Giant pandas are one of the experiences many international travelers associate most strongly with China. But when you’re already trying to fit places such as Beijing, Xi’an and Shanghai into one trip, adding another city raises an important question: Is Chengdu...

Paying for things in China can be one of the biggest practical concerns for first-time international travelers. Alipay (支付宝, Zhīfùbǎo) and WeChat Pay (微信支付, Wēixìn Zhīfù) dominate everyday payments, while international travelers may arrive expecting their usual Visa or Mastercard to...

Entering your passport name correctly in China Railway’s 12306 system can be confusing for first-time international travelers, particularly when the naming format used at home differs from the format requested by the app. This traveler had already completed identity verification—but then...

Booking tickets for major attractions can be one of the more confusing parts of planning a first trip to Beijing—especially when Chinese apps, WeChat mini-programs and local phone numbers appear to be involved. A traveler in a Beijing for First-time Travelers Facebook group...

Choosing where to stay in Beijing can be surprisingly difficult for a first visit. The city is enormous, neighborhood names may mean very little before you arrive, and a hotel that looks inexpensive can become much less attractive if you spend...

Three days in Beijing creates a difficult planning question: how much can you realistically see without spending the entire visit rushing between attractions? One first-time visitor arriving at their hotel around 1 PM on October 19 asked whether they could combine...

Traveling around China with a toddler can change how you approach destinations that involve stairs, mountain paths and long days on foot. A family traveling to Beijing, Xi’an, Zhangjiajie and Chengdu with their 14-month-old was considering using a hiking child carrier...

Zhangjiajie can look deceptively compact on a map. A traveler planning a hiking-heavy visit asked whether they could combine some of the park’s most famous areas — including Yuanjiajie, Huangshizhai, Golden Whip Stream, Yangjiajie and Tianmen Mountain — across four tightly...

Planning a month in China gives you much more freedom than the typical one- or two-week trip—but it also creates a different problem: should you use those extra days to see more places, or travel more slowly? A traveler planning to enter...

China’s 30-day visa-free policy has made visiting China much easier for eligible travelers — but what happens if you’re already in China and decide you want to stay longer? A UK traveler currently in Chengdu asked whether their 30-day visa-free stay could...