What is the single most important thing to do before flying to China?

Set up Alipay (and ideally WeChat) with your foreign card linked and identity verification completed before you leave home. Payments touch everything in China — taxis, metro, food, attractions — and fixing a verification problem is far easier on home Wi-Fi than at the airport.

How far in advance should I start preparing for a China trip?

Two weeks is comfortable. Train tickets open for sale 15 days ahead, popular attractions like the Forbidden City release tickets about 7 days ahead, and app verification occasionally takes a day or two if a document gets rejected.

Do I need to print anything for a China trip?

Carry a paper copy of your passport photo page, your hotel address in Chinese characters, and your onward flight confirmation (required for visa-free transit). China itself is paperless, but a backup matters when your phone dies or an app refuses to load.

Do I need a visa to visit China in 2026?

Possibly not. As of mid-2026, citizens of dozens of countries (most of Europe, Australia, Japan, South Korea, and others) can enter visa-free for up to 30 days, and most other nationalities — including US, UK, and Canadian citizens — can use the 240-hour visa-free transit policy. Check the dedicated visa guide and confirm with your nearest Chinese embassy.

China Pre-Departure Checklist: What to Set Up Before You Fly

China is the most app-dependent country you will ever visit, and most of those apps are easiest to set up before you land. This checklist is the order of operations I walk friends and family through. Everything links to a deeper guide.

Two weeks before

1. Confirm how you’re entering the country

Check whether your passport qualifies for 30-day visa-free entry or the 240-hour visa-free transit policy. As of mid-2026 a large share of Western travelers no longer need a visa at all — see the visa-free entry guide.
If you need a visa-free transit, your flights must form an A → China → B itinerary where B is a different country or region than A (Hong Kong counts as different). Book accordingly.
Passport validity: at least 6 months beyond arrival is the safe standard.

2. Set up payments — the big one

Download Alipay, register with your home phone number, complete identity verification with your passport, and link a Visa/Mastercard (Amex, JCB, and Discover also work). Do the same in WeChat. Full walkthrough in the payments guide.
Test Alipay with a tiny transaction if you can (some travelers can’t test until arrival — that’s okay, the important part is that verification is approved).
Tell your bank you’re traveling so card transactions from China aren’t auto-blocked. This is one of the most common day-one failures.

3. Solve internet before it’s a problem

Buy a travel eSIM with China coverage (Airalo, Holafly, Nomad, Saily, or your carrier’s roaming pass). Roaming data routes through your home country, so Google, WhatsApp, and Instagram work without a VPN. Details and trade-offs in the internet guide.
If you insist on a VPN instead, install and test it before departure — VPN websites are blocked inside China.

One week before

4. Book the things that sell out

Train tickets go on sale 15 days ahead on 12306 or Trip.com; weekend and holiday high-speed trains between major cities sell out. See the trains guide.
Forbidden City tickets release about 7 days ahead and sell out almost instantly in peak season. Other reservation-required sights: Mao’s Mausoleum area access is simpler, but the National Museum, Shaanxi History Museum, and popular Great Wall sections also use timed entry. Book with your passport number.
Reserve your first hotel through Trip.com and confirm it accepts foreign guests — not all Chinese hotels do. See the hotels guide.

5. Prepare your phone

Download offline translation packs (Google Translate or Apple Translate — Chinese Simplified). The language guide covers the toolkit.
Install: Alipay, WeChat, Trip.com, Didi, Amap (now has an English mode), and your airline’s app.
Save your hotel name and address in Chinese characters to your notes app and as a screenshot.

A few days before

6. Money backup plan

Get ¥500–1,000 in cash from your bank or plan to withdraw at an airport ATM on arrival (Bank of China and ICBC ATMs reliably take foreign cards). Cash is your fallback, not your primary — see where cash still matters.
Bring a second physical card on a different network (e.g., one Visa + one Mastercard) stored separately.

7. Fill out the arrival card / customs declaration

China’s arrival/customs declaration can be completed digitally via the official China Customs WeChat mini-program up to 24 hours before landing, or on paper forms in the arrival hall. Either works; the paper line moves fine.

8. Print and copy

Paper copy of passport photo page (hotels and some ticket offices occasionally want it).
Onward/return flight confirmation — immigration officers ask for this under visa-free policies.
Travel insurance details, if you carry it.

On arrival — first 2 hours

Connect: your eSIM should pick up signal at the gate. Airport Wi-Fi exists but often requires a Chinese number for SMS login — another reason the eSIM wins.
Immigration: visa-free transit users go to the marked counter to get the temporary entry permit stamped; 30-day visa-free entrants use normal lanes. Fingerprints are collected for most first-time visitors.
Cash: withdraw at a Bank of China ATM in arrivals if you didn’t bring any.
Transport: take the metro/airport express (buy with Alipay or cash) or order a Didi — the getting-around guide covers pickup-point quirks at airports.

A final reality check: every item above is easy alone, but discovering three of them at once at 11pm in an airport is not. Spread the setup over two weeks and the trip itself feels surprisingly smooth — modern China is genuinely easy mode once your phone is configured.