Coming to China
Daily life & getting around
Intercity trains: book with your passport on 12306
The 12306 app (available in English) sells intercity rail tickets using your passport — no booking fee, no agent markup. At the station you pick up or validate your ticket by scanning your passport at a self-service machine. However, e-ticket automatic gates are not universally available for foreign passports. At many stations you must use the staffed foreigner lane (外宾通道) or manual ticket window — allow an extra 10–15 minutes and look for the 外宾 sign or a uniformed staff member near the gates.
| Class | Speed | Beijing–Shanghai typical fare | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 高铁 G-train (HSR) | ~350 km/h | ¥553–¥1,748 (2nd class to business) | Fastest; some stations have passport e-gates, many still require the foreigner staff lane |
| 动车 D-train | ~200–250 km/h | ¥300–¥800 | Slightly slower; common on scenic routes and overnight runs |
| Z / K / T ordinary trains | ~120 km/h | ¥100–¥300 | Sleeper berths available; cheapest intercity option |
City transport: metro QR, DiDi, and shared bikes
City metro systems in 46+ cities accept Alipay or WeChat Pay QR codes (乘车码) — but each city requires its own separate activation before you can tap through the gate. Open Alipay or WeChat, find that city's transit mini-program, and complete the one-time setup (about 2 minutes). Shared bikes (Meituan, Hellobike, Qingju) are available across most city centres — unlock via Alipay or WeChat mini-program and park only inside the marked white-box zones; out-of-zone parking triggers an auto-fine. DiDi (English app, accepts foreign cards) is the safest taxi alternative; airports and major stations have designated DiDi pickup zones shown in the app map.
If your driver calls and you don't speak Chinese, type '请用DiDi聊天' in the chat window. DiDi's built-in chat auto-translates both sides — far faster than trying to speak over the phone.
Navigation: use Amap (高德地图), not Google Maps
Amap (高德地图) is the most accurate navigation app in China. The Android version has an English interface; iOS is Chinese but still practical with a translation app alongside. Apple Maps is about 80% reliable in major cities. Baidu Maps is most accurate overall but Chinese-only.
Google Maps can load satellite tiles but routing and search are non-functional. Chinese coordinates use an offset system (GCJ-02) that Google does not correct for, so routes either fail entirely or lead to locations tens to hundreds of metres off. Switch to Amap as soon as you arrive; do not rely on Google Maps for navigation.
Chinese addresses run large to small: province → city → district → street → building → unit — the reverse of western convention. When directing a driver or entering a delivery address, paste the full Chinese-character address. Save your accommodation's Chinese-script address as a phone screenshot before heading out each morning.
Language: English disappears quickly outside tourist zones
In major international hubs — Shanghai's Bund, Beijing's Sanlitun, large airport lounges — English signage is reasonable. One metro stop beyond the tourist core it fades fast. Outside tier-1 city tourist districts, which covers most of China's geography, assume zero English. Staff are almost always patient and gesture-friendly; a translation app on your phone bridges nearly every practical gap.
- Google Translate camera mode — download the Simplified Chinese offline pack before entering China; essential for menus, signs, and receipts without a data connection
- Pleco — the definitive Chinese dictionary app for reading individual characters you encounter in context
- Save key phrases as Chinese-character screenshots, not pinyin — staff in smaller cities often cannot read romanised pinyin
- Most restaurants have picture menus or photo-illustrated QR menus; pointing works everywhere
- DiDi in-app translated chat for ride communication with drivers
Food: scan-to-order, delivery, and the vegetarian trap
Most restaurants display a QR code at the table to browse and order — menus usually have photos so pointing works without Chinese. Meituan and Ele.me (饿了么) deliver food in 20–40 minutes to most city addresses; a large proportion of restaurants are delivery-only with no dine-in. Dianping (大众点评) is the local Yelp equivalent for finding restaurants and reading crowd-sourced reviews.
Chinese cooks typically do not count lard (猪油), chicken stock powder (鸡精), oyster sauce (蚝油), or meat-based blanching broth as 'meat'. Telling a mainstream restaurant you are vegetarian succeeds roughly 40% of the time. The reliable solution: eat at a Buddhist vegetarian restaurant (佛素餐厅 / 素食餐厅) — search '素食' on Amap — where the success rate is 95%+. Halal restaurants (清真) display a green Arabic-script sign at the entrance.
Carry a laminated Chinese-language allergy card (SelectWisely or equivalent, ~USD 10–20 / ¥70–140). A card in Chinese characters is far more reliable than trying to explain verbally — kitchen staff in smaller restaurants may not speak Mandarin themselves, and verbal translation chains break down under time pressure.
Water and toilets
This applies to Beijing, Shanghai, and every city without exception. Drink bottled water (¥2–5 per 500 ml at any convenience store) or boil tap water using the in-room electric kettle. Public squat toilets (蹲坑) are common outside international hotels and shopping malls, and they frequently have no toilet paper — carry a small pack of tissues at all times. McDonald's, Starbucks, and major shopping malls reliably have sit-down toilets and are kept clean.