China is an exciting and rewarding adventure, but even for experienced jetsetters it can be challenging due to language barriers and culture shock. But don’t fret. Here’s an extensive guide with helpful China travel tips.

By: Samantha Shuman Pastor

Traveling to China can seem overwhelming because it’s such a massive country but it’s filled with diverse landscapes and cultures and definitely worth traveling to. If you can get off the beaten track, you’ll find wonders better than The Great Wall or Terracotta Warriors! It’s surprisingly safe and the opportunities to explore are endless. That being said, there are a few important things to know ahead of your travels so here’s a list of China travel tips to help make your trip hassle free.

Photo by: Kip Pastor

Visa–China Travel Tips:

You need to get your visa ahead of time before entering China. For information on how to apply for a visa click here. However, if you plan on just passing through China and staying for 72 hours or less, you could qualify for what’s called the China Transit Visa, which means you may not need the hassle of getting a visa. For details click here.

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Cash–China Travel Tips:

China is very advanced when it comes to payment methods. Locals pay for goods & services using apps such as WeChat or Ali Pay. They simply scan a vendor’s QR code and they’re set! This goes for restaurants and street vendors alike. Unfortunately, you have to have a Chinese bank account in order to do this so make sure you have plenty of cash with you when arriving at your hotel (many will want payment in full upon check-in) or when you set out for the day. Credit cards are not as widely accepted as you’d expect. ATMs are plentiful but not all of them will work for US cards. Be sure to look for Bank of China ATMs as they are the most reliable.

Bathrooms–China Travel Tips:

Public restrooms are easy to find though they might not be inside the bar or restaurant and are instead around the corner. Be prepared to squat though many times there will be one western style toilet that will be marked. And if there is, most Chinese will avoid that stall so you may be able to skip ahead of the line if you want to use it!

Bring toilet paper! While many restrooms will have toilet paper dispensers by the sinks (not in the stalls), they are usually empty so it’s wise to have your own stash. Just don’t flush the paper. The plumbing is not set up for this, instead there will be a small waste basket in the stall to use.

Also note that most bathrooms will not have soap or paper towels. Most people will air dry their hands but if you’d like, bring your own soap (paper soap works well for travel) and a handkerchief you can use as a hand towel. And if you’re carrying toilet paper or tissue around with you, it will also come in handy in restaurants as napkins are not usually on the table. Generally you can purchase a packet for a small fee.

Kip and Samantha Pastor
Photo by: Kip Pastor

Getting online and staying in touch:

If you want access to gmail, Google Translate & Google Maps, Facebook or Instagram, buy a VPN BEFORE you get to China. We recommend Express VPN. For $9.99/month it’s well worth it!

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If you are a T-mobile customer, you are in luck! T-mobile offers free data roaming in 150 counties and China is one of them. The service is a bit slow, but very handy especially when trying to get around. We found Apple maps very helpful in terms of walking around and bus schedules so it is great to have that handy as you explore. If you don’t have an international plan, you can always buy a SIM card.
Another great resource is Maps.me for offline GPS and maps.

Communication–China Travel Tips:

Chinese tourism, particularly outside of the big cities, is not geared toward western tourists so you may have a hard time finding English speakers. Translation apps work extremely well though! Remember that if you’re using Google Translate (which also has an amazing feature than can translate written Mandarin using your camera) that you’ll have to run it through a VPN.If you download WeChat for chat services, you can also use it to communicate with locals. Type in English and they can receive the message in Mandarin (and vice versa)!Make sure you have your destination (such as your hotel) written out in Mandarin! Many hotel booking sites such as Booking or Agoda will give you an option to “show hotel address in local language.” Keep this handy as it will be extremely helpful for cab drivers.

Photo by: Kip Pastor

Domestic Travel–China Travel Tips:

To purchase train tickets, we found that booking online is pretty easy with apps like China Trains or C Trip. If you want to avoid the transaction fees they charge, you can buy tickets at the station pretty easily. Though don’t be surprised if someone cuts to the front of the line – it’s pretty common and the locals don’t seem bothered by it so we just tried to go with it.

If you don’t speak Mandarin, use a translation app to have your request written out and ready when you get to the front of the line. This works pretty well, though one time we didn’t get the class of service we wanted. If you research the pricing for each class of service ahead of time, that will be a great indicator as to which seat you’re actually getting.

You can also use China DYI as a resource for helpful tidbits or to buy train tickets.

Photo by: Kip Pastor

On regular trains there are 3 classes of service:

Hard Seat – exactly as it sounds. You’ll be seated in a row of 2 or 3 hard seats facing another row of seats. So as long as you’re comfortable being knee to knee with locals, this is a very economical option! If you’re on a long trip, this might be a little cramped though.

Hard sleeper – these are open cabins with 3 bunks on each side. We never had the chance to ride this class of service but heard that other people had good experiences. And that the lights get turned off on overnight trips so you’ll be able to get some sleep.

Soft sleeper – this is the most expensive option but we found it to be very comfortable. Each cabin has 4 bunks – 2 upper and 2 lower. There is a door that locks so you’ll have some privacy and security. Sometimes you’ll get fresh linens but we noticed that they’re not always changed out between trips. The lower bunk can be used like a sofa to hang out while not sleeping.

On high speed trains there are at least two types of seats and sometimes more. But you’ll always see the following:

Second class – there are 2 seats on one side and 3 seats on the other side of the aisle. They are pretty comfortable and the high speed trains are new and clean!

First class – there are 2 wide seats on each side of the aisle. They’re a bit wider than second class. Think of it as coach vs business class.

Interesting tidbit – when flying within the country, you are not allowed to check lithium ion batteries. They will scan your checked bags so just try to pack accordingly and bring them in your carry on. In theory there are limits on how many you can carry on, but we had batteries for laptops, multiple cameras, a drone, and large mophies with no problem.

Photo by: Kip Pastor

Where to stay–China Travel Tips:

Don’t be afraid to stay in hostels! While you may find hotels with prices very low in comparison to US prices, we found some beautiful hostels with private rooms and bathrooms that were essentially hotels with the added bonus of the community of a hostel. The people at the front desk usually speak great English and will have pre-arranged tours that you can book even at the last minute. No matter where you stay, definitely read reviews online. One thing to look out for is mattresses. It’s surprising that many places have extremely firm mattresses so something I always looked for in reviews was notes about that!

Also note that many people smoke in China so request a non-smoking room if you’re not a smoker.

Locals–China Travel Tips:

As a tourist you will attract a lot of attention outside of the main cities, especially if you have fair skin and blond hair. So be prepared for locals to want to snap a few pics of you.

Water–China Travel Tips:

Only drink bottled water, canned or bottled soda or boiled hot tea.

Kip and Samantha Pastor
Photo by: Kip Pastor

Etiquette–China Travel Tips:

There’s many customs in China travelers should be aware of.

1)Elders get the most respect and should always be acknowledge first

2)Restaurant bills are never split. The person hosting will order all of the dishes and will pay. It will embarrass the host if you offer to chip in.

3)If dining with a group, wait for your host to tell you where to sit.

4)Don’t ever leave your chopsticks standing up in your rice because that’s bad luck. It resembles an incense stick, which is offered to the dead.

5)Don’t point your chopsticks when gesturing to anyone.

6)Don’t leave your plate totally clean because the host will think they didn’t order enough food. But don’t leave too much food on your plate because they will think you didn’t enjoy the meal.

7)Wait for the host to make a toast before drinking. It’s considered rude to not join in on the toast so raise your glass and have fun!

8)Give gifts and business cards with both hands.

9)It’s not polite to open the gift in front of the gift giver.

10)DON’T give: clocks, cut flowers, umbrellas, or cutting implements. The number “4” (which sounds like the word for death) is also unlucky. On the other hand, “8” is considered lucky (it’s no coincidence that the Olympic opening ceremony was on August, 8, 2008).