China Travel Checklist Before You Go
The essential pre-departure checklist for documents, payments, apps, internet, bookings and arrival day.
A smooth first trip is mostly decided before takeoff. Work through this checklist in order: confirm entry rules, make your phone useful, build payment backups, save transport details and prepare one simple arrival plan.
Rules, fees and app features can change. Recheck official sources shortly before departure.
Confirm passport and entry rules
Check passport validity, visa or visa-free eligibility, transit conditions and any destination-specific permits using official sources for your nationality. Keep digital and paper copies of key documents separate from the originals.
Set up payments
Install one major payment app, complete identity checks, link an eligible card and prepare a backup app, physical card and RMB cash. Tell your bank about travel if it recommends doing so.
Prepare apps and internet
Install payment, maps, translation, ride-hailing, rail and hotel apps before departure. Choose roaming, an eSIM or a local SIM plan, then save installation details and critical information offline.
Recheck every booking
Confirm the airport terminal, full railway station name, hotel foreign-guest policy and Chinese address. Save confirmation numbers and cancellation conditions where they remain accessible without data.
Plan only the first 90 minutes
Decide how you will leave the airport, where to connect to mobile data and how to reach the hotel. Keep the first evening light; practical confidence is a better arrival goal than ambitious sightseeing.
Estimate your budget, build a packing checklist, then turn the plan into a route.
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