China Survival Pack

Visa & entry

• Confirm which entry track you're on

  Three tracks: 30-day unilateral visa-free, 240-hour visa-free transit, or visa required — it depends on your nationality, so confirm yours on the Visa & entry page before you fly. Your passport needs 6+ months of remaining validity.

• File the CDAC digital arrival card within 72 hours of landing

  Since November 2025, the CDAC (China Digital Arrival Card) has replaced paper arrival, health, and customs declaration forms. File it via the NIA website, the WeChat "NIA 12367" mini-program, or the Alipay mini-program, and save a screenshot of the QR code — you'll need to show it at immigration.

Connectivity & SIM

• Install 2 VPN apps and test them

  Install at least two VPN apps and log in to test them before you fly — provider sites are blocked once you're in China, so you can't download or renew after landing. Use an obfuscated/stealth protocol (Astrill StealthVPN, ExpressVPN Lightway); plain OpenVPN is now fingerprinted and blocked.

• Decide: China SIM or international eSIM

  A local Chinese SIM does not get you past the firewall (Google/WhatsApp stay blocked); an international eSIM routes via Hong Kong/Singapore and works without a VPN. Long stays: carry both (physical SIM for SMS codes, eSIM for the open internet). Short trips with accounts already set up: the eSIM alone is enough.

Payments

• Call your bank to whitelist "China mobile payments"

  Your bank will likely flag the first China charge as fraud and silently block it. Call before you fly and whitelist "China mobile payments" on your card — this is the single most common reason card-binding fails.

• Bind Alipay + WeChat Pay (no Chinese bank account needed)

  A foreign Visa/Mastercard can now bind to Alipay and WeChat Pay without a Chinese bank account — start with Alipay, it's the simpler path. Neither supports Amex. WeChat Pay needs a Chinese phone number, and a new number needs an existing user to scan-verify you, so arrange this before you leave.

• Carry ¥200–1,000 cash as a buffer

  QR payments ≤¥200 are free; above ¥200 there's a 3% cross-border fee, with a ¥5,000 single-transaction cap (¥35,000 once fully verified). Even though vendors are legally required to accept cash, small street stalls are often QR-only in practice — keep some cash as a backup for when binding or connectivity hiccups.

Must-install apps

• Install and pre-configure these apps

  Google Translate (download the Simplified Chinese offline pack), Amap (accurate navigation — Google Maps is broken in China, not just inaccurate), DiDi (English UI, accepts foreign cards), Trip.com (filters for foreigner-accepting properties), WeChat + Alipay (set up abroad before you fly), and Meituan/Dianping (food delivery and restaurant discovery).

Transport & tickets

• Verify your 12306 identity early

  The 12306 rail app lets you buy tickets with your passport, fee-free — but identity verification can take several days to approve. Start at least a week before departure if you have train travel planned right after landing.

• Pre-book timed-entry tickets for popular attractions

  The Forbidden City, Chengdu Panda Base, and other major venues often require timed-entry tickets booked 2+ weeks ahead — there's no queue-on-the-day option, and once tickets are gone you won't get in. Book via the venue's official WeChat mini-program or Trip.com.

Accommodation & registration

• Know the 24-hour accommodation registration rule

  Every time you change address you must register it with the local police within 24 hours. Staying at a hotel? Registration happens automatically at check-in — you do nothing. Staying at an Airbnb, a rental, or a friend's place? You (or your host) must go to the local police station yourself within 24 hours with your passport — most Airbnb hosts won't register you, but the legal duty is still yours, with fines up to ¥2,000.

• In smaller cities, book via Trip.com and filter for foreigner-accepting stays

  Budget hotels and small-town guesthouses often turn foreigners away — not for a licensing reason (that requirement was scrapped in May 2024), but because staff aren't familiar with filing a foreign passport. International chains almost never refuse. In smaller cities, avoid Booking.com and Airbnb — book through Trip.com, which lets you filter for properties that accept foreign passports.

• Install a VPN before you arrive — its website is blocked in China
• Bind a foreign card to Alipay / WeChat (call your bank first)
• China Digital Arrival Card, 72h before landing

• Which of the 3 tracks you're on (see above)
• Customs limits, arrival card, fingerprinting
• HK / Macau are separate · Tibet needs a permit

• SIM vs eSIM — a China SIM does NOT beat the firewall
• Payments: the 5 ways card-binding fails, and fixes
• 24h police registration — the Airbnb trap

• Trains (12306, passport), DiDi, metro QR, bikes
• Use Amap, not Google Maps (it's broken in China)
• Food: vegetarian / halal / allergy survival, tap water

• 110 / 120 / 119 — and what to say if you don't speak Chinese
• Meds you can't bring: ADHD, Sudafed, CBD
• The tea-house & art-student scams, named

• Don't tip · "face" and how "no" is said indirectly
• QR codes for everything · loud calls are normal
• What surprises foreigners most