country
China中国
First trip: 5–6 nights in Beijing with one bed, or Beijing plus Shanghai by high-speed rail; settle your entry route, Alipay or WeChat Pay, and eSIM or VPN before you fly, because none of them can be fixed at the airport.
China runs on real-name systems: passport for hotels and trains, phone-based QR payment in shops and taxis, and a filtered internet. The trips that fail are the ones that arrive without a valid entry route, without a payment app that accepts a foreign card, or without a phone that can reach maps and messages. Sort those three first; the cities are the easy part.
All regions, cities and parks in China (Atlas) →
Regions
Shanghai, Suzhou and Hangzhou by high-speed rail
3–5 nights
Chengdu and the Sichuan basin
3–4 nights
Capital and major cities
Go to Shanghai for the Bund skyline and 1930s architecture; allow 3 nights and pair it with Suzhou or Hangzhou.
Go to Guangzhou for Cantonese food and dim sum; 2 nights and a natural stop between Hong Kong and mainland China.
Use Shenzhen as a day trip or one night from Hong Kong for electronics markets, parks and modern architecture.
Go to Chengdu for giant pandas and Sichuan food; allow 2–3 nights, more if you add Leshan or Mount Emei.
Go to Xi'an for the Terracotta Army and the city walls; allow 2 nights, 4.5 hours from Beijing by high-speed rail.
Routes that work
Beijing only, 5 nights
Keep one bed; use a day pack for the Great Wall and register your stay once.
Beijing + Shanghai, 8 nights
Shanghai is planned data only; Beijing is published.
- Book the Forbidden City and intercity train tickets as soon as your dates are fixed; both use passport-based booking and sell out.
- Avoid Spring Festival (Jan–Feb), the May Day break and National Day week (Oct 1–7): transport and sights are at peak and prices double.
- If you use the 240-hour transit rule, plan the route before you book: the onward ticket, the first entry city and the allowed area must all match.
Arrive
Time math
- 4 days
- Beijing 4: Forbidden City, Temple of Heaven, hutongs, Great Wall day
- 7 days
- Beijing 5 + Great Wall day + one slow day
- 10 days
- Beijing 5 + Shanghai 4 by high-speed rail (planned data)
Country rules
- Most nationalities need a visa, a unilateral visa-free entry (the list and end dates change) or the transit exemption below. Confirm your route on the official sites before you buy a ticket.
- Transit stay without a visa: up to 240 hours (10 days) for citizens of about 55 listed countries who pass through China to a third country or region, with a confirmed onward ticket and a stay inside the permitted area (Beijing, Tianjin and Hebei count as one area). It replaced the 144-hour rule in December 2024, which some older pages still quote. Use the transit lane at immigration, show the onward ticket, and check the current nationality list. Hong Kong and Macau count as separate regions; check whether your ticket qualifies.
- Foreign visitors must register their address with the police within 24 hours; hotels do it at check-in with your passport. Carry the original passport at all times: hotels, trains, museums, Tiananmen Square and police checks ask for it.
- Set up Alipay or WeChat Pay with a foreign card before you fly. QR payment is the default in shops, taxis and many stalls, and some places refuse cash or a foreign card. Carry cash as a backup.
- Google, WhatsApp, Instagram, Facebook, YouTube and many news sites are blocked. Use an eSIM with roaming (it routes through your home network) or install and test a VPN before you fly; VPN sites and app stores are hard to reach inside China, and only government-approved VPNs are officially permitted.
Etiquette
- Queue at gates and security lines; expect bag scans at the subway, sights and Tiananmen Square.
- Do not photograph military sites, police or government buildings; obey signs.
- Keep political comments to yourself in public places.
- Use both hands for cards; do not stick chopsticks upright in a bowl.
- Bargain at markets, not in shops or malls.
- Spring Festival (Jan–Feb, moves yearly)
- Week-long holiday: closures, sold-out trains and flights, high prices.
- May Day (May 1–5) and National Day (Oct 1–7)
- Peak domestic travel: sights are full and tickets sell out.
- Two Sessions (early March, Beijing)
- Extra security and checkpoints around Tiananmen Square.
- Forbidden City closure day
- Closed on Mondays outside public holidays and the summer period; check the official site.
Money & passes
Cash necessity: 3/5
- Alipay and WeChat Pay accept Visa, Mastercard, JCB and Amex cards; per-payment and monthly limits apply, so keep a second way to pay.
- Cash (yuan, ¥) is legal tender and larger places must take it, but many small vendors expect QR. Carry ¥300–500 in small notes as backup.
- Foreign cards work at Bank of China and ICBC ATMs and in international hotels; small shops may refuse them.
- Amounts on this site are in Chinese yuan (CNY, ¥). Tipping is not expected.
Beijing Subway Card / phone QR
Not a pass: use the subway QR in Alipay or WeChat, or buy single tickets at the machine with cash.
Before you fly: eSIM before you fly · Visas and entry
Safety
- Crime against visitors is low; the common problems are tea-house and art-student scams near Tiananmen and Wangfujing, and unlicensed taxis at the airport.
- Air quality is worst in winter and spring; check an AQI app and carry a mask on bad days.
- Tap water is not for drinking; use bottled or boiled water.
- Several governments publish cautions about China (exit bans, detention, data privacy); read your own government's travel advice before you go.
- Emergency: 110 police, 119 fire, 120 ambulance, 122 traffic; 12301 is the national tourist hotline.
China is one stop on the East Asia line: plan it as its own trip with its own entry, payment and connectivity setup.
Sources
- National Immigration Administration (entry and transit rules) (official)
- China Online Visa Application (COVA) (official)
- Ministry of Foreign Affairs - consular services (official)
- Visit Beijing (official tourism) (official)
- Wikivoyage - China (secondary)