# James in China

> Step-by-step travel guides for your first trip to China.


## Posts

- [How to Use the Beijing Subway: Tap a Bank Card or Buy a Ticket](https://jamesinchina.com/guides/beijing-subway-tickets.html): Use one foreign bank card per person, tap through the correct gates, and find a ticket or staffed fallback if the reader declines.
- [How to Book China Train Tickets on 12306 with a Foreign Passport](https://jamesinchina.com/guides/book-china-train-tickets-12306.html): Register, verify each passenger’s passport, confirm a mainland train ticket and use the right station check-in gate.
- [Hong Kong to Macau Ferry: How to Book and Choose the Right Terminal](https://jamesinchina.com/guides/hong-kong-to-macau-ferry.html): Book the ferry from Sheung Wan, choose Outer Harbour or Taipa, and reach the right terminal with your passport.
- [Beijing Daxing Airport to the City: Express Train, Bus and Taxi](https://jamesinchina.com/guides/beijing-daxing-airport-to-city.html): Find the Daxing Airport Express on B1, change at Caoqiao, and make a late-night plan that reaches your hotel.
- [Guangzhou Baiyun Airport to the City: Metro, Shuttle and Taxi](https://jamesinchina.com/guides/guangzhou-airport-to-city.html): Find the right transfer from Terminal 2 or 3, reach Tianhe or Guangzhou South, and get to your hotel after a late arrival.
- [Summer Palace Beijing Tickets: How to Buy With a Foreign Passport](https://jamesinchina.com/guides/summer-palace-beijing-tickets.html): Buy Summer Palace tickets with an overseas number or online, choose the right pass, and find the best gate for your Beijing visit.
- [Beijing Capital Airport to the City: Airport Express, Taxi and Bus](https://jamesinchina.com/guides/beijing-capital-airport-to-city.html): Find the PEK train from Terminal 2 or 3, pick the right subway connection, and have a last-train taxi or bus backup.
- [Hong Kong Airport Express: How to Get from the Airport to Central or Kowloon](https://jamesinchina.com/guides/hong-kong-airport-express.html): Choose the right station, pay for the Airport Express, and get from arrivals to Central or Kowloon with a late-night backup.
- [Universal Studios Beijing Tickets: How to Book and Enter with a Passport](https://jamesinchina.com/guides/universal-studios-beijing-tickets.html): Choose a dated park ticket, match each booking to a passport, and find the entrance from Universal Resort Station.
- [Tianmen Mountain Tickets: How to Book Route C with a Foreign Passport](https://jamesinchina.com/guides/tianmen-mountain-tickets.html): Book the correct Route C ticket, find the Mountain Gate and visit Tianmen Cave and the summit while the long cableway is closed.
- [Hong Kong to Shenzhen by High-Speed Train](https://jamesinchina.com/guides/hong-kong-to-shenzhen-train.html): Choose Futian or Shenzhen North, book with your passport, and get through both immigration checks at West Kowloon.
- [Suzhou Day Trip from Shanghai: Garden Tickets, Trains and Pingjiang Road](https://jamesinchina.com/guides/suzhou-day-trip-from-shanghai.html): Book the right Suzhou station, reserve the Humble Administrator’s Garden and walk Pingjiang Road before your train back.
- [Chengdu Panda Base tickets: how to book and get to the right gate](https://jamesinchina.com/guides/chengdu-panda-base-tickets.html): Book a passport-linked morning or afternoon ticket and choose the right gate, metro transfer and last leg.
- [Shanghai to Hangzhou by High-Speed Train](https://jamesinchina.com/guides/shanghai-to-hangzhou-train.html): Choose the right stations, book a high-speed train with your passport, and take the Hangzhou Metro to West Lake.
- [How to Refund a China Train Ticket on 12306](https://jamesinchina.com/guides/12306-train-ticket-refund.html): Cancel the right ticket in 12306, check the exact refund fee, and know when to take your passport to the station counter.
- [How to Get to West Lake in Hangzhou and Walk Its Northern Shore](https://jamesinchina.com/guides/hangzhou-west-lake-north-shore.html): Take Metro Line 1 from Hangzhou East to Fengqi Road, then walk from Broken Bridge across Bai Causeway.
- [Shanghai Disneyland tickets: how to book and enter with a foreign passport](https://jamesinchina.com/guides/shanghai-disneyland-tickets.html): Book the right ticket, register each traveler’s passport, and get from Metro Line 11 to the staffed ticket check.
- [Hong Kong to Guangzhou by High-Speed Train](https://jamesinchina.com/guides/hong-kong-to-guangzhou-train.html): Choose your Guangzhou station, book with a foreign passport, and clear both border checks at West Kowloon.
- [How to book Terracotta Army tickets in Xi’an](https://jamesinchina.com/guides/terracotta-army-tickets.html): Book with a foreign passport, reach the warrior pits in Lintong, and use the same ticket for the free shuttle to Lishan Park.
- [Shanghai Museum East or People’s Square? Where to go and how to get in](https://jamesinchina.com/guides/shanghai-museum-east-peoples-square.html): Pick the correct Shanghai Museum branch, find the right metro exit and gate, and know whether you need a ticket.
- [Shanghai Pudong Airport to the city](https://jamesinchina.com/guides/pudong-airport-to-shanghai.html): Get from Pudong terminals 1 or 2 to central Shanghai by Line 2, maglev or taxi. Includes Hongqiao transfers, tickets and late arrivals.
- [A day trip to the Great Wall at Mutianyu](https://jamesinchina.com/guides/mutianyu-great-wall.html): Plan Mutianyu from Beijing, buy admission, shuttle and the right ride, choose a Tower 14 or Tower 6 route, and make your return pickup.
- [A half-day in Shanghai: Yu Garden to the Bund](https://jamesinchina.com/guides/shanghai-bund-yu-garden.html): A half-day Shanghai route with Yu Garden hours and tickets, the North and South Gates, and a walk via the Customs House to the Bund.
- [Check your entry route before visiting China](https://jamesinchina.com/guides/china-visa-entry.html): Check visa-free entry and 240-hour transit for your actual passport and route. Prepare the free arrival card and know what to show at the border.
- [A half-day around Beijing’s hutongs](https://jamesinchina.com/guides/beijing-hutong-walk.html): Walk Beijing’s hutongs from the Drum and Bell Towers to Yandai Xiejie and Shichahai. Save these Chinese map pins and metro exits.
- [10 days in China: Beijing, Suzhou and Shanghai](https://jamesinchina.com/guides/10-days-in-china.html): 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.
- [China eSIM, local SIM or roaming?](https://jamesinchina.com/guides/china-esim.html): Check if your phone supports a China travel eSIM, install it on iPhone or Android and keep your home number available for bank texts.
- [Beijing to Shanghai by high-speed train](https://jamesinchina.com/guides/beijing-to-shanghai-train.html): Book Beijing South to Shanghai Hongqiao with a foreign passport, board the correct train and plan the onward metro or taxi.
- [How to pay in China as a tourist](https://jamesinchina.com/guides/pay-in-china.html): Download 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.
- [How to book Forbidden City tickets](https://jamesinchina.com/guides/forbidden-city-tickets.html): Use 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.

## Pages

- [China itineraries](https://jamesinchina.com/itineraries): Routes for a first trip and a slower walk around Beijing.
- [Destinations](https://jamesinchina.com/destinations): Explore Beijing, Shanghai and the stops between them.
- [Plan your first trip to China](https://jamesinchina.com/plan): Check entry, get online, set up payments and get to your hotel, then book travel and sights.
- [About James in China](https://jamesinchina.com/about): Meet James, the illustrated traveler behind the site’s identity, and see how these guides are researched.


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