China is one of the most rewarding places you can travel right now — and one of the few where good preparation genuinely changes the experience. First-time visitors arrive in a country where several thousand years of history sit directly beside a fully digitised everyday life. This guide covers what actually matters before you fly: entry, paying, staying online, and a route you can realistically manage in two weeks.
Getting in: why the 240-hour rule changes everything
Travellers from 57 countries — including the US, UK, Germany and Australia — can now enter China without a visa for up to 240 hours (ten days) under the transit exemption. It is far more generous than the old 72- and 144-hour schemes.
Three details decide whether it applies to you:
• Onward ticket. You need a confirmed booking to a third country — not back to where you came from. Have it booked before you arrive.
• Port of entry. The scheme works at 65 border crossings across 24 provinces, including the major airports (Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Xi’an, Chengdu) and selected land and sea crossings.
• When the clock starts. The 240 hours begin at 00:00 on the day after you enter, not when you land. Arrive in the morning and you effectively gain half a day.
Staying longer, or crossing several provinces in one loop? Get a regular tourist visa. Rules change, so re-check current entry requirements shortly before you book.
Paying: cash is the exception
In Chinese cities, almost everything is paid by phone. Alipay and WeChat Pay run daily life, from street food stalls to taxis.
The good news for visitors is that both now accept international credit cards. You link the card in the app and pay with a QR code. There is no fee on transactions up to around 200 yuan; above that, the providers charge roughly three percent. For a one- or two-week trip it is usually cheaper than changing large amounts of cash.
Keep a little cash anyway. Some small shops, temples and rural buses still take notes only, and ATMs at major banks generally work with foreign cards.
Staying online: a travel eSIM beats roaming
Internet access is what worries visitors most — with reason, because the mainland mobile network behaves differently from Europe or the US.
A travel eSIM is the simplest option for most people. You buy it online before you fly and activate it on arrival. What matters is the route your data takes: many travel eSIMs send traffic through an overseas gateway, often in Hong Kong, China, which keeps reachable the services that are blocked inside the mainland network.
If you use a local Chinese SIM or a standard roaming package instead, you are on the mainland network directly, with its usual restrictions. Hotel, café and airport WiFi also put you back on that network. If you depend on specific apps, sort this out before you travel.
One thing people miss: mainland China, Hong Kong, China and Macao, China are three separate telecom markets. An eSIM built for the mainland will not automatically work in Hong Kong, China or Macao, China — that needs a regional plan.
A route that works: three cities, two weeks
For a first trip the classic route is hard to beat, and high-speed rail makes it easy.
Beijing is the right place to start: the Forbidden City, the Great Wall and the hutongs. Note that the palace closes on Mondays, entry is around 40 yuan in the low season, and tickets are sold in advance with your name on them — you cannot walk up and buy one. Winters are cold and dry; in November expect around 10°C by day and near freezing at night.
Xi’an is about four and a half hours from Beijing by train. The Terracotta Army, the intact city walls and the Muslim Quarter make it one of the most worthwhile stops on any itinerary.
Shanghai finishes the trip — a modern skyline, the historic Bund and excellent food. With more time, add Guilin, Chengdu or Hangzhou; all are easy by rail.
What first-timers get wrong
Train stations and airports have airport-style security: you need your passport to board, and you should allow time for the checks. Tipping is not expected in restaurants; the bill arrives at the table and you pay by QR code. Menus increasingly carry photos or QR codes, and a translation app with a camera makes ordering much easier. If you eat vegetarian, learn the phrase sùshí — and in some regions it helps to ask specifically for dishes without meat stock.
Book rail tickets a few days ahead, in the app or at the counter. Around public holidays, and during the Spring Festival rush of roughly 40 days around Chinese New Year, trains sell out fast.
The bottom line
China has never been more open, and the logistics are simpler than their reputation suggests. All of which means china travel is easier than most people assume — provided you understand the entry rules, set up payments and connectivity before you fly, and choose a route that does not try to do too much at once. Get the season right, keep a backup for anything you depend on, and the rest tends to look after itself.
—
