Before You Go
Whichever entry path you use, these are the things that get harder, more expensive or blocked once you are inside mainland China. Set them up at home, on your normal internet, before you board the plane. The entry check and the arrival card are separate tasks and are listed in the first group below.
Which entry path applies to you, the arrival card, and the airline-counter proof.
Foreign cards, Alipay and WeChat Pay setup, and a backup.
Data from the moment you land and the apps to install at home.
A short list of what still needs confirming.
Essentials to sort out at home
First-hour dependency chain
The arrival card, hotel check-in, payment, transport, and train booking all reuse the same small set of facts: passport details, working data, first-night address, and a payment backup.
Why it matters. The Digital Arrival Card, maps, translation, ride-hailing and payment set-up all assume you are online in the first hour. Carrier roaming works for many visitors but is often the most expensive option; an eSIM bought at home avoids the airport counter.
What to look for. A China eSIM installed and activated before take-off. Some plans route traffic outside the mainland so common Western apps work without a VPN; the product page says whether the plan you are buying does that. Airalo is the seller this site links to.
Alternatives. Unlimited-data eSIMs from other sellers, a physical tourist SIM bought on arrival (passport registration at the counter), or your home carrier's roaming.
not checked Prices, data allowances and whether a plan bypasses the firewall are set by the seller and are not verified on this site.
Why it matters. Inside mainland China, Google, Gmail, WhatsApp, Instagram, X, Facebook, most Western news sites and many banking 2FA portals are blocked, and most VPN providers' own websites are blocked too. Whatever you plan to use has to be installed and tested before you fly.
What to look for. No VPN is recommended or sold through this page. Every major provider publishes its own China status page that says whether its apps are currently blocked in mainland China and, when they are, describes a manual set-up for iOS, Android, macOS or Windows. Read that page for the service you choose in the week you travel, install the app and the manual method at home, and test both before departure.
Alternatives. Read the status page on the device you will actually carry; a provider can be blocked on one platform and working on another. Free VPNs are usually blocked quickly.
not checked Whether any VPN connects on a given day in China is not verified on this site. This section contains no sponsored link.
Why it matters. Foreign visitors commonly report that hospitals in China ask for payment at the time of treatment and that home health plans either do not cover travel abroad or reimburse later. Emergency transport can be expensive. Whether your own plan pays abroad is something only your insurer can confirm.
What to look for. A travel medical policy that is active before you fly and covers medical treatment, emergency evacuation and trip interruption. SafetyWing is the provider this site links to; read the policy wording for what is and is not covered.
Alternatives. Annual multi-trip cover from your bank or card, or specialist insurers for older travellers and pre-existing conditions.
not checked Prices, coverage limits, waiting periods and exclusions are not verified on this site; read the policy document before you rely on it.
Why it matters. Not every hotel in China registers foreign guests, and a booking can be refused at the desk. Your first-night address is also what you enter on the arrival card, so you want it in Chinese as well as English.
What to look for. Book on a platform where the listing states its foreign-guest policy and shows the Chinese address. Trip.com is the platform this site links to; read the policy text on the listing, message the property if it is unclear, and save the Chinese name and address before you fly.
Alternatives. Other international booking sites work too. The questions are the same: foreign-passport check-in, a Chinese address, and a front desk that is open at your arrival time.
not checked Room prices and any 'accepts foreign guests' label are set by the platform and the property and are not verified on this site.
Why it matters. Foreign cards work at many hotels and chain restaurants but fail at smaller shops, some ticket machines and some stations. Alipay and WeChat Pay can be linked to many foreign cards, but set-up can still fail on the day.
What to look for. Link a card to Alipay or WeChat Pay before you fly, carry a second card, and know your bank's foreign-transaction and ATM fees. A multi-currency account such as Wise (the one this site links to) can hold CNY and pay Chinese accounts; compare its fees with your bank on its own page, and order any physical card well before departure.
Alternatives. Your bank's travel card and a small amount of cash from an airport ATM.
not checked Fees, exchange rates and card delivery times are not verified on this site.
We earn a commission if you book through these links. That funds the free tools on this site. See our affiliate disclosure for the full policy.
First 72 hours
If your flight lands after dinner, do not make the first hour depend on solving hotel, payment, food, transport, and luggage at the same time. Use the late-night arrival guide to choose the safest airport-to-hotel plan before you fly, and, for Pudong, the airport hotel or city hotel decision.
Official links first
The essentials list includes sponsored exits, but the safer order is official entry path, official arrival card, first-night address, then optional connectivity and payment backups.
FAQ
Why these five and not Klook, GetYourGuide, or HSR booking?
These are the things to sort before take-off. Attraction tickets, transfers and train bookings are decisions you make once your dates and cities are fixed; they are covered on the route and city pages.
Do I really need a VPN if I have a Hong Kong-routed eSIM?
An eSIM that routes outside the mainland covers your phone while it has signal and data. If it runs out, loses signal, or you switch to hotel Wi-Fi, you are back inside mainland routing. Two independent paths are safer than one; whether a given VPN connects on a given day is not something this site can promise.
Are these recommendations affiliate links?
The eSIM, insurance, hotel and Wise links are partner links: we may earn a commission if you buy through them, and that funds the free tools on this site. The VPN section has no partner link. Products were chosen because independent travellers commonly report using them, not because they pay the highest commission. See the affiliate disclosure for the full policy.
What if I'm already in China and need to fix one of these?
eSIMs can be bought and installed from inside China if the seller's site is reachable from your connection. A VPN is the hardest thing to fix after landing, which is why the set-up and test belong at home. Hotel bookings and money transfers can be arranged from inside China. Insurance bought mid-trip may exclude anything that started before the policy began; read the wording.
How do you keep this list up to date?
Recommendations are re-checked when a policy, app-store or vendor-status change is reported, not on a fixed schedule. If something stops working, the recommendation is updated or removed. Prices quoted by vendors are not re-checked on a schedule and are not repeated on this page.
Per-passport pages cover airline familiarity and documented incidents; per-port pages cover the arrival process and onward transport. Only ports and passports with verified detail have a page.
240h transit by passport
Entry and exit ports with arrival notes
Policy references on this page use the China policy snapshot of 2026-05-18. Product prices, coverage and availability are not re-checked on a schedule and are not repeated here. Sponsored · we may earn a commission if you book. See our affiliate disclosure and disclaimer.