PLAIN-ENGLISH / FIELD-CHECKED
Guides that make the trip work.
43 practical guides, organized around what to prepare and what to do once you arrive. Every fact is labeled by confidence, and time-sensitive details carry the date they were checked.
PREPARE
Prepare for China
Beijing · PrepareArriving in Beijing: 240-Hour Visa-Free Transit, PEK vs PKX, and Getting Into the CityTwo airports, one ten-day visa-free clock, and a first ride that sets the tone — how to enter Beijing legally on a transit, choose between Capital and Daxing, and reach your hotel without the classic first-night mistakes.Verified
Chengdu · PrepareArriving in Chengdu: TFU vs CTU, and Getting Around Without Wasting Your First DayTwo airports, one real decision: TFU is far and CTU is close — then a metro system and panda shuttles that make the city itself easy.Reference ~
Chongqing · PrepareChongqing 240-Hour Visa-Free Transit (2026): Jiangbei Airport, the Clock, and a Stopover Worth TakingTen days in China without a visa, through one of its most vertical cities — if your passport is listed, your route is a real transit, and you count the days the way the border does.Verified
Chongqing · PrepareArriving in Chongqing: Jiangbei Airport, Three Stations with One Name, and Moving in a Vertical CityOne airport, three railway stations with one city name, and a map that only tells half the story — the vertical half is the one that matters.Reference ~
China · PrepareDouble 11 as a Visitor (2026): Shop the Sale, Then Claim the Tax BackThe world's biggest shopping festival runs for weeks, not a day. The headline discounts are built for residents — but a visitor can stack the parts that do apply: in-store sale prices, one-hour delivery, and an instant departure tax refund.Reference ~
Shanghai · PrepareGetting Around Shanghai: Metro, DiDi, Taxis and Bikes Without the FrictionMetro for the corridors, DiDi for the awkward diagonals, a bike for the last kilometre — and the three small setups that make all of it painless.Reference ~
China · PrepareHigh-Speed Rail vs Flying in China: The 800-Kilometre RuleBelow about 800 kilometres, the fastest way across China is usually the one that never leaves the ground. Door-to-door maths, train-number decoding, and an honest account of booking with a foreign passport.Reference ~
Shanghai · PrepareHongqiao Airport (SHA) Arrival Guide: Terminals, Metro Lines 2 and 10, Taxis, and the Train Station Next DoorShanghai's close-in airport hides inside a giant transport hub: the ride into town is the easiest of any big Chinese airport — the skill is picking the right terminal, line and corridor.Reference ~
China · PrepareHow to Pay in China (2026): Alipay, WeChat Pay, TenPayGo, Cards and CashSet up one wallet before you fly, add a second as backup, and understand the two numbers that explain most payment confusion.Reference ~
China · PrepareInternet & eSIM in China (2026): Roaming, Travel eSIM, Local SIM and Wi-Fi ComparedYour phone will work in China. The real question is which internet it connects to — every connectivity choice is a choice between two exits.Reference ~
Shanghai · PreparePudong Airport (PVG) to Shanghai City: Maglev, Metro, Airport Link, Bus or Taxi?Four ways off the airport and one right answer for your arrival time, hotel and suitcase — compared by door-to-door time, cost, and how the last leg really feels after a long flight.Reference ~
Shanghai · PrepareShanghai 240-Hour Visa-Free Transit (2026): Who Qualifies and How the Clock Really WorksTen days in China without a visa — if your passport is on the list, your route is a real transit, and you count the days the way the border does, not the way your boarding pass suggests.Verified
China · PrepareThe 30-Day Visa-Free Countdown: Your 2027 Trip Is a Booking Problem, Not a PanicChina's unilateral 30-day visa-free entry is currently set to run until 31 December 2026. If you are planning a 2027 trip, the policy has not ended — your booking strategy just needs a November checkpoint in it.Verified
Beijing · PrepareWhere to Stay in Beijing: Wangfujing, the Hutongs, Sanlitun or the CBD?Wangfujing for the sights, the hutongs for the soul, Sanlitun for dinner, Guomao for work — each base trades something away, and the deciding factor is usually your departure airport.Reference ~
Chongqing · PrepareWhere to Stay in Chongqing: Jiefangbei, Guanyinqiao, Nanbin Road or Eling?Jiefangbei puts you inside the postcard, Guanyinqiao inside local life, Nanbin Road across from the view, Eling inside the old mountain city — and the fog votes on all of them.Reference ~
Shanghai · PrepareWhere to Stay in Shanghai: The Right Neighborhood for Your Travel StyleShanghai is really two cities split by a river. Pick the side your days will live on first, then match the neighborhood to how you actually travel.Reference ~
Xi'an · PrepareWhere to Stay in Xi'an: Inside the Wall, by the Fast Trains, or Under the PagodaSleep inside a Ming-dynasty wall, beside a high-speed rail hub, or in a Tang-themed nightscape — three different trips hiding behind one hotel search.Reference ~
Xi'an · PrepareArriving in Xi'an: The Airport Is in Another City, and Other Things Worth Knowing FirstThe airport is in another city, there are two railway stations, and the army is out of town — three naming traps, and the moves that defuse all of them.Reference ~DO
Do for China
Beijing · DoBeijing Food Guide: Duck First, Then the Working ClassicsDuck carved in the right order, noodles mixed violently, breakfast folded in forty seconds — Beijing food is ritual first, recipe second.Estimate ≈
Beijing · DoBeijing in 2 Days: The Forbidden City, Then the WallDay 1 walks the imperial axis while you are fresh. Day 2 leaves the city entirely — one Wall, done properly, beats three sights done tired.Reference ~
Beijing · DoBeijing in 3 Days: Icons, Then the City's Own MorningDays 1 and 2 take the icons. Day 3 changes tempo — a park at dawn, lanes at door height, and the Summer Palace as an honest choice, not a default.Reference ~
Chengdu · DoChengdu Food Guide: Hotpot First, Then the Spice LadderA split pot for the table that disagrees, a dipping sauce you build yourself, and noodles that run on chilli oil — Chengdu food is a system, and here is how to work it.Estimate ≈
Chengdu · DoChengdu in 2 Days: Pandas Before Breakfast, Tea After LunchChengdu punishes itineraries and rewards rhythms: one anchor per half-day, an early panda morning, and long afternoons that end in hotpot.Reference ~
Chengdu · DoChengdu's Teahouse Republic: One Cup of Tea, the Whole AfternoonOne cup of tea rents you a bamboo chair for the entire afternoon. A foreign visitor's field guide to Chengdu's oldest public living room.Reference ~
China · DoToilets in China: A Field Guide to the Great Porcelain DivideOne country, two toilet civilisations: heated bidet seats in the malls, squat pans and bring-your-own paper everywhere else. Here is how to always land on the right side of the divide.Reference ~
Chongqing · DoChongqing Food Guide: Hotpot in Its Home CityButter-and-chilli broth, a nine-grid clock in the pot, a breakfast noodle with no interest in subtlety — hotpot in its home city, plus the dishes that carry the days between pots.Reference ~
Chongqing · DoChongqing in 2 Days: Walk Downhill, Ride Through the BuildingIn Chongqing you plan by floor, not by distance: a monorail through a living room block, one honest climb, a lit cliff after dark, and stairs treated as the sightseeing itself.Reference ~
Chongqing · DoChongqing Mountain City Walk: Liziba, the Crown Escalator and the Shibati Steps — Mostly DownhillOne ridge-to-river walk through the stacked city: a train through a tower, an escalator instead of a staircase, a square that is somehow the 22nd floor, old-town steps, and two rivers meeting in two colours.Reference ~
China · DoCoffee in China: The Café That Lives in an AppChina drank tea for millennia, then adopted coffee in a decade — through an app, at ¥9.9, with a pickup code. How the world's biggest coffee market skipped the café entirely.Reference ~
Beijing · DoForbidden City Tickets: How Booking Actually Works for Foreign VisitorsThere is no ticket window to fall back on. The Palace Museum is won or lost a week before your visit, on a phone screen, with your passport details typed exactly right.Reference ~
China · DoA traveler's field guide to China's high-tech experiencesTwelve real-world ways to explore transport, drones, robots, devices and space — with the steps and access checks that make them possible.Verified
China · DoMedical Care in China for Tourists: A Practical Guide to Seeing a DoctorChinese hospitals run on walk-ins, passports and pay-as-you-go. The medicine is rarely the problem — knowing which door to enter, and in what order to pay, is.Reference ~
Beijing · DoMutianyu Great Wall: The Low-Stress Way UpMutianyu is the first-timer's wall — if you get the transport and the timing right. Here is the version of the day where you are on the stone before the crowds, not behind them.Estimate ≈
Chengdu · DoChengdu Panda Base the Low-Stress Way: Opening Time, Passport Tickets and the Morning RouteOpening time, a passport-matched ticket, nurseries first: the panda base rewards exactly one strategy, and this is it.Reference ~
Shanghai · DoShanghai in 1 Day: One Perfect First Day, Hour by HourOne river, two banks, three neighbourhoods — a first day that flows in one direction instead of zig-zagging across the map.Reference ~
Shanghai · DoShanghai in 2 Days: Icons on Day 1, Neighbourhoods on Day 2Day 1 collects the postcard. Day 2 spends it — plane-tree streets, long lunches, and the Shanghai residents actually live in.Reference ~
Shanghai · DoShanghai in 3 Days: Icons, Neighbourhoods, and One Day to Go DeepDay one for the postcard, day two for the streets people actually live on, day three for the one thing you care about most — with the bookings and buffers that keep it relaxed.Reference ~
Shanghai · DoShanghai Food Guide: What Locals Actually Eat, and How to Eat ItSoup dumplings are the postcard. The real Shanghai table is pan-fried buns at dawn, dark glossy braises, river shrimp, a spring soup — and knowing the order to put them on the table.Reference ~
Suzhou · DoSuzhou as a Day Trip from Shanghai: One Garden, One Canal, Home by DinnerA garden, a canal street and one of China's great museums, twenty-seven minutes from Shanghai — if you book the three things that sell out and catch a specific train home.Reference ~
Xi'an · DoTerracotta Warriors: The Low-Stress Way to Book, Travel and Walk the PitsEight thousand warriors, three decisions that matter: book early, board the real 306, and walk into Pit 1 when the tour groups are somewhere else.Reference ~
Xi'an · DoXi'an City Wall and Muslim Quarter: Ride the Ramparts, Then Graze DownhillA full 13.7 km bike loop on top of a Ming-dynasty wall at golden hour, then down the gate and into the Quarter's real food street — one evening, two Xi'ans. A slower daytime alternative threads the calligraphy lanes beneath the South Gate on foot.Reference ~
Xi'an · DoXi'an Food Guide: Tear Your Own Bread, Then Trust the Back StreetsRoujiamo, hand-torn paomo and belt-wide noodles — Xi'an food is carb theatre with a Muslim-quarter heart, and the best bites sit one street behind the famous one.Reference ~
Xi'an · DoXi'an in 2 Days: Warriors Early, Wall at Dusk, Tang Treasures ReservedOne early run east to the warriors, one golden hour on the wall, one reserved morning of Tang gold — and a hard rule against squeezing Huashan into the same two days.Reference ~