All pages checked 19 Oct 2026 against the National Immigration Administration's official notices.
Guides
Everything here is checked against the official policy text on the date shown, not copied from other travel blogs. Where a policy has an end date, it says so.
Visa-free entry (50 countries)
Who enters without a visa, how the 30 days are counted, and the 31 December 2026 expiry.
Policy ends 31 Dec 2026
240-hour transit (57 countries)
Ten days without a visa for US, UK and Canadian passports — and the three rules people break.
Accommodation registration
Airbnb or a friend's flat? Register within 24 hours. Since September 2026 you can do it online.
New in Sept 2026
Arrival card
Fill it in online before you land, and avoid the fake sites that charge for a free form.
Buying a SIM card
Official stores, passport registration, real prices, and the cash problem nobody mentions.
Covers the cash trap
Your first hour in China
Cash, then SIM, then apps. Doing it in this order is the whole difference.
Start here
The cards are the short version
When you are standing at a counter with a queue behind you, you do not want an article. You want one screen of Chinese.
See the cards