CHINA TRAVEL FAQ's
China has mutual visa exemption agreements with 23 countries – including Singapore and Thailand – and a new unilateral visa-free policy for 15 additional passports.
The 15 countries now enjoying visa exemptions until December 31, 2025 are Austria, Australia, Belgium, France, Germany, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Malaysia, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Poland, Spain, and Switzerland. Citizens of these countries can visit China for no more than 15 days continuously without a visa.
Given how quickly things change in the diplomatic world, it’s wise to visit the China Visa Application Service Center or your country’s foreign affairs website to find out the latest on entry agreements before booking your trip.
If your country isn’t on the visa-free list or you don’t want to visit China on a stopover you will need to apply for a tourist visa. Citizens of other countries in need of a tourist visa can head to China Online Visa Application to find their nearest processing center and fill in the online application form.
China’s two visa-free transit policies allow travelers from certain countries to enter China for up to three or six days – but only if they’re transiting to a third destination, outside of China, afterward.
Japan, South Korea, the United Kingdom, and the United States are among the 54 countries eligible to transit via China for up to six days.
In both cases, travelers need to present purchased travel documents – i.e. connecting tickets for flights, trains, and ships – as proof of their next stop (one that is different from the travelers’ original departure country) before entering China. (Hong Kong and Macao are considered a third destination under these policies.)
However, travelers visiting under these visa-free transit programs have more restrictions in terms of places they can visit. They can only travel within the 41 designated ports of entry in 19 Chinese provinces – including Beijing and Shanghai. (English visa-free transit policy here.)
Hong Kong, Macao, and mainland China have different visa requirements.
Hong Kong offers visa-free entry to citizens of about 170 countries for seven to 180 days. You can check out your specific visa requirements on the Hong Kong Immigration Department’s website.
Some 80 international citizens can enter Macao without a visa. Check out Macao’s government website for more details.
You can use your own mobile devices in mainland China, however, some of the most popular apps for the rest of the world – including Instagram, TikTok, Facebook and Google – are blocked. Even if your phone is connected through an international data roaming plan or a travel SIM card, please note that you will still not be able to access these applications.
Before traveling to China, many people worry about making payments.
International credit cards are not a ubiquitous form of payment at most local businesses and attractions.
Cash is still accepted everywhere, and ATMs are everywhere if you would like to withdraw cash using your debit card.
WeChat and Alipay are among the mobile wallets most Chinese businesses accept. Both apps can now be connected with an international credit card with a transaction limit of US$500 or around 3500.00 in local currency.
We recommend setting up one of these apps for seamless transactions. Setting up your WeChat Pay and Alipay
Here are several handy apps that will make your trip go smoother:
Gaode Maps, or Baidu Maps
Google Maps doesn’t work in China if you don’t have a VPN. Even if you do have one, it doesn’t work well.
Gaode Maps and Baidu Maps are two apps that work reasonably ok if you type in the address in pinyin, the romanization system for Chinese characters used in China. For iPhone users, Apple Maps works in China as well.
MetroMan
This transportation app covers major subway systems in China, in English. There is also a map function that highlights nearby points of interest, from restaurants to attractions.
Most subways in Chinese cities are modern and easy to navigate, with signs in both English and Chinese.
It’s worth noting there are security checks at many metro stations around China. Some are stricter than others, so prepare for bottlenecks during rush hour – and you may not be allowed on a train if you’ve been knife or scissor shopping.
Even if you don’t use WeChat for its payment function, it’s still useful if you want to exchange contacts with a friendly local, open a menu at a restaurant (many of the restaurants have uploaded their menus to WeChat) and buy a high-speed railway ticket.
Many of China’s major e-commerce businesses, from Didi (the Uber of China) to 12306 (the digital platform for the China Railway company) have their own WeChat widgets, or mini-programs.
Alipay
If WeChat is too complicated for you and you simply want an app for payment, Alipay is the way to go. There is an international and a Chinese version of the app; go for the international version and it will allow you to link your international credit card to it.
Didi
The Didi ride-hailing app is China's version of Uber. The car-hailing app of China. You can connect the app with an international credit card.
Didi can also be found within the Alipay and WeChat apps – so if you have one of the payment apps, you can directly hire a car from it without having to download the Didi app.
Trip.com
The international travel booking platform of Ctrip. Trip.com is one of the easiest ways to book high-speed rail tickets, attraction tickets, and hotels in China.
Baidu Translate
Baidu Translate is a free translation app created by Baidu, China’s leading search engine.
