1. Confirm which entry route you are using
Not “do I need a visa” — which route. Unilateral 30-day entry, treaty exemption, 240-hour transit, or a visa. They have different requirements from each other and the airline checks the specific one. See our visa routes guide and confirm your passport country the same week you book flights.
2. Set up connectivity before you leave
- 1Buy a travel eSIM and install it at home
Install on your home Wi-Fi, and leave it switched off until you land.
- 2Download offline Google Translate (Chinese Simplified)
The camera pack is what you will actually use.
- 3Install Alipay and WeChat and complete verification
Both need SMS. Do this while your bank can still call you.
- 4Screenshot every booking
Flight, hotel address in Chinese, train numbers, guide contact.
- 5Check your phone is not carrier-locked
Settings → About → Carrier lock. An eSIM will not install on a locked handset.
3. The paperwork in your bag
- Passport with six months validity and two blank pages.
- Printed flight itinerary and first-night hotel address in Chinese characters.
- Onward ticket if you are entering on transit.
- Travel insurance certificate, printed — it is occasionally asked for at hospital registration.
- A photocopy of the passport photo page, kept separately from the passport.
4. Medication and health
Bring prescription medication in its original packaging with the prescription or a doctor’s letter. China is strict about stimulants and opioids — amphetamine-based ADHD medication, for example, requires advance approval and is otherwise confiscated. Paracetamol, ibuprofen and common antibiotics are widely available locally.
5. Power and packing
China uses 220V, 50Hz, with Type A (two flat pins) and Type I (two angled pins) sockets. Most hotel rooms have universal sockets, but a universal adapter is cheap insurance. Dual-voltage electronics — phones, laptops, camera chargers — need only the plug adapter.
6. Book these in advance
| What | How far ahead | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Forbidden City, Beijing | 7 days | Real-name timed tickets, sells out |
| Terracotta Army, Xi’an | 3–7 days | Booked via official WeChat mini-program |
| Train tickets | 15 days (04:00 CET) | Popular legs sell out on release |
| Great Wall at Mutianyu | Not needed | But go before 09:00 to avoid the cable-car queue |
| Hotel in Harbin (Jan–Feb) | 2–3 months | Ice Festival pricing and availability |
| Zhangjiajie / Guilin in Golden Week | 2 months | 1–7 October is the domestic peak |
7. What to leave at home
- Drone — requires registration and permission, and is confiscated at many sites.
- Selfie stick with a large tripod in major attractions — increasingly banned.
- Lighters and matches in hand luggage.
- Anything over 100 Wh battery in checked baggage.
- A guidebook printed before 2024. The practical details have changed too much.
8. The one thing people forget
Your hotel’s name and address, in Chinese characters, saved as a screenshot that does not need a network. Every taxi driver, every metro-station attendant and every emergency contact will need it, and it is the difference between a smooth arrival and a two-hour detour.