Your China travel checklist.
One step at a time.

Check passport validity, visa or visa-free requirements, permitted regions, and your onward ticket. Save confirmations offline.

Check active ingredients and permitted quantities with Chinese Customs or your embassy. Carry original packaging, prescriptions and a diagnosis letter where needed.

Download the allergy, taxi and emergency cards to your phone. Add your hotel’s verified Chinese address.

Link an eligible international bank card and complete identity verification before departure. Keep your home number available for verification texts.

International cards work for supported merchant payments, not personal transfers, red packets or wallet top-ups. If a personal QR fails, ask for a merchant payment code.

Our suggested buffer: ¥300 in small notes. Some merchants or card checks may fail, so keep more than one way to pay.

Check that your phone is unlocked and compatible. Read activation rules before installing; some plans start their validity at installation.

Save MetroMan city data, hotel addresses, ticket confirmations and key phrases. Travel eSIMs usually do not include a Chinese number.

Register with the name and number on your passport. Resolve any identity-verification request before trying to book.

Bring the original document used for booking. Follow staffed/manual document-check lanes if the automatic gate cannot read it. Check the station, departure time, train and carriage in advance.

Ask the property to confirm that its front desk can register your foreign passport. Keep the confirmation and booking-platform support details.

Ask for the duty manager and local police registration assistance. Contact the booking platform; use 12345 for non-emergency local government help.

Hotels register guests. If staying with friends or in other non-hotel accommodation, you or your host must register with local police within 24 hours.