Entry
Match the current rule to your passport and itinerary, then keep the supporting travel details available offline.
First trip to China
Your first China trip starts before the airport.
Get the five practical systems working first, then choose a route you can actually enjoy rather than racing through.
Photo: Nicolas JehlyA better starting point
China feels easier when the first 24 hours are already solved
The biggest first-trip friction is usually not a landmark. It is arriving without a working wallet, usable data, a Chinese hotel address or confidence about the train station. Treat these as one setup project before adding attractions.
Once the practical layer is ready, China is unusually rewarding for independent travel: extensive rail connections, deep regional variety and far more choices than a standard group itinerary suggests.
Daily access
Set up payments, mobile data, translation and mapped Chinese addresses before departure.
Pace
Protect arrival day, long transfers and one flexible block instead of scheduling every available hour.
Make the plan concrete
A simple first-trip order
- Passport and entry rule
- Flights and first hotel
- Mobile wallets and fallback payment
- Connectivity and offline documents
- Intercity transport
- Timed attractions and local support
A route is a sequence, not a wish list
For nine or ten days, two or three cities are enough. Beijing, Xi'an and Shanghai gives the broadest first introduction; Chengdu and Chongqing prioritises food and urban life; Yunnan trades famous icons for a slower rhythm.
Choose the route before individual hotels. The correct station, transfer day and neighbourhood become obvious only after the trip sequence is settled.
Start here
Solve setup in one sitting
Work through visa, payments, internet, train and hotel guidance, then save one offline folder with the documents needed for arrival day.