Prepare guides
Visa, entry, safety, and pre-trip essentials to get you ready.
12 guides available
Entry check path
China Entry Check
Use this order before you rely on a visa-free rule, book a tight itinerary, pack restricted items, or assume your documents are enough.
Safety and emergency path
China Safety & Emergency Path
Use this order to separate ordinary travel friction from real risk, prepare emergency contacts, and know what to do when something stops being routine.
First trip setup
First China Trip Setup
Use this order before you fly: confirm entry rules, choose a realistic route, prepare apps and payment, and keep arrival backups ready.
Arrival plan
First 72 Hours in China
Use this order to get stable after landing: phone data, hotel route, payment test, check-in, first meal, and a simple way back.
Featured pre-trip guides
A source-backed decision guide to China's unilateral and mutual visa exemptions, 24-hour direct transit, and 240-hour visa-free transit.
Entry Documents for China: A Source-Backed Arrival ChecklistWhat to prepare for China immigration: passport and entry basis, onward proof, accommodation details, the free arrival card, and private-stay registration.
Internet Access in Mainland China: Prepare for Service GapsAudit essential websites and apps before China travel, create offline and local-service backups, protect account recovery, and use lawful connectivity.
Browse by topic
First trip essentials
Visa and entry
Stay limits and immigration rules
Safety and awareness
Etiquette and communication
All pre-trip guides
- Can You Bring and Fly a Drone in China? Permissions Checklist
Can you bring a drone to China and fly it? Check customs, airline batteries, registration, airspace, site permission, privacy, and flight requirements before packing.
- First Time in China: A Step-by-Step Guide for Foreign Travelers
A practical setup sequence for a first trip to China, from entry eligibility and arrival documents to payment, connectivity, hotels, and intercity travel.
- China Arrival Card Online: Official Process for Foreign Visitors (2026)
How foreign visitors can complete China's online arrival card through official channels, what to prepare, what the card does not replace, and what to do if the online process fails.
- China Prohibited Items and Customs Rules: What Can You Bring?
What you can and cannot bring to China: check customs, quarantine, airline, and railway rules separately for medicine, food, cash, drones, batteries, and valuables.
- Entry Documents for China: A Source-Backed Arrival Checklist
What to prepare for China immigration: passport and entry basis, onward proof, accommodation details, the free arrival card, and private-stay registration.
- China Entry Health Declaration vs Arrival Card: Do Not Confuse Them
Understand the ended routine health form, symptom-based health reporting, and the separate online entry information declaration for foreign arrivals.
- China Visa-Free Entry: Choose the Rule That Fits Your Passport and Route
A source-backed decision guide to China's unilateral and mutual visa exemptions, 24-hour direct transit, and 240-hour visa-free transit.
- First-Impression Etiquette in China: Observe, Confirm, and Stay Specific
Use practical etiquette in China without relying on stereotypes: follow the host and venue, keep requests clear, respect consent, and de-escalate disputes.
- Traveler Scams in China: Recognize the Transaction Pattern
Identify invitation, taxi, QR, ticket, shopping, and account scams by slowing the transaction, verifying the provider, and preserving records.
- Sensitive Conversations and Restricted Contexts in China
Separate ordinary social tact from legal and security risk when discussing politics, religion, disputes, demonstrations, photography, or work in China.
- Internet Access in Mainland China: Prepare for Service Gaps
Audit essential websites and apps before China travel, create offline and local-service backups, protect account recovery, and use lawful connectivity.
- China Stay Deadlines and Extensions: A Document-Based Checklist
Identify the rule controlling your stay in China, calculate the deadline from official documents, and prepare an extension or stay-permit inquiry early.