Before you go
The checklist
Twenty minutes of preparation removes almost every problem visitors report. Most of this can only be done properly before you leave — once you land without data or a working payment app, fixing it becomes much harder.
At home, before you fly
- Confirm your entry routeCheck your passport against all three schemes, and note which one you are relying on. Run the check.
- Check passport validitySix months beyond your travel dates is the safe standard, and transit requires at least three.
- Book the onward ticket, if you are transitingThe 240-hour scheme needs a confirmed ticket to a third country or region. Hong Kong and Macao count.
- Install and verify AlipayIdentity verification plus a bound Visa or Mastercard. Do not leave this for the arrivals hall.
- Install WeChat as a backupBind a card there too. Some merchants take only one of the two.
- Make one small test paymentProves the card binding works while you can still call your bank easily.
- Buy an eSIM or confirm your roaming rateThe single highest-value item on this list. Compare the options.
- Install Amap and download offline translationGet the Chinese language pack while downloads are fast and unrestricted.
- Tell your bank you are travellingStops the first Chinese transaction from tripping fraud detection.
- Save your hotel address in Chinese charactersScreenshot it. Taxi drivers and police forms both need it, and you will not be able to type it.
- Withdraw or order a few hundred RMBInsurance against a dead battery, not a primary payment method.
Your first 24 hours
- Register your accommodation within 24 hoursHotels do this automatically at check-in. If you are in a private home or short-term rental, you must register in person at the local police station. This is a legal requirement on every entry route and the one most visitors miss.
- Check your entry stampConfirm the permitted duration written on it matches what you expected — this is the number that counts, not the one on a website.
- Test mobile data before leaving the airportIf the eSIM has not activated, airport staff and wifi are the easiest place to fix it.
- Get a power bankBuy one, or find the rental stations in any mall or restaurant. Your phone is now your wallet, ticket and map at once.
The two rules people break without realising. Accommodation registration within 24 hours, and the exact expiry of your permitted stay — for 240-hour transit, the clock starts at midnight on the day after arrival, not at landing. Both carry fines and possible re-entry bans.
Worth having, not essential
- Travel insurance covering medical care — not required for entry, but private international hospitals in Chinese cities are expensive without it.
- A dual-SIM phone — lets you keep your home number live for bank codes while using local data.
- Printed copies of your itinerary and hotel booking — occasionally requested at the border, and useful if your phone dies.
- A universal adapter — Chinese sockets take Type A, C and I; most modern buildings accept flat two-pin plugs directly.