Plan your first trip to China.
Step-by-step help with entry, payments, getting around and booking your first trip.
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Itineraries
10 days in China: Beijing, Suzhou and Shanghai
A 10-day first trip with four nights in Beijing, five in Shanghai and one Suzhou day trip. Each day has a route and a fallback.
BeijingA half-day around Beijing’s hutongs
Walk Beijing’s hutongs from the Drum and Bell Towers to Yandai Xiejie and Shichahai. Save these Chinese map pins and metro exits.
Travel guides
Browse all travel guides- BeijingHow to book Forbidden City ticketsUse the Palace Museum’s English ticket site with a foreign passport. Get the release time right, check your booking and find the Meridian Gate entrance.
- PaymentsHow to pay in China as a touristDownload Alipay and WeChat, sign up with your overseas number and add a foreign card. See where to tap, how to pay at a shop and what to do if it fails.
- Train travelBeijing to Shanghai by high-speed trainBook Beijing South to Shanghai Hongqiao with a foreign passport, board the correct train and plan the onward metro or taxi.
- BeijingHow to Use the Beijing Subway: Tap a Bank Card or Buy a TicketUse one foreign bank card per person, tap through the correct gates, and find a ticket or staffed fallback if the reader declines.
- Train travelHow to Book China Train Tickets on 12306 with a Foreign PassportRegister, verify each passenger’s passport, confirm a mainland train ticket and use the right station check-in gate.
- ItinerariesHong Kong to Macau Ferry: How to Book and Choose the Right TerminalBook the ferry from Sheung Wan, choose Outer Harbour or Taipa, and reach the right terminal with your passport.