Travel Guides

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Explore our comprehensive travel guides for China

The wide granite stairway of the Sun Yat-sen Mausoleum in Nanjing rising to the blue-tiled memorial hall, with pine trees on both sides

East China

Nanjing Travel Guide: How Many Days, What to Book, and What Closes on Mondays

Two or three days in Nanjing: Nanjing South or Nanjing Station, booking the Sun Yat-sen Mausoleum, Nanjing Museum...

24 min read

A phone with a row of app icons lies on a desk next to a passport, a bank card and a half-packed suitcase

Apps & Connectivity

Must-Have Apps for China: What to Install Before You Fly

The apps to install before a China trip — Alipay, WeChat, Amap, DiDi, 12306, a translator and a data plan — and the...

13 min read

Visitors looking at ancient bronze vessels in glass display cases in a large Chinese museum gallery

Attractions

Best Museums in China: Which to Visit and How to Book with a Passport

Most museums in China are free but many need a passport booking. Which museums to visit, when tickets open, which...

18 min read

The Lujiazui skyline across the Huangpu River at dusk, seen from the Bund promenade, with the Oriental Pearl, Jin Mao Tower, the SWFC and Shanghai Tower

Attractions

Shanghai Skyline and Observation Decks, plus China's Other Modern Landmarks

How to see the Shanghai skyline: the free Bund view, which Lujiazui observation deck to pick, when the lights run,...

17 min read

A traveler taps a contactless bank card on a Chinese metro gate while another rider scans a phone QR code at the next gate

City Transport

China Metro Guide: Paying, Fares, Last Trains and Airport Lines in 10 Cities

Where you can tap a foreign card at the gate and where you need a QR code, how fares and day passes work, last...

20 min read

A traveller checks a map app on a phone at a busy Shanghai crossroads, with a metro entrance behind

Apps & Connectivity

Best Map Apps for China: Amap, Apple Maps, Baidu and Why Not Google

Which map app to install for mainland China: Amap in English, Apple Maps on iPhone, Baidu for Chinese readers, why...

11 min read

A private guide showing a traveller the electronic guide card on her phone beside a black car near a Beijing hutong

Travel Styles

Luxury Travel in China: How to Hire a Private Guide and Driver You Can Trust

Hiring a private guide and driver in China: book a licensed agency, check the guide card on the official platform,...

6 min read

View from a high-floor hotel room window over the Huangpu River at dusk, with the Pudong skyline lit up across the water

Accommodation

Luxury Hotels in China: Best Picks by City, Prices and Booking

Which Chinese cities have the best luxury hotels, the historic hotels worth a night, what five-star rooms cost on...

20 min read

A traveller pulls a mid-size hard-shell suitcase along a high-speed rail platform towards a white bullet train

Packing

Luggage Rules in China: Trains, Domestic Flights and Metro

How much luggage you can take on China's high-speed trains, domestic flights and metro, what security will stop, and...

12 min read

A passport, a stamped official certificate and a passport photo laid out on a desk

Emergency

Lost Passport in China: The Four Steps to Get Home

Lost or stolen passport in China? Report to the police, get a Loss Certificate, replace the passport at your...

11 min read

A Western traveller points at food at a Chinese street stall while the vendor answers with a hand gesture

Cultural Guide

Survival Chinese for Travelers: Essential Mandarin Phrases

The ten Mandarin phrases that cover most of a China trip, plus phrase tables for taxis, paying, food, hotels,...

12 min read

Foreign and Chinese students practising a low horse stance in the courtyard of a martial arts school in Dengfeng, with Song Mountain behind

Cultural Experiences

How to Learn Kung Fu in China: Shaolin Schools, Wudang Courses and Visas

Where a foreign visitor can actually train in kung fu in China: Dengfeng schools next to Shaolin, Wudang academies,...

12 min read