About this site

Hi — I'm Terry Chen, a Chinese-American student at Northwestern University. I grew up between the US and China: family in both countries, fluent in Mandarin and English, and — more relevantly for you — years of experience being the person who gets the panicked text from the Shanghai airport: "my card won't link to Alipay, what do I do?"

Why this site exists

Most English-language advice about China is either outdated (written when Alipay didn't take foreign cards and everyone needed a visa) or vague ("download WeChat!"). Meanwhile, China changed dramatically between 2023 and 2026: visa-free entry expanded to dozens of countries, the payment apps opened up to international cards, train tickets went fully electronic, and even the local map apps added English. A first-time trip is genuinely easier than it has ever been — if you set things up correctly before you fly.

Every guide here is the advice I actually give friends and relatives, written down once, properly, with the failure modes included. No affiliate-link padding, no "top 10 magical experiences" filler.

How I keep it honest

• Dates on everything. Each guide shows when it was last updated, and time-sensitive claims say "as of mid-2026."
• Caveats included. If a method fails for some travelers (foreign-card payment limits, hotels that turn away foreigners, VPNs that stop working), the guide says so.
• Official sources for the load-bearing stuff. For visas and entry rules, I always point you to the Chinese embassy or the National Immigration Administration rather than asking you to trust a blog — including this one.
• First-hand and second-hand testing. I travel to China regularly, and I help non-Chinese-speaking visitors set up their phones, payments, and bookings. When something breaks for them, the guide gets fixed.

Get in touch

Spotted something outdated? That's the most useful email you can send me. Reach me at hello@chinatravelmadeeasy.com — corrections, questions, and "this worked / this didn't" reports all welcome.