China

The Great Wall. The Mutianyu section remains the best choice if you want a comfortable cable-car ascent and restored watchtowers. Badaling is popular and far too crowded, so skip it.
The Forbidden City. Book online a week ahead for the emperors' main residence in Beijing, because tickets are not sold at the gate. The site is huge and wants comfortable shoes and most of a daylight day.
The Terracotta Army. The clay army at Xian impresses through sheer scale, but expect queues and a long ride from the centre. An obligatory stop for anyone who cares about ancient history.
The Bund. Shanghai's most recognisable spot, looking across at the Oriental Pearl tower. Come at sunset, when the illumination on the modern skyline switches on.
Zhangjiajie mountains. The floating rocks from the film, worth the trip for the views and for the tallest outdoor lift in the world. This natural wonder takes a minimum of two days to see properly.
The panda base. In Chengdu you can watch these rare animals in something close to a natural setting. Arrive exactly at opening or you will find only sleeping pandas that look like fur rugs.
The Li river. The cruise from Guilin to Yangshuo shows you the landscape printed on the banknotes. One of the most photogenic places in the country, though tour groups are thick on the ground.

Mobile payment runs everything. China has moved wholesale to QR codes, so Alipay and WeChat Pay are your primary tools. Link a foreign Visa or Mastercard to the app before you cross the border, because setting it up from inside the country is far more painful.
Keep some cash. Paper yuan still works and vendors must accept it, though it is used far less than it used to be. Carry a modest reserve of notes for markets and small shops in the countryside.
Cards and ATMs. Foreign cards work in the ATMs of the big banks, notably Bank of China, but they are widely refused in shops, where the QR code is the expected method.
Changing money. Dollars are easiest to change at a bank, though the process is slow and involves a stack of forms. Airport rates are often terrible, so change only what you need there.
Tipping. Nobody tips in China and leaving money on the table can confuse staff. Some expensive restaurants add a fixed service charge to the bill automatically.

Item	Price (USD)
Street baozi	2.50
Bowl of noodles	4.00
Dinner for one	12.00
Peking duck	30.00
Chain-cafe coffee	4.50
Water 0.5 l	0.40
Local beer	0.80
Metro ride	0.70
Taxi (5 km)	3.50
Train Beijing to Shanghai	82.00
Hostel bed	10.00
Guesthouse room	35.00
Museum ticket	9.00
SIM card for a month	15.00

Getting there. Beijing and Shanghai both take nonstop flights from London, Paris, Frankfurt and Amsterdam, and from the US west coast, while Hong Kong, Seoul and Singapore work as regional connections into the second-tier cities. Fares are lowest outside the Lunar New Year and the early-October holiday week, when the entire country is on the move.
High-speed rail. The rail network is the most comfortable way to travel between the big cities. Book G and D class services ahead through an aggregator such as Trip.com.
At the station. You need only your original passport to reach the platform. Arrive 40 minutes early because bags are always scanned and documents checked.
City metro. Every major centre has one, and it is cheap and easy to follow. All signage is repeated in Latin script and you can pay by QR code in Alipay.
Taxis and apps. Use Didi, which has a workable English interface. It is safer and often cheaper than flagging a car on a busy street.
City buses. Fares are trivial but route boards are usually Chinese only. Use the Amap app to see the right numbers and stops in real time.
Shared bikes. The yellow and blue bikes are everywhere and unlock through Alipay. An excellent way to cover the last kilometre to a sight without sitting in traffic.
Domestic flights. Over the really long distances a plane beats any train. Check budget carriers such as Spring Airlines, which sometimes undercut the fast rail.

Where to book. Trip.com has the deepest inventory and honest reviews. Always check that the hotel is licensed to accept foreign guests, since not all of them are.
Courtyard stays in Beijing. Sleep in a traditional siheyuan courtyard house in the middle of the city. It gives you the feel of the old districts and relative quiet inside the hutongs.
Budget chains. Hanting and Home Inn deliver standard, clean rooms for very little money. Staff rarely speak English, so have the address written in Chinese characters.
Check-in registration. Your passport will be taken and scanned for police registration on arrival. This is routine and normally takes a couple of minutes.
Deposits. Many hotels ask for a cash deposit or freeze an amount on the card. Keep the receipt so getting it back at checkout is painless.
In the room. Even cheap hotels provide a kettle, disposable toothbrushes and slippers. Domestic comfort is taken seriously and the standard is consistently high.
Location. Book within walking distance of a metro station. In something the size of Shanghai that single decision saves you hours and a lot of taxi money.

Regional cooking. Food changes completely from province to province. The north runs on wheat, dough and dumplings; the south on rice and very delicate seafood.
Heat levels. Be careful in Sichuan and Hunan, where dishes can be genuinely scorching. The phrase bu la asks the kitchen to leave out the chilli.
Street markets. The best introduction to local flavour. Try steamed baozi and yangrouchuan lamb skewers, and follow the longest queue of locals.
Hotpot. Huoguo is a ritual rather than a meal, with everyone cooking ingredients in a shared bubbling pot. Go to a Haidilao branch for the best service and a guaranteed result.
Jiaozi dumplings. The most approachable and available food in the country, found on literally every street. Filled with meat, vegetables or prawns, fried or steamed.
Tea. Try real tea in a specialist shop rather than anywhere you were invited. Be wary of strangers on the street suggesting a teahouse; it is a very old and very reliable scam.
Ordering by QR. Most cafes have gone electronic, with the menu opening inside WeChat. Use the built-in translator to work out what the dishes actually are.

The general picture. China is one of the safest countries anywhere for walking alone, including late at night. Cameras are everywhere and street crime is minimal.
The tea scam. Ignore friendly strangers who want to practise their English or invite you to a tea ceremony. That visit ends with an enormous bill you are expected to pay.
Traffic. Pedestrians are rarely given way, even on a green light. Look both ways and watch for silent electric scooters riding on the pavement.
Drinking water. Never drink from the tap, which is not potable. Buy bottled or use the hot-water dispensers standing in every station and hotel corridor.
Rules of conduct. Avoid political discussion and never photograph military installations. Flying a drone inside any city requires specific permission.
Bag checks. Bags are scanned at the entrance to every metro station and railway terminus. Do not carry folding knives or pepper spray, which will be confiscated.
Medical care. If you fall ill, go to one of the large hospitals with international wings. Carry your insurance details, because healthcare for visitors is expensive.

The concept of face. People avoid open conflict and rarely admit an error in public. Stay polite and do not raise your voice, which would make someone lose face.
Noise. Public places can be very loud, with animated conversation and videos played without headphones. This is entirely normal and not considered rude.
Chopsticks. Never stand them upright in a bowl of rice, which mimics a funeral rite. Do not point them at people while talking either.
Personal space. In the metro and in queues the distance you are used to simply does not exist. Expect to be jostled; nobody means anything by it.
Numbers. Eight is lucky and four is avoided, because it sounds like the word for death. Lifts often skip the fourth floor and phone numbers full of eights cost more.
Gifts and cards. Hand over business cards and gifts with both hands as a mark of respect. Never give clocks or white flowers, which are firmly associated with funerals.
Smoking. Despite the bans, people smoke in underpasses and even in restaurant toilets. If smoke bothers you, choose places with serious ventilation.

The Great Firewall. Most Western services are reliably blocked. To keep using your usual mail and messaging apps, install a VPN on every device before you fly.
eSIM. The simplest option is an eSIM from Airalo or a similar provider. Many of these profiles route around the blocks by design, which saves you hunting for a VPN that still works.
WeChat. It is the operating system of daily life here. Install it in advance and ask a contact to verify your account, which is a necessary step and hard to do later.
Navigation. Google Maps performs badly and shows inaccurate data. Download Amap instead, which knows every lane and the correct metro entrance.
The language gap. English is spoken only in the largest hotels. Use Pleco to translate characters through the camera and a voice translator for conversation.
Local SIM. For a longer stay, buy a China Mobile card at the airport with your passport. You get stable data and a local number, which unlocks a lot of everyday services.
Cafe Wi-Fi. Free networks usually demand a Chinese phone number to authenticate. Without a local SIM or a working eSIM, connecting is often impossible.

English	Chinese	Pronunciation
Hello	你好	nee HOW
Thank you	谢谢	SYEH-syeh
Handsome guy	帅哥	shwye-guh (slang)
Pretty woman	美女	may-nyoo (slang)
How much is it?	多少钱？	dwaw-shao chyen?
Too expensive!	太贵了！	tye gway luh!
Can you go cheaper?	便宜一点	pyen-yee ee-dyen
The bill, please	买单	my-dahn
Delicious!	好吃！	how-chir!
No chilli, please	不要辣	boo yao lah
Where is the toilet?	厕所在哪里？	tsuh-swaw dzye nah-lee?
Help!	救命！	jyoh-ming!
I don't understand	我不懂	waw boo dong
Water	水	shway
Beer	啤酒	pee-jyoh
Rice	米饭	mee-fahn
Receipt	发票	fah-pyao
That's awesome	厉害	lee-hye (slang)
Mate, bro	哥们	guh-men (slang)
Goodbye	再见	dzye-jyen

Trip.com. The one app that handles hotels and domestic train tickets together. The English interface works properly and it accepts foreign cards, which most Chinese platforms do not.
Amap. Indispensable for getting around. It shows how full each metro carriage is and when the bus actually arrives, even if you read no Chinese at all.
Pleco. The most powerful dictionary available and it works fully offline. The character recognition through the camera rescues you in front of signs and paper menus.
Alipay. Verify your account with your passport before the trip. Once it is done you can pay by QR code in essentially any shop in the country, however small.
Railway timetables. The official 12306.cn site is useful for checking exact schedules. Buying there is awkward for a foreigner, but as a reference it beats everything else.
Opening hours. Most state museums close on Mondays. Plan the Forbidden City and similar sites for midweek to dodge the worst crowds.
Power sockets. Several plug types are in use, with the flat two-pin the most common. Most modern hotels have universal sockets, so one adapter covers you.