Before you go
Sort the essentials before you book
China takes a bit more prep than most trips — visa, payments, getting online. Handle it in this order and none of it is hard.
Start here
Three things, in order
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Do you need a visa?
Most Western passports need a tourist visa for a normal trip. But if you're only passing through — arriving and leaving within 10 days, flying on to a third country — you may qualify for 240-hour visa-free transit at many major airports.
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When to go
Spring (April–May) and autumn (September–October) are the sweet spot almost everywhere: mild and drier. Summer is hot and wet; northern winters are cold. Avoid the first week of October (national holiday) and Chinese New Year unless you want the crowds and the atmosphere.
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Set up before you fly
Three things are far easier to sort at home than on arrival:
- An eSIM you switch on when you land — data that reaches Google, WhatsApp and your maps.
- Alipay and WeChat, with a foreign card linked. This is how you pay for nearly everything.
- A few apps: a maps app that works here, Didi for taxis, a translator, and the train-booking app.
Guides
The full write-ups
China visa & visa-free entry
Whether you need a visa for China in 2026 — most tourists now don't — plus how 30-day visa-free and 10-day transit work, and who still needs a tourist visa.
Alipay & WeChat Pay for foreign visitors
How to link a foreign Visa or Mastercard to Alipay or WeChat Pay, the fees and limits in 2026, and how to pay when a QR code won't scan.
Getting online in China: eSIM vs VPN
How to reach Google, WhatsApp and Instagram from China in 2026 — a roaming travel eSIM, a VPN, or both — and why you must set it up before you arrive.
The apps to install before you fly
A short list of the apps that actually matter in China — maps, taxis, payments, translation, trains — and why to set them up before you lose the Play Store.
Survival Mandarin
The phrases that actually come up on day one — with characters to show and pinyin to say.
I've landed
Just arrived? Do these first
- Turn on your eSIM (or buy a SIM at the airport) before you leave the terminal.
- Open Alipay / WeChat and run a small test payment to confirm your card works.
- Take a Didi or the official airport train/metro into town — skip the drivers touting inside the hall.
- Save your accommodation address in Chinese characters to show drivers.
- Note the emergency numbers: 110 police, 120 ambulance, 119 fire.
Stuck on any of these? The guides above have the step-by-step. The city pages then cover getting around and what to eat once you're settled.
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