Do You Even Need a Visa? (Probably Not Anymore)
China overhauled its entry rules in 2024 and expanded them again in 2025. If you hold a passport from one of 46 countries, including the UK, Australia, New Zealand, most of the EU, Japan, South Korea, and Canada, you can now enter China visa-free for up to 30 days. No paperwork, no appointment, no consulate visit. Just book a flight and go. The policy runs through at least December 31, 2026.
If your country is not on the 30-day list, check the 240-hour visa-free transit option instead. This covers 55 countries and allows a stay of up to ten days, provided you have an onward ticket to a third destination (Hong Kong counts). Entry is available at 65 ports, including Shenzhen, Guangzhou, Shanghai, Beijing, and the West Kowloon high-speed rail station.
For those crossing from Hong Kong to Shenzhen specifically, a five-day Shenzhen Special Economic Zone visa is available on arrival at the border for most nationalities. It restricts you to Shenzhen only, but for a weekend food trip or a first taste of the mainland, it is enough.
What you will need at any entry point: a passport valid for at least six months, a completed China Arrival Card (handed out on the plane or available at the immigration counter), and proof of onward travel if you are using the transit exemption.
Set Up Your Phone Before You Land (Not After)
This is the section that will save you the most frustration. China runs on mobile payments and Chinese apps. Your foreign credit card, Google Maps, and WhatsApp will not work the way you expect. Sort these out before you board the plane.
Payment: Alipay First, WeChat Pay Second
China is a mobile-payment society. Most vendors, restaurants, metro ticket machines, and even street food stalls accept Alipay or WeChat Pay via QR code. Foreign credit cards and cash are increasingly difficult to use outside major hotels and tourist attractions.
Alipay is the easier setup for tourists. Download the app, select the international version, register with your foreign phone number, upload a passport photo and selfie for verification (usually approved within minutes), and link a Visa or Mastercard. Transactions under 200 RMB carry no fee. Transactions above 200 RMB incur a 3% charge. The annual limit is 50,000 USD for verified users.
If direct card linking gives you trouble, use the Alipay TourCard mini-program inside the app. It creates a temporary Bank of Shanghai account that you top up from your foreign card. Maximum balance is 10,000 RMB (around HK$11,000), with a 5% top-up fee. The balance is valid for 180 days. TourCard payments work at virtually every merchant that accepts Alipay.
WeChat Pay is harder to set up because new accounts require verification from an existing WeChat user who has been active for at least six months. If you know someone in China or Hong Kong who uses WeChat, ask them to verify you before your trip. If not, prioritise Alipay and treat WeChat Pay as a backup.
Important: Call your bank before you travel and flag your card for use in China. Without this, your bank may block the foreign transaction during Alipay setup, and you will be stuck at the airport wondering why nothing works.
Carry 500 to 1,000 RMB in cash as a backup. Some street food vendors, small shops, and older businesses still prefer cash, and you will want it for emergencies if your phone dies or an app glitches. Exchange currency before you fly or withdraw from an ATM at the airport on arrival. Bank of China and ICBC ATMs at major airports accept Visa and Mastercard with reasonable exchange rates. Avoid currency exchange counters inside tourist areas, where rates are significantly worse.
Internet: Get an eSIM (and Skip the VPN Headache)
China’s Great Firewall blocks Google, Gmail, YouTube, Instagram, Facebook, WhatsApp, and most Western news sites. If you buy a local Chinese SIM card, you are behind the firewall and need a VPN to access any of these services. VPNs are unreliable in China. They work some days and not others, and the government actively disrupts them.
The better option for tourists is an eSIM from a provider like Airalo, Nomad, or Holafly. These route your data through international networks rather than Chinese infrastructure, which means many blocked services work without a VPN. Prices start around USD 2 to 5 for basic plans. Activate it the day you travel.
If you still want a VPN as backup (and you should), download two or three before you leave. Surfshark, NordVPN, and ExpressVPN are the most commonly cited by travelers who have tested them recently. Install them at home because VPN websites are blocked inside China. Most offer 30-day money-back guarantees, so you can refund whichever ones do not work for you.
Apps to Download Before Departure
Amap (高德地图): China’s best navigation app. It has an English interface, real-time transit routing, and works without a VPN. Google Maps does not work in China, and even with a VPN, its location data is offset by several hundred metres due to a coordinate system difference. Amap is accurate. Download offline maps for your destination cities before you leave. Pro tip: screenshot your routes before going underground because signal drops in metro tunnels.
DiDi (滴滴出行): China’s Uber equivalent. Has an English interface and links to Alipay for payment. Safer and more transparent than street taxis, where meter scams are a known issue in some cities.
Baidu Translate (百度翻译): The translation app that works without a VPN. Its camera function lets you point your phone at Chinese text (menus, signs, train schedules) for instant translation. Google Translate works too but needs a VPN.
Trip.com (携程): For booking trains, flights, and hotels with an English interface and foreign card support. China’s official train booking app (12306) works for foreigners but the interface is almost entirely in Chinese.
What to Expect on the Ground
Language: English Will Not Get You Far
Outside the lobbies of international hotels in Shanghai and Beijing, English is limited. Restaurant menus are in Chinese. Taxi drivers speak Chinese. Metro announcements are bilingual but station staff often are not.
Three things that help. First, save your hotel name and address in Chinese characters on your phone. Show this to taxi drivers instead of trying to pronounce it. Second, learn five phrases: 你好 (nǐ hǎo, hello), 谢谢 (xièxiè, thank you), 多少钱 (duōshao qián, how much), 不要 (bù yào, no / I do not want), and 这个 (zhè ge, this one, while pointing). Third, keep Baidu Translate open. The camera mode handles menus surprisingly well.
Toilets: Pack Tissues
Public toilets in China range from modern to basic. Squat toilets are still common outside major malls and hotels. The bigger issue is that many public restrooms do not supply toilet paper. Carry a small pack of tissues at all times. Hand sanitiser is also worth having. Shopping malls and chain restaurants generally have Western-style toilets with paper.
Tap Water: Do Not Drink It
Tap water in China is not safe to drink unboiled. Bottled water is cheap and available everywhere (around 2 RMB for a 500ml bottle). Hotels provide electric kettles and complimentary bottled water. Boiled water from the kettle is fine for drinking.
Getting Around: Trains, Metro, and DiDi
China’s high-speed rail network is one of the best in the world. Trains between major cities are fast, punctual, and cheap by international standards. Beijing to Shanghai takes around four and a half hours and costs under 600 RMB for a second-class seat. Book through Trip.com or the official 12306 app (Chinese interface, but Trip.com handles it in English). Carry your passport because you need it for ticket collection and station security checks.
Metro systems exist in every major city and are clean, well-signed in English, and extremely affordable (most rides are 3 to 8 RMB). Pay with Alipay by scanning the QR code reader at the turnstile, or buy a single-trip token from the machine using cash or Alipay. Rush hour in Beijing and Shanghai is intense, so avoid Lines 1, 2, and 10 in Beijing and Lines 1 and 2 in Shanghai between 7:30 and 9:00.
For taxis, use DiDi rather than flagging one down. DiDi shows the fare estimate upfront, tracks the route, and lets you share your trip with someone back home. Street taxis in tourist areas are notorious for meter tricks and scenic-route detours. If you do take a street taxi, insist on the meter (打表, dǎ biǎo) before getting in.
Food Safety: Your Stomach Will Probably Be Fine
Street food and local restaurants are generally safe. The risk is not hygiene so much as unfamiliar bacteria and spice levels. Start mild, eat where the locals queue, and avoid raw seafood from roadside stalls if you have a sensitive stomach. Cooked food served hot is almost always fine.
Tipping: Do Not Do It
Tipping is not customary in mainland China. Restaurant staff, taxi drivers, and hotel porters do not expect tips. Some upscale restaurants add an automatic service charge (usually 10%), but this is the exception. Attempting to tip at a local restaurant may cause confusion.
Safety and Scams: What to Watch For
China is one of the safest countries in Asia for tourists. Violent crime against foreigners is extremely rare. The main risks are petty scams in tourist hotspots. The “tea ceremony scam” in Shanghai and Beijing involves friendly strangers inviting you to a tea house, where you end up with a bill for several hundred dollars. The “art student scam” uses the same playbook with a gallery. The rule is simple: if a stranger approaches you speaking excellent English and suggests going somewhere together, politely decline.
Keep your phone and wallet in a front pocket in crowded metro stations and tourist sites. Pickpocketing is not rampant but it does happen in high-traffic areas like the Bund, Tiananmen, and busy night markets.
Medication: Check Before You Pack
Most common over-the-counter medications are fine to bring. However, China bans or restricts several substances that are legal elsewhere: pseudoephedrine (found in Sudafed), codeine (found in some cough syrups and painkillers), and ephedrine. Bring prescriptions for any medication you carry, keep everything in original packaging, and limit quantities to what you need for the trip. Ibuprofen, paracetamol, and most allergy medications are fine.
Crossing from Hong Kong to Shenzhen (the Easiest First Step)
If you are based in Hong Kong or transiting through, Shenzhen is a natural first taste of mainland China. The border crossing is straightforward, and you can be eating Hainanese chicken rice in Futian within ninety minutes of leaving Tsim Sha Tsui.
Best crossing options:
Lo Wu / Luohu (羅湖): Take the MTR East Rail Line to the last stop. Walk across the bridge into Shenzhen. Immigration typically takes 20 to 40 minutes on weekdays, longer on weekends. Directly connects to Shenzhen Metro Line 1. The most popular crossing for first-timers.
Futian (福田口岸): Similar to Lo Wu but less crowded. Take the East Rail Line to Lok Ma Chau, then shuttle to the border. Connects to Shenzhen Metro Line 4.
West Kowloon High-Speed Rail (西九龍): The fastest option. Trains run every 15 to 30 minutes to Futian Station (14 minutes) or Shenzhen North (23 minutes). Immigration is done inside the station before boarding. Arrive 45 minutes early.
Timing tip: Cross on a weekday morning to avoid the worst queues. Weekend afternoons, especially before public holidays, can mean an hour or more at immigration. Luohu sits right at the border if you want to eat as soon as you cross, and Faan Lau in Futian is one of the best dim sum spots near the border.
The Pre-Departure Checklist
Three to Four Weeks Before:
Verify your visa-free eligibility on the Chinese embassy website for your nationality. Call your bank to flag your card for China transactions. Purchase an eSIM plan.
Two Weeks Before:
Download and set up Alipay (complete passport verification). Download Amap, DiDi, Baidu Translate, Trip.com, and WeChat. Download offline maps. Install two to three VPN apps.
One Week Before:
Make digital and physical copies of your passport. Save your hotel address in Chinese characters. Top up your Alipay TourCard balance. Check that your eSIM activation is ready.
At the Airport:
Activate your eSIM. Complete any remaining Alipay verification steps on airport Wi-Fi. Fill out the China Arrival Card. Make your first small Alipay purchase (a bottle of water) to confirm everything works. If it does not, sort it out now while you have airport Wi-Fi and English-speaking staff nearby.
Quick Info
| Visa-Free Entry | 30 days for 46 countries (through Dec 31, 2026) |
| Transit Visa-Free | 240 hours (10 days) for 55 countries, onward ticket required |
| Shenzhen VOA | 5 days, Shenzhen SEZ only, available at border crossings |
| Payment | Alipay (recommended), WeChat Pay, cash as backup |
| Internet | eSIM (bypasses firewall), VPN as backup |
| Essential Apps | Alipay, Amap, DiDi, Baidu Translate, Trip.com, WeChat |
| Power | 220V / Type A and C plugs, bring universal adapter |
| Emergency | Police 110, Ambulance 120, Fire 119 |
| Currency | RMB (Renminbi / Chinese Yuan). HK$1 ≈ RMB 0.93 |
| Tipping | Not customary in mainland China |
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