic-to-international connection →
- Protect the rest of a cancelled ticket →
- PEK international-to-domestic transfer →
- A 95-minute PEK domestic-to-international transfer →
- Sydney–Shanghai–London international transfer →
- Xiamen transfer baggage confirmation without WeChat →
- Book and reach an Air China transit hotel →
- Resolve an unconfirmed China Eastern transit hotel →
05 · Maps, metros, taxis and the last leg
Save the Chinese destination and pickup point, then keep a staffed-ticket or taxi option when a ride code fails.
06 · Hotels, check-in and room requirements
Confirm foreign-passport check-in, the actual room and cancellation terms with the property before making the stay inflexible.
- Foreign-passport check-in and registration →
- Confirm a wheelchair room in central Shanghai →
- Replace a dirty or smoky room →
- Later hotel dates are not yet bookable →
- Winter cooling and an overheated hotel room →
- Hotel-pool swimwear rules →
- Hotel parcel deliveries and returns →
Practical setup, test and fallback
A booking confirmation does not prove the desk is ready to receive and register an international guest.
What can fail
A property may appear bookable yet the desk may still refuse check-in or mishandle accommodation registration.
Set up and test
Message the property: “Do you accept guests using a foreign passport, and will the hotel complete and report my accommodation registration?” Save the written reply, Chinese name, address and phone.
Keep a fallback
Keep the booking platform support number and two nearby backup properties. Do not cancel a prepaid stay until support records the refusal. These recovery steps are practical safeguards, not instructions in the linked policy and not permission for a hotel to discriminate.
Hotel-access policy · checked 28 August 2026 ↗
07 · Attraction access and reservations
Use the named attraction’s passport route and current ticket terms; separately confirm its date, session, gate and return transport.
08 · Food, ordering and dietary needs
Use a Chinese dietary card for ingredients, sauces and cross-contact questions; choose a simpler meal when staff cannot confirm what you need.
09 · Packing, shopping and sending things home
Pack familiar essentials and check transport or customs restrictions before buying batteries, medicines, collectibles or gifts.
10 · Health, toilets, safety and help
Save the relevant emergency number and address offline; for a health or safety problem, use the matching first action and escalation route.
- Emergency numbers and a bilingual call card →
- Medical help, contacts and payment →
- Check existing insurance cover →
- The correct lost-passport route →
- Leave and report a tourist scam →
- Night-ride safety and a DiDi fare dispute →
- Dust exposure and when to get help →
- Ask for a seated and private toilet →
- Locate accessible toilets before urgency →
- Route-by-route rural solo-travel decisions →
11 · Before departure and the first night
Put the whole entry route, confirmed bookings, Chinese hotel address and independent recovery options together before you fly.
- Compare entry routes and paperwork →
- Run the first-trip readiness check →
- Official 2026 holidays and working weekends →
- Choose a season for your destinations →
Practical setup, test and fallback
Do not reduce entry eligibility to passport nationality.
What can fail
Travellers confuse ordinary visa-free entry with transit-without-visa, or name the domestic destination instead of the first port of entry.
Set up and test
Write down passport, origin, first mainland port, onward country or region, dates, duration and purpose. Verify them together using an official source.
Keep a fallback
Keep hotel, onward ticket and contact details offline. If the case is unclear, contact NIA 12367 or the relevant embassy before departure.
Official Visit China policy hub ↗