🧳

Before you go: 10-minute checklist

Do these at home — they are much harder to fix once you land.

Must do

●Check your visa status (use our visa checker). Many passports get 30 days visa-free; others can use 240-hour transit.
●Install Alipay and/or WeChat, verify your passport and link a Visa / Mastercard before the flight.
●Get mobile data: a roaming plan or an eSIM from abroad lets Google, WhatsApp, Instagram work. Hotel Wi‑Fi usually does not.
●Save your hotel's name and address in Chinese (screenshot it) — taxi drivers can't read English addresses.
●Bring about ¥500–1000 in cash as a backup.

●Alipay — pay everywhere, plus built-in DiDi taxi, metro QR code and translation.
●WeChat — messaging and payments; many tickets are booked in WeChat mini-programs.
●Amap (Gaode) — the most accurate map in China, has an English mode.
●Trip.com — hotels, flights, attraction tickets in English.
●Railway 12306 — official train tickets, English version available.
●A translation app with offline Chinese (e.g. Google Translate offline pack, DeepL, Baidu Translate).

Info checked: 2026-11. Policies change — confirm with official sources before you travel.