Safety in China

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.

Street crime in China is low: cities are covered by cameras end to end, and pickpockets have all but vanished from the major ones. What survives are schemes built on hospitality, and they target foreigners specifically.

The tea ceremony. Beijing and Shanghai's signature scam. On Wangfujing or Nanjing Road, friendly students practising their English invite you to a traditional tea ceremony nearby. The bill for a few cups reaches thousands of yuan, and larger men appear by the door. The rule: never follow someone who approached you first in the street into a venue.

The art gallery. The same script with a "student from the art academy" inviting you to an exhibition of their work, where a printed reproduction is sold at the price of an original.

Counterfeit notes. The 100 yuan note is still forged, usually appearing as change in taxis or at street stalls. The problem is fading, though — the country has moved almost entirely to phone payments.

Taxis at stations. An unlicensed driver offers "cheaper than the meter" and charges three times as much. Join the queue at the official rank or order through an app.

Payment. Cash is accepted reluctantly and cards do not work everywhere. Without Alipay or WeChat Pay linked to a card you are close to helpless — set them up before you fly.

Drugs. The death penalty for trafficking is applied, and it reaches foreigners. Possession brings long sentences and deportation. Zero tolerance, with no allowance made for guests.

The internet. Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, WhatsApp and Google do not work in China. Tourists are not prosecuted in practice for using a VPN, but the service itself is illegal and can be unreliable. Install it before you arrive — you cannot download one from inside the country.

Politics and religion. Taiwan, Tibet, Xinjiang and the events of 1989 are not subjects for jokes, in conversation or online. Importing religious literature for distribution is prohibited, and missionary activity is a criminal offence.

Registration. Foreigners must register their address within 24 hours. Hotels do this automatically, but if you rent an apartment you must go to the local police station yourself. Fines for failing to do so are real.

Photography. Do not photograph military sites, police officers, government buildings or any kind of protest. Drones require registration.

Antiques. Exporting anything made before 1911 without a permit is smuggling, and customs check for it.

Your passport must be carried at all times; police may ask for it at any moment.

Vaccinations. None required for entry. Doctors suggest hepatitis A and typhoid, with rabies and Japanese encephalitis for long rural stays.

Water. Not drunk from the tap anywhere, Beijing and Shanghai included. Boiled water is the local norm — a flask of hot water sits in every hotel room and on every train, and it is the simplest safe option.

Air. Smog returns to northern cities in winter, though the situation is far better than a decade ago. An AQI app is more useful than any advice: above 200, a proper mask genuinely helps.

Food. Chinese street food is broadly safe thanks to the cooking temperatures. Caution is worth applying to cold dishes and salads in small establishments.

Healthcare. Public hospitals run on queues and upfront payment, with almost no English. Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou have international wings and Western-style private clinics — expensive, but comprehensible. A policy that pays the clinic directly saves you from posting a cash deposit.

Pharmacies. Many familiar drugs are sold under different names. Bring your own with a prescription and a translation of the active ingredient.

Nobody takes bribes from tourists in China: trying to settle a matter with money is treated as a separate crime. The issue here is not corruption but the density of control.

Cameras and facial recognition. Cities are watched from end to end, and this works in your favour: street crime really is low, and recovering lost property is easier than in much of Europe.

Document checks. Police may stop you and check your passport, and they do so regularly — especially in Xinjiang and Tibet, where checkpoints are far more numerous than elsewhere.

If you are detained. You have the right to contact your consulate; ask for it immediately. Do not sign anything in Chinese without an independent interpreter — a signature on a document you could not read cannot be undone later.

Reporting theft. Reports are taken without difficulty and a certificate for your insurer is issued. Larger cities sometimes have English-speaking officers, but do not count on it — keep an offline translation app.

Emergency numbers: 110 for police, 120 for an ambulance, 119 for the fire service.