Guides
Step-by-step, with real screenshots
Built from actual walkthroughs in China — the app screens are ours, and every guide shows its last-verified date. First guides publish this week.
How to Plan Your First Trip to China
How many days you actually need, which cities pair well, and four sample routes that work.
02
China 20-Day Itinerary for Nature and Culture
Route shape, pacing, and when to cut a one-night detour — Beijing, Zhangjiajie, Guilin/Yangshuo, and more.
037 Days in China: Beijing & Shanghai
The shortest trip that still covers both faces of the country — one rail transfer, no flight required.
04
10 Days in China: Beijing, Xi'an & Shanghai
Three cities, two rail transfers, not a single flight needed — day by day.
0514 Days in China: The Classic Itinerary
Beijing, Xi'an, Chengdu, and Shanghai, day by day — nights per city, transport, and why this order works.
06
Solo Travel in China: The Practical Version
Route design, hotels that reduce friction, payment backups, and eating alone without making it a project.
07
What to Eat in China: The Easy First Days
The easiest first meals, a beginner's hot pot order, and street food that's actually safe.
08
China Airport Layover: Leave or Stay?
A time-based decision framework, overnight sleep options, and a conservative return plan.
09
Beijing & Shanghai Airport Arrival Guide
Which airport you're actually at, immigration step by step, and the real cost and time into the city.
10
What a China Trip Actually Costs in 2026
23-city daily budget data — cheapest and priciest cities, three spending tiers, and intercity rail fares.
11
Booking China Train Tickets Online
12306 vs Trip.com, the 15-day sale window, passport boarding rules, and the station-day checklist.
12
China Train Tickets Sold Out: What to Do
A decision tree for when a route shows sold out — flexible times, seat classes, split routes, and backup transport.
13
China Domestic Flights for Foreigners
Booking confidence: Trip.com vs. the airline direct, name-matching, baggage rules, and delay backups.
14
China Typhoon Season Travel Safety
A practical go/no-go framework for summer rain, heat, and coastal storms — packing, booking, and backups.
15
Guangzhou Baiyun Airport Arrival Guide
Which terminal is open in 2026, immigration, and the real cost and time into the city center.
16
Shenzhen Bao'an Airport Arrival Guide
Immigration, the metro vs. taxi tradeoff, and the SkyPier ferry transfer explained.
17
Chengdu Tianfu Airport Arrival Guide
Why it's Tianfu and not Shuangliu, immigration, and the real cost and time downtown.
18Zhangjiajie Itinerary: 2–5 Day Routes
The Avatar pillars, Tianmen, and the Glass Bridge are three separate trips — here's how to split the days.
19
Set Up Alipay Before You Fly
China's everyday payment app, configured with your foreign card — every screen shown.
20
Getting to Zhangjiajie
Three places share the name, and most itineraries book the wrong one — plus the Changsha connection and the 2026 daily visitor caps.
21Private Guides & Car Hire
Transport and interpretation are different products with different rules — plus the QR code on a guide's badge that settles it in a minute.
22Is This Chinese Supplier Legit?
Chinese businesses are publicly checkable — the 18-digit licence code, the tourism regulator, and the payment tells that matter.
23China's 24-Hour Bathhouses
The country's best cheap evening — and a bed for under Y100. The six-step visit, prices, and the passport rule.
24Why Alipay Isn't Working
Declined, frozen, or refusing your card? The four causes, the current limits and fees, and the fix for each.
25
WeChat Pay for Tourists
The backup wallet worth having: registration, card linking, verification.
26
Data in China: eSIM Guide
Land with working internet — how tourist eSIMs work and how to install one.
27Common Scams & How to Avoid Them
China is very safe — but sidestep the tea house, taxi, and art-student tricks.
28
Is China Safe for Tourists?
The honest answer: very — and the five things that actually go wrong instead.
29The 7 Apps That Make China Work
Alipay, Amap, DiDi, Trip.com and friends — the stack to install before takeoff.
30
Tipping in China (Don't)
No tips at restaurants, taxis, or hotels — plus the two exceptions that exist.
31
The China Packing List
Built around what actually fails: adapters, the 3C power-bank rule, meds, and the day bag.
32Best Time to Visit China
Every month rated in one table — and the two weeks each year you should dodge.
33Golden Week: Surviving October 1–7
What the year's busiest week does to trains, hotels, and sights — and why mid-October is the prize.
34How Much Cash to Bring
¥300–500 covers a whole trip. Where cash still matters and the ATM-on-arrival strategy.
35
Booking Hotels That Accept Foreigners
Why some hotels can't check you in, how to book ones that can, and the friend's-couch registration rule.
36
Riding China's High-Speed Rail
Seat layout, where luggage actually goes, food, toilets, and how boarding and getting off really work.
37
Getting Around: DiDi & Taxis
China's ride-hailing app in English, plus how to avoid airport taxi hustles.
38China's Electric Cars
Riding electric by default, trying a driverless robotaxi, watching a battery swap, and walking into the brand showrooms.
39E-Bikes & Scooters
Shared bikes through Alipay, renting a scooter on a passport, where riding is worth it — and why the Great Wall isn't.
40What Locals Actually Do
Dawn markets, park chorus, teahouse ear cleaning, square dancing, KTV and bathhouses — the China that isn't on a ticket.
41Buying Concert & Event Tickets
Which apps work with a passport, how real-name ticketing works, and why some shows are hard to buy.
42China Winter Packing List
The indoor-heating divide, region-by-region temperatures, and what to actually pack.
43
Planning a Winter Trip to China
Which routes suit the cold season, dodging Chinese New Year chaos, and sample itineraries.
44China Travel Glossary
23 terms explained — unilateral vs. mutual visa-free, G-trains, real-name tickets, and more.