Our tips for first timers in China

So you're planning your first trip to China and probably feeling a bit overwhelmed with all the info out there. I get it. We've been three times now and that feeling before the first visit was real. But honestly, once you understand a few key things, it's way more straightforward than it seems.

First thing to check is whether you even need a visa. China extended their visa-free policy through 2026 for a bunch of countries. Most of Europe gets 30 days, plus Australia, New Zealand, Japan, South Korea, and about 40 others total. If you're American, British, or Canadian you'll need a traditional visa, which takes a couple weeks but it's not complicated. There's also this transit visa thing where you can stay 6-10 days if you're flying through to a third country, but honestly unless you're doing a really short trip the regular visa gives you way more peace of mind. Full country list here: https://en.nia.gov.cn/n147418/n147463/c183390/content.html

They also just launched a digital arrival card on November 20th. That paper form you used to fill on the plane is now online. Takes maybe 10 minutes through their website or the WeChat and Alipay mini-programs. You upload a passport photo, fill in your info, and get a QR code to show at immigration. If you forget there are kiosks at the airport and paper forms still work, but doing it beforehand saves you some time. More details here: https://visasnews.com/en/china-launches-its-digital-arrival-card-today-heres-how-to-complete-it/

The stuff you actually need to sort out before landing is pretty simple but critical. Get a VPN and install it at home, not at the airport. Test it, make sure it works, and honestly have a backup one too. Our first trip we didn't take this seriously enough and spent three days without Gmail or Google Maps. Outside the big tourist spots English is basically non-existent, so having a translation app with camera function will save you constantly. Papago works great. Download offline maps too because Google Maps doesn't work there. AMAP is what most people use.

Alipay is the other big one. Set it up before you go with decent WiFi because not all international cards work smoothly and troubleshooting payment issues at the airport is miserable. Bring some USD cash as backup but you probably won't use much of it. Most places take Alipay or WeChat Pay for everything. WeChat is pretty essential too for booking trains, attractions, even ordering at some restaurants.

One thing we learned over multiple trips is don't pre-book everything. Weather changes, some places end up not being worth it, and cancellations cost money. Only book things that actually sell out like Forbidden City tickets, Terracotta Warriors, and popular train routes. Everything else grab same-day or a few days before. Way more flexibility and you can check the weather first.

For the Great Wall specifically, skip Badaling unless you really want crowds. Mutianyu or Jinshanling are so much better. We've done Mutianyu twice and it's incredible every time. You can read more about that experience here: https://www.reddit.com/r/travelchina/comments/1p6ex0n/

There's this thing called PSB registration that nobody really explains. When you check into a hotel they handle it automatically, they register you with local police and it's required by law. If you're staying with friends or family you need to go register yourself at the local police station within 24 hours. Don't skip it because fines run from 500 to 2000 yuan.

The visa-free extension and new digital card discussions are happening over at r/travelchina if you want more recent experiences: https://www.reddit.com/r/travelchina/comments/1p44woe/

Honestly once you get past the initial setup the country is incredibly easy to navigate. Trains are efficient and cheap, people are helpful even with the language barrier, and the whole experience feels way less complicated than you'd expect