For many first-time visitors to China, the confusing part isn’t buying a plane ticket or booking a hotel. It’s the phone. Should you keep your home SIM active? Do you need a Chinese SIM? Will Alipay (支付宝, Zhīfùbǎo) and WeChat Pay (微信支付, Wēixìn Zhīfù) still...

You’ve found a popular restaurant in China—but how do you actually get a table? Do you need to make a reservation? Can you join the queue remotely? Do you need a Chinese phone number? And what do 排队 (páiduì) and 取号 (qǔhào) actually mean when...

Ten days in China. You arrive in Beijing (北京, Běijīng) and fly home from Shanghai (上海, Shànghǎi). Should you squeeze Xi’an (西安, Xī’ān) and Zhangjiajie (张家界, Zhāngjiājiè) into the middle? Or is four destinations in ten days simply too much? That was the dilemma facing one first-time traveler...

If you’re already visiting Shanghai (上海, Shànghǎi), Beijing (北京, Běijīng) and Chengdu (成都, Chéngdū), is it worth adding another three nights in Hong Kong (香港; Mandarin: Xiānggǎng; Cantonese: Hēunggóng)? Or would those precious days be better spent slowing down elsewhere in mainland China? That’s the decision...

For many first-time travelers to China, getting online can sound far more complicated than it needs to be. Do you need an eSIM? Do you need a VPN? Do you need an eSIM with a VPN built into it? And if your normal...

Choosing a hotel in Chengdu (成都, Chéngdū) can be surprisingly difficult. Open a hotel-booking app and dozens of properties can look almost identical: similar prices, similar rooms, similar ratings—and all claiming to be “central.” So instead of asking which hotel is best, there may...

You’ve downloaded Alipay (支付宝, Zhīfùbǎo) and WeChat (微信, Wēixìn). You’ve started thinking about an eSIM or VPN. Your China trip is suddenly only a week away. What else should you actually get sorted before boarding the plane? This is one of the most useful...

Traveling around China by high-speed rail is normally remarkably straightforward. Then comes National Day Golden Week (国庆黄金周, Guóqìng Huángjīn Zhōu). One traveler was planning to leave Beijing (北京, Běijīng) on October 5 and had already placed a Trip.com reservation request for two seats departing...

China’s increasingly mobile-first payment system creates an unusual question for families traveling with teenagers: How does a child under 18 pay independently? For adults, the usual advice is straightforward: set up Alipay (支付宝, Zhīfùbǎo) and WeChat Pay / Weixin Pay (微信支付, Wēixìn Zhīfù) and link...

First trip to China tomorrow—and suddenly you’re staring at an open suitcase wondering whether you’ve forgotten something important. It’s a familiar feeling. One traveler was heading first to Shanghai (上海, Shànghǎi) for seven days and then continuing to Beijing (北京, Běijīng). With departure only...