Plan your first trip to China
Choose what you need to do next, from checking entry rules to reaching your hotel.
Before you leave
- Check visa and entry rulesCheck 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.
- Get mobile data and keep your number reachableCheck if your phone supports a China travel eSIM, install it on iPhone or Android and keep your home number available for bank texts.
- Set up Alipay or WeChat PayDownload 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.
Book tickets and plan your route
- Book the Forbidden City with a passportUse 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.
- Book and board a Beijing–Shanghai trainBook Beijing South to Shanghai Hongqiao with a foreign passport, board the correct train and plan the onward metro or taxi.
- Change your plans and refund a 12306 ticketCancel the right ticket in 12306, check the exact refund fee, and know when to take your passport to the station counter.
- Follow a 10-day route through Beijing and ShanghaiA 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.
When you land
All When you land guides- Get from Shanghai Pudong Airport to your hotelGet from Pudong terminals 1 or 2 to central Shanghai by Line 2, maglev or taxi. Includes Hongqiao transfers, tickets and late arrivals.
- Beijing Daxing Airport to the City: Express Train, Bus and TaxiFind 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 TaxiFind the right transfer from Terminal 2 or 3, reach Tianhe or Guangzhou South, and get to your hotel after a late arrival.
- Beijing Capital Airport to the City: Airport Express, Taxi and BusFind the PEK train from Terminal 2 or 3, pick the right subway connection, and have a last-train taxi or bus backup.