Practical guides, tips, and itineraries for foreigners visiting China — covering payments, visas, translation, and city-by-city advice.
ChinaPass's AI itinerary generator creates detailed, day-by-day China trip plans tailored to your interests, cities, and travel dates. Our most-used feature — and the one that converted our first paying user.
Plan your trip →The perfect first-timer's route — day-by-day plan covering the Great Wall, Terracotta Army, and The Bund, with train connections, food picks, and budget tips.
Read the itinerary →Beijing, Xi'an, Chengdu, Guilin, Shanghai — the definitive two-week route with transport logistics, hotel picks, and daily schedules.
Read the itinerary →How to find halal restaurants, read Chinese food labels, navigate dietary restrictions, and use ChinaPass's halal filter across 20 cities.
Read the halal guide →Step-by-step setup guide for WeChat Pay and Alipay with a foreign card, when cash still works, and how to avoid getting stuck at checkout.
Read the payment guide →Top eSIM providers for China, data plan comparisons, installation before arrival, and whether eSIM bypasses the Great Firewall (spoiler: it doesn't).
Read the eSIM guide →What's blocked by the Great Firewall, which VPNs reliably work, and the best Chinese alternatives to Google, WhatsApp, and social media.
Read the internet guide →Using 12306, Trip.com, or buying at the station — complete guide with passport registration steps, ticket classes, and popular route times.
Read the train guide →Cantonese food, Canton Tower, Huaqiangbei tech market, and the 30-minute train to Hong Kong — complete Pearl River Delta travel guide.
Read the guide →Daily cost breakdown for budget, mid-range, and luxury travelers — accommodation, food, transport, attractions, and money-saving tips.
Read the budget guide →VPNs, mobile payments, translation apps, booking tricks, food ordering, cultural etiquette, and emergency preparation — what experienced travelers wish they'd known.
Read the tips →Dining customs, tipping rules, temple etiquette, gift-giving, photography, and common cultural mistakes foreigners make — and how to avoid them.
Read the guide →Which countries have visa-free access, how to apply for a tourist visa, 144-hour transit rules, and Hainan's 30-day policy.
Read the visa guide →Google Translate is blocked by the Great Firewall. This guide covers the best translation apps that actually work — offline options, menu tools, and Google Maps alternatives.
Read the translation guide →ChinaPass combines everything in these guides into one app — AI itinerary planning, WeChat Pay setup, menu translation, subway maps, and emergency contacts. Free to download.
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