Most China advice lists a hundred things you can figure out on the ground. These five are the ones that break a trip when they go wrong — and four of them are far easier to fix from home than from a Beijing taxi queue.
Four of these are paperwork and setup. The middle one is the only one you can settle with certainty in about a minute — and it is the one almost nobody checks before boarding.
China runs four entry routes with different country lists and expiry dates. Picking the wrong one is the only item here that can end the trip at the departure gate.
Linking a card is not the same as being able to use it. Run a real ¥1 QR payment and find out — see the quick check below.
Check your card nowGoogle services do not work on Chinese mobile networks. An eSIM installed before you fly removes the whole problem for about the price of a coffee.
4 · Quality of lifeMaps, taxis, trains, translation. Google Maps data is unreliable inside China, which is the one you really cannot skip.
5 · Safety netCarry a backup, know where to exchange, and claim the departure tax refund on larger purchases before you leave.
All of itEvery guide in one place, for when you want the detail rather than the summary.
Two business QR codes — the kind used by registered merchants, which is where a working wallet takes you furthest. Scan one, pay ¥1, and you will know in seconds. The full four-code test on the payment test page also covers individual codes, which is where foreign cards most often fail.
Malls · hotels · large restaurants
Shops · restaurants · online
Individual QR codes, result meanings, and what to try when a payment fails.
We are building an open compatibility database from real test results — which card, which issuer, which country, and whether the payment actually went through. No other site in this space publishes outcome data.
Open compatibility databasePayment sorted, data sorted. These are the guides we wrote because nobody else answers the question that actually comes up on day two — not “where should I go” but “will my card work there”.
Supermarkets yes, noodle stalls maybe, hotel deposits often no. Place by place, with the reason why.
The best way to cross China — and the booking channel you pick decides whether your card works.
7, 10, and 14 days for a first visit, with the money situation noted for every leg.
You do not need to have everything solved before you land. Hotels, shops, and travel apps can help you sort out most problems on the ground. Get the basics working — one payment app, data, and a map — and handle the rest as you go.
It depends on your nationality. China runs several entry routes at once — unilateral visa-free, 240-hour transit without a visa, Hainan 30-day visa-free, and mutual visa-exemption agreements — each with its own country list and expiry date. Check which route is yours before booking anything.
Not the way you would at home. China runs on QR codes: you link your international card to Alipay or WeChat Pay and pay by scanning. Registered merchants take it reliably; individual codes are where foreign cards fail. Large international hotels still take physical cards — almost nowhere else does.
Yes — and it is the one item on this list you can finish completely from home. Install both apps, link your international card, then run a real ¥1 payment against a business QR code. A linked card is not the same as a working one, and the ¥1 test is the only way to know which you have.
Not on a Chinese mobile network without a workaround. An eSIM from a non-mainland carrier installed before you fly routes your data outside the mainland network and removes the problem for the whole trip.
A few hundred yuan in small bills covers one or two days of the things your wallet will not: street food, night markets, temple donations, rural areas. See cash, exchange and tax refunds.
Violent crime against visitors is uncommon. What actually catches people out is logistics — a payment that will not go through, a train ticket that cannot be bought with a foreign card, a map app that cannot find the address. Sort the logistics at home and the trip tends to take care of itself.