Guides

The hard parts, walked through.

A few steps are genuinely fiddly — linking a foreign card, passing real-name verification, getting online. Here's each one, step by step, checked and current.

Hard but essential~15 min each

Set up Alipay & WeChat Pay

Link a foreign card, pass real-name verification, and avoid the day-one payment panic.

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Do it before you fly~10 min

Get online & keep your number

A travel eSIM for data on landing — and keeping your home SIM for the bank codes you'll need.

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Easier than it looks~10 min

Book & ride high-speed trains

Your passport is your ticket — how to book in English and breeze through the station.

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Avoid the day-one headache5 min read

Check in without surprises

Why some hotels turn foreigners away — and how to book ones that won't.

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Your taxi app~5 min

Get around with DiDi

China's Uber, in English — and it lives inside Alipay & WeChat too, so there's nothing extra to set up.

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For the rare cash moment~5 min

Get cash from an ATM

China is cashless, but a little cash helps — here's where your foreign card actually works.

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