Travel guides
Practical how-tos checked regularly — each page shows when it was last verified and links its official source.
Photo: Yim1137 · CC BY-SA 4.0Visas & entry
Three doors into China — visa-free, the 240-hour transit rule, or a visa. Which one applies to you, what to have ready at the border, and what to do in your first 24 hours.
Photo: Harald Groven · CC BY-SA 2.0Paying in China
China is close to cashless, and the two big wallets both take foreign cards. Set one up before you fly, know the fee threshold, and ignore the US$50,000 figure you keep seeing.
Photo: Andrew Vi · Public domainStaying online
Three ways to get a working connection, why every phone line in China is tied to your passport, and which apps you should install before you land rather than after.
Photo: Nacaru · CC BY-SA 4.0Getting around
High-speed rail with your passport as the ticket, metro gates that take a QR code, taxis you can hail without Mandarin — and why an international driving permit is worthless here.
Photo: Another Believer · CC BY-SA 4.0Where to stay
Hotels in China may not turn you away for being a foreigner — that is current policy, not a courtesy. What the rule actually says, how registration works, and how to pick a neighbourhood.
Photo: Claoisumna · CC BY-SA 3.0Getting by in Chinese
How much Chinese you actually need (much less than you fear), the twenty phrases worth memorising, and the habit that solves almost every language problem.
Photo: Kristoffer Trolle · CC BY 2.0Train tickets with a passport
Register once on the official platform, book 15 days out, and use your passport as your ticket. The exact change and refund fees, and how to survive Chinese New Year.
Photo: 工匠 · CC BY 3.0Emergencies & consular help
The numbers that matter, why 12367 is the one for visitors and 12308 is not, how hospitals work, and what to do when a passport disappears.