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Are you planning to travel to China soon and are looking for some China travel tips? Well, we have been there three times already and wish someone had told us a few things before on “how to survive in China”!
China is an incredible and fascinating country. Not only is it the largest population of the world (with currently almost 1.4 billion people) – it also has an ancient and exotic culture and a rich heritage. So it is no wonder that a lot of people want to visit China!
But China is not only exotic because of its rich heritage – it is also very different in the modern world due to its economic system. I wouldn’t really call it communism (as China is one of the most capitalist nations of the world in my opinion) – but it sure is different from the way we live in the west these days.
And this means, that some things will be very different and you should prepare for your visit accordingly! So let’s have a look at the China travel tips we wish someone had told us the first time we visited!
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Get a visa for China
Almost everyone visiting China will need to apply for a visa in advance. There are some exemptions for stopover flights, but they cannot be used everywhere and by everyone. Thus our China travel tip would be to apply for a visa in advance!
Getting a visa in advance
It usually requires a visit to the embassy or a visa application center to get a visa for China. You also need to fill in extensive online forms with many, many questions (I even had to enter my mom’s and dad’s occupation!)
Please check with your country’s foreign ministry what requirements you need to fulfill to get access to China. Or use an online visa service such as VisaHQ which will help you in the whole process. This will not only serve your nerves but sometimes even money as you don’t have to do something twice.
Getting a visa for China IS COMPLICATED but it is certainly possible…! China Travel Tips from Experts: Plan to get your visa done at least 30 days before your trip to be on the safe side!
The 72 / 144 hours stopover visa exemption
If you can’t (or don’t want to) apply for a visa for some reason, you might still be able to get a glimpse of China thanks to the stopover visa they introduced a few years ago!
In general, you can stay up to 72 hours in many Chinese cities if you are on a stopover. The most basic requirement for that is that you have a flight coming in from one country and a second flight leaving for ANOTHER country within 72 hours (Hongkong does NOT count!)
Most of the time, you are restricted to stay in the city your flight comes in/leaves from. Technically, no one can check it – but this is China and we would not recommend ignoring that rule. That’s why we “only” visited Shanghai in 2018 – and I applied for a full visa for my trip to Suzhou in 2019!
Some cities like Shanghai or Beijing extend the length of this 72-hour stopover to 144 hours, giving you more than enough time to explore these cities! We have done this both in Shanghai in 2018 as well as in Chengdu in 2020!
Related: Top things to do in Shanghai
But if you plan to visit nearby cities (for Shanghai: e.g., Suzhou and Nanking) – we highly recommend you to get a full visa in advance!
Related: An Instagrammer’s Guide to Suzhou, China’s green lung
China Travel Tips: Getting Internet access in China for tourists
Unrestricted Internet is really difficult to get in China. Most people already heard about “the great firewall” – but the problems actually start earlier: There is almost no free public WiFi and if there is, login is usually in Chinese and the SMS with your login code never arrives.
At the beginning of 2019, it was possible for tourists to get Chinese SIM cards at bigger shops in town – but this has changed. Now you need to have a Chinese ID to get a SIM card. Do not believe outdated information explaining about unregistered SIM cards being sold on the streets – we did not manage to get our hands on SIM cards even though trying for over a week.
The only way you will be able to get internet access most of the time will be through your hotel WiFi – but don’t expect high speed!
Getting a SIM card for China
You might be able to get a SIM card that works in China at major Chinese airports. I asked a lady at a global SIM card counter in Shanghai and she said unlimited internet for 7 days would be 300 RMB (~45$) and it would work in China as well. We skipped that option due to the high price though.
In Chengdu, it was also possible to buy a SIM card at the airport with better rates in 2020 – they were asking for 160 RMB (~24$) for 6 GB of data at the beginning of 2020.
However, our top China travel tip is to get your SIM card in advance! This way you will have a working solution for sure – and prices online are lower than in China! The best option in our eyes is currently the SIM card from China Unicom with 10GB for 30 days!
Another option is getting a global SIM card (check that it works in China too!). These global cards are particularly helpful if you are traveling to different countries (e.g. an Asia trip). They are more expensive than local SIM cards – but are very convenient to use.
It mainly depends on your trip and your preferences if the card from China Unicom is better for you or a global or regional SIM card! Below, we have listed the options we could find on Amazon.com that work in China!
Download a VPN before (!) you arrive in China
Once you managed to get access to the internet, you are facing “the Great Firewall of China”. Almost none of the services and apps you usually use will work (Instagram, WhatsApp, Google, Facebook, Netflix, YouTube,…).
In order to circumvent this, you need to use a VPN. A VPN basically tells your device that it is in another country and not in China. Sadly, most VPNs don’t work in China, especially the free ones don’t.
China has cracked down even more VPN services in 2019, rendering many popular and recommended VPNs useless. Especially NORD VPN (which you will find in many blog posts about VPNs that work in China) was hit hard and was basically not functioning anymore when I visited in June 2019.
Express VPN luckily was still working during both my visits in 2019 and the beginning of 2020.
You need to connect with one of the servers Express VPN recommends for China (Try US – Santa Monica / San Francisco, UK – Wembley, Hongkong 4/5, Tokyo 1/3, Singapore – Marina Bay, Germany – Nuremberg)
If this sounds complicated to you – don’t worry, it is super easy! I know, VPN sounds like something for a tech-nerd – but the app is actually absolutely self-explanatory! I have done some screenshots to show you HOW easy it actually is to connect with Express VPN.
Most important is that you download the VPN apps for your computer and Smartphone BEFORE you go to China as VPN websites are blocked inside China and the apps are off the Play Store / App Store.
In case you messed this up, you might still be able to get access to their products by using “mirror sites”. However, some of these mirror sites might have viruses in their code – use them ONLY if absolutely necessary! (Aka: if you are already in China when reading this article…)
Express VPN offers a 7-day free trial for one device and otherwise costs 12,99$/month (cheaper if you decide for longer contracts). I always buy the one-month version and I was happy with it all three times visiting China!
China Travel Tips: Important smartphone apps for China
Basically, there are four apps that you should download to your phone to save you time and nerves:
- A good VPN app (my recommendation: Express VPN)
- Maps.me App (Offline maps)
- Google Translate Chinese (+ language package)
- DiDi (Uber in China)
The reason for the VPN is explained above – and the other three recommendations have to do with the problem of lacking mobile internet access if you do NOT have a SIM card.
Maps.me for offline navigation
Google Maps does not allow you to download offline maps of China – thus one of our top China travel tips is to use another map application in order to have a working mobile map without mobile internet.
Maps.me is free and works very well offline. Download the areas you plan to visit in a WiFi network and you won’t run into any problems! Plus, it often has both the Chinese and the English letters/spelling!
Below, I included the links to Maps.me on both Google Play Store as well as Apple App Store!
Some people also recommend using Baidu maps in their China travel tips – however, it is only in Chinese and it wasn’t helpful to me and Markus.
Google Translate with downloaded Chinese language packet
Same goes for Google Translate (which you will definitely need): As you won’t have mobile internet without a SIM card, you should download the Chinese language package over WiFi (about 45MB) and then you will be able to translate sentences as well as signs (e.g. photo of restaurant menu) to Chinese offline!
It’s pretty easy to do, but I added some screenshots anyway! 🙂
English knowledge is often very limited in China and thus, you will be VERY happy if you can translate signs into the English language. And Google can even live-translate by simply pointing your camera toward the sign or menu and it will overlay the view with the translation!
Expert China Travel tip: I would recommend translating to English even if English is NOT your native language. The translation mistakes are less grave in English than for other languages Google doesn’t know so well (trust me, I tried German and it was barely readable… )
Below, I included the links to Google Translate on both Google Play Store as well as Apple App Store!
DiDi for calling cabs (if you have a SIM card)
We tried to haul down cabs a few times while being in China. No matter if we had a business card of where we wanted to go (the usual China travel tip) or pointed on it on Maps.me – the drivers most of the time refused to take us.
And that’s not because they are bad people. It’s because cab drivers often can’t read maps and their English skills are close to non-existent.
Thus, our China travel tip for transportion is using an App called DiDi (basically Uber in China). With DiDi, you can easily get a cab anywhere – and they won’t even overcharge you or go the wrong way.
However, in order to use DiDi, you need an internet connection. If you don’t have a SIM card, you will only be able to use Didi while leaving a spot with WiFi (aka, your hotel)!
Below, I included the links to DiDi on both Google Play Store as well as Apple App Store!
China Travel Tips for “everyday life”
There are a few other things that will make your trip to China much easier and more fun. You won’t die if you don’t know about these China travel trips – but it will certainly be helpful for you!
Bring toilet paper/tissues everywhere
Toilet paper seems to be extremely scarce in public toilets. Also, hygiene standards are not up to what you might know from home. Thus, it is a good idea to carry both some tissues/toilet paper as well as travel-sized hand sanitizer with you!
Book your hotels online in advance
If you are the kind of person that likes showing up at a hotel door and then deciding where to stay – China is not the country to do that. Why? Well, first of all, because of limited English skills. Second, because not all hotels are allowed to accept foreigners as a guest. Third, the visa application center will ask you for it.
We always book our hotels with booking.com and did the same for our trips to China!
Booking.comGet a good travel insurance
This one is not only a “China Travel Tip” – but actually a general travel tip: Wherever you go, please make sure that you have travel insurance!
No one wants to think about getting sick during the holiday. Or having an accident. Or having your stuff stolen or broken. But it happens. And then you will be extremely happy to have travel insurance that will help you cope with that stuff.
Our personal recommendation is SafetyWing – because their product is cheaper than World Nomads and will cover both medical as well as travel insurance issues for a very low price.
We have written an extensive review of SafetyWing and why we think it is an awesome product too!
Read: Finding the best travel insurance – a review of SafetyWing
Or you can directly check the price for your planned trip below!
How did you like these China travel tips?
I really hope these China travel tips will help you to make the best out of your trip to China! It certainly is a super fascinating country that is absolutely worth visiting!
Are there any topics you miss in this guide article? Let me know and I am happy to write about it! Or leave a comment if you liked it and let me know what you think was the most valuable tip to you!
