First time in China: what to expect, and what catches people out

Twelve things that catch people out

Each of these reliably derails a first day or two, plus the fix. None of them are reasons not to come.

1. Cash is close to extinct

Your card works — you simply cannot tap it. Bind your Visa, Mastercard or Amex inside Alipay or WeChat Pay and pay by scanning a QR code; by 2026 that covers street stalls, metro gates, museum tickets and the noodle shop under your hotel. No Chinese bank account is involved, only passport verification. Cash is not banned, just awkward: plenty of vendors cannot make change for a ¥100 note, so carry ¥300–500 in small notes for the driver whose code will not scan. One number worth memorising: transactions of ¥200 or less are free, and above ¥200 both apps charge 3% on the whole amount, so a ¥250 bill costs ¥7.50 while two ¥200 halves cost nothing. Binding a foreign card takes about five minutes per app.

2. Google, Gmail, WhatsApp and Instagram do not load

On a mainland connection — a Chinese SIM, hotel Wi-Fi, a café network — Google Search and Gmail, YouTube, WhatsApp, Instagram, Facebook and X do not load. Not slow, not degraded: the request fails, and reinstalling the app changes nothing. The clean fix for a phone is a travel eSIM whose data routes internationally, so traffic exits through a foreign carrier before the mainland filter sees it, and blocked apps work with nothing to configure. The routing is a property of the specific plan, not the brand, so read the plan terms rather than the marketing. An eSIM also covers only the device it is installed in: a laptop on hotel Wi-Fi needs a real VPN, where standard WireGuard, OpenVPN and IKEv2 tunnels are detected and blocked. Our eSIM comparison covers which plans route abroad.

3. Everything is real-name, and your passport is your identity

Train tickets are issued against your passport number. Attraction reservations ask for passport details and check the same document at the gate. Hotels register your passport and file it with the public security system at check-in. A physical SIM bought in China requires real-name registration with your original passport; photocopies and photos are rejected. Foreigners are also legally required to carry their passport, police do run checks, and a photocopy is not accepted in its place. Keep your passport on you, store a photo of the data page for forms, and book under the name exactly as it appears in the machine-readable zone: surname first, then given names, uppercase, no punctuation. Wrong name order is the most common reason a first booking attempt fails.

4. Some hotels cannot take you as a guest

Chinese hotels need a specific qualification to host foreign guests, and smaller budget chains, independent hotels and apartment rentals often do not hold it. Since 2024 the public security authorities have told hotels they may not refuse foreign guests for lacking that qualification, but enforcement is uneven and refusals still cluster in cheap and small-city properties. The fix costs nothing: filter for listings that state they accept foreign guests, treat silence as unconfirmed, message the property for a written yes, and book a refundable rate so a refusal at the desk does not cost you the night. International-brand and mid-range city hotels are safe choices. Stay in a friend's home instead and you must register your temporary residence at the local police station within 24 hours.

5. You will meet squat toilets, and the bin rule is not optional

A squat toilet is a pan set into the floor, and it is the standard fixture in older buildings and street-level facilities and normal in parks and scenic areas. Malls, airports, chain hotels and newer restaurants usually have seated stalls. Two habits solve the whole category: carry a small pack of tissues, because paper is often not provided in the stall, and put used tissue in the bin next to the bowl rather than down the pan. Chinese plumbing blocks easily, and this is the one rule locals will judge you on. Soap and dryers are sometimes missing, so hand sanitiser earns its place. Amap and Baidu Maps list public toilets if you search 厕所, and the rare paid facility costs about ¥1.

6. You order by scanning the table

Walk into a sit-down restaurant in most Chinese cities and nobody brings a menu — there is a QR code stuck to the table or standing in a plastic holder. Scan it inside Alipay or WeChat, not with the phone's camera app, and a photo menu of every dish opens as a mini-program, so you order, and often pay, without speaking to anyone. Two things to set up before your first meal: a payment app with your card bound, and a translation app with camera mode. If the QR route defeats you, ask for a paper menu — most restaurants keep a few — or point at what the next table is eating. Dishes are shared, the bill comes as one total, and there is no tip line.

7. China is continental, and that is an itinerary problem

Beijing to Shanghai is 1,318 km by rail and takes about 4h30; as the crow flies that is roughly Paris to Rome (1,105 km). Beijing to Ürümqi, still inside one country, is about 2,400 km — the same as London to Moscow. The consequence is arithmetic: a ten-day list with six cities spends two of those days in stations, while two weeks comfortably covers three or four bases with one long leg between each. High-speed rail is the right tool for legs of up to roughly 1,000 km; beyond that, fly instead. Whichever you pick, book the long legs first — they set the shape of the trip. Our trip cost breakdown puts a five-city, two-week route at $250–400 per person in intercity transport alone.

8. Train tickets open 15 days out, and popular trains go in minutes

China Railway's 12306 platform — official English website and the Railway 12306 app — opens sales 15 days before departure and closes them about 30 minutes before the train leaves. Booking runs from 05:00 to 01:00 the next day, with refunds round the clock. Refund fees climb as departure approaches: free at eight days or more, then 5%, 10% and 20% inside the final 24 hours. Ordinary dates are manageable if you book on the release day rather than two days out; public holidays and the Lunar New Year rush are a different sport. If a train shows as waitlisted it is not sold out — join the waitlist and let the app notify you. On popular legs, second class sells out while business class sits empty.

9. The big attractions run on timed reservations

The Forbidden City, the main Great Wall sections, the major museums and the national parks use real-name, timed-entry reservation: you book a date and time window online with passport details and present the same passport at the gate. There is no single national booking window — each site sets its own and changes it by season. The reliable method: open the official channel, read the release rule for your date, set a reminder for that moment, and be logged in with your details saved beforehand. Cancelled slots return to the pool and are usually gone within minutes. If a date is gone, move the day rather than the trip; a full Saturday is often open on Tuesday. Our reservation guide lists what to prepare.

10. Tipping is not expected, and the apps have nowhere to put it

Do not tip in mainland China — not in restaurants, taxis, DiDi, hotels, bars, cafés or airport counters. Staff are paid a wage, the price is the price, and extra cash tends to create confusion rather than gratitude; servers have been known to chase customers down the street to hand money back. Do check the bill: upscale and international-hotel restaurants often add an automatic 10–15% service charge, and some Cantonese restaurants add a per-person tea and seat charge. If a service charge is already there, that is the end of it. The narrow exceptions are private guides and drivers, and any tip has to be cash, because neither Alipay nor WeChat Pay has a tip field, and leaving nothing is never rude.

11. The train station is usually nearer the centre than the airport

China built its high-speed stations for commuters rather than in the suburbs: Beijing South, Shanghai Hongqiao, Guangzhou South and Xi'an North all connect to the metro, and Hongqiao is attached to the airport. Add airport check-in and security queues and rail wins on door-to-door time for most domestic routes under about 1,000 km. Two rules cost people their tickets. Allow 60 minutes at a major hub and 30 at a small station, more on public holidays, because bags go through X-ray and the walk to the gate can be long. And check which station your ticket names: Beijing South, Beijing West and Beijing Central are nowhere near each other, and Shanghai splits between Hongqiao and Shanghai Railway Station. Your passport is your ticket.

12. Bikes, taxis and delivery all run through the phone

Ride-hailing and shared bikes are the two easiest wins for a visitor. Meituan, Hellobike and Didi Qingju — yellow, blue and green — all work for foreigners with a passport and an international phone number, and the simplest route needs no bike account at all: scan the QR on the handlebar with Alipay or WeChat and the lock opens. Deposits were dropped for verified accounts in 2023–24 and a ride costs roughly ¥1.50 for the first 15 minutes. DiDi, the taxi app, has an English interface and works without a Chinese number. Food delivery is the one service still awkward: Meituan and Ele.me ask for a mainland Chinese contact number, so use the hotel’s front-desk number. Sort out your apps before you fly, not at a taxi rank.

Myth versus reality

Your first 72 hours, in order

The first three days decide how the rest of the trip feels.

1. Before you fly: the tasks that need your own networkInstall and passport-verify Alipay and WeChat, bind a card, buy the travel eSIM. App stores and verification reviews behave differently inside China. Screenshot your hotel's name and address in Chinese.
2. Landing, hour 0–2: skip the currency deskTurn on the eSIM and load Google as a live test of international routing. Take the metro or airport express where it exists, or order a DiDi on the airport's free Wi-Fi. The exchange rate is poor and you need almost no cash.
3. Hour 2–4: hotel check-inYou hand over your passport and the hotel registers your stay with the public security system; a deposit may be requested and is refunded at checkout. Ask for the hotel's name and address in Chinese.
4. First evening: one small payment, then ¥300Buy water with Alipay or WeChat: if the card is going to fail, fail at a convenience store rather than a hotel desk. Then draw ¥300–500 in small notes from a bank ATM that takes foreign cards.
5. Day 2: the hard reservations firstBook your highest-risk attraction and your first intercity train, then build the day around those two fixed points. Install Amap with offline maps and re-check tomorrow's entry gate.
6. Day 3: the first trainArrive 60 minutes early, passport in hand: an X-ray and a long walk to the gate. There is no airport-style liquid limit, but knives, flammables and aerosols are restricted.

Frequently asked questions

Related reading

Figures here come from our own China Travel guides on money, apps, internet, trains, attractions and accommodation, cross-checked on 2 October 2026 against China Railway's published 12306 pre-sale and refund rules, Alipay and WeChat Pay documentation for international cards, and current UK and US government travel guidance for China. Distances are our own great-circle calculations. Fast-moving items — card fees, booking windows, hotel practice, visa-free entry — were verified on 2 October 2026; confirm the current position before relying on a number. Nothing here is financial advice.