Pre-Arrival Checklist
Four things to do before you fly.
Three apps and a plan for staying online. About twenty minutes at home, and the rest of the trip takes care of itself.
Three apps and a plan for staying online. About twenty minutes at home, and the rest of the trip takes care of itself.
China runs on its own apps. These three cover talking, paying and getting around, and they work on any network.
China’s everyday messaging app, think WhatsApp. Install it and sign up with your own number; that is all for now.
After you book, our team gets in touch and helps you add us. From then on, everything on the ground runs in that one chat.
How everyone pays in China. Link your Visa or Mastercard and it works like Apple Pay, everywhere: restaurants, grocery stores, convenience stores, taxis, market stalls. Scan the QR code, type the amount, done.
Add your card under Me → Bank Cards and finish the quick passport check when the app asks. Easier on home Wi-Fi.
Make one small test payment at the airport, a coffee or a water, so you know it works.
China’s Uber, with a full English interface. Your airport pickup is included and needs no app; DiDi is for rest days, coffee in Xinglong, a beach down the coast, the golf course.
Easiest way in: open Alipay, search DiDi, and use it there. No separate sign-up.
Want to go somewhere? Message us and we will help you call the car and guide the driver to you.
China’s internet works a little differently. To keep using Google, WhatsApp, Instagram and the rest of your usual apps exactly as you do at home, you just need one of the three setups below in place before you fly. Pick one, test it at home, and you will be posting from the pool deck on day one.
Turn on international roaming with your carrier before you leave. Your data is routed through your home network, so WhatsApp, Google, Instagram and your email work exactly as they do at home. Nothing else to set up.
Simplest option, but check your carrier’s daily China rate first. Some are reasonable, some are not. Good for a short trip, and a good backup even if you go with an eSIM.
A travel eSIM for China routes your data through a non-mainland network, so all your usual apps work with no VPN and no setup. Buy it at home, install it on Wi-Fi, and switch it on when you land.
They are data only, so keep your home SIM in the phone for bank codes and SMS verification. Your phone needs to be eSIM-capable and unlocked. A 10 GB / 30-day plan runs about US$17–27.
Providers we would point you toIf you would rather live on the hotel Wi-Fi, or you buy a cheap local Chinese SIM, a VPN app keeps your usual services working. Install it, pay for it and test it before you fly; VPN apps are not available to download once you are in China, and the free ones are not reliable.
Have a second one as a backup. They do not all work all the time, and the good ones have a China or “obfuscated” mode in their settings.
VPNs that work well in ChinaWhatever you choose, we can always reach you on WeChat. We are on WeChat and on WhatsApp at +86 138 9340 2173. The longer version, with cash, plugs and maps, is in our China travel tips for surfers.
Your sessions, your room and your airport pickup are confirmed before you land. Everything else, we sort on WeChat.