First time in China? The four things everyone worries about
If you've never been, China can sound like a lot to figure out from the outside — the apps are different, the payment system is different, and you can't just rely on Google when you land. In practice, all four of the worries below have straightforward answers. Here's how each one actually works, and what to set up before you fly.
1. Is China safe to travel in?
For most visitors, this is the worry that disappears fastest once you arrive. Violent crime against tourists is rare, pickpocketing is no worse than in any big city, and walking back to your hotel at night in Beijing, Shanghai, Chengdu or Xi'an feels unremarkable — people are out eating, shopping and walking dogs well into the evening.
The things actually worth knowing about are smaller:
- Tourist scams, not danger. The classic one is a friendly stranger near a major sight inviting you to a tea ceremony or art exhibition that ends with a large bill. A polite no — or simply being on a planned tour — avoids it entirely. If someone approaches you in English near Tiananmen Square or the Bund with an invitation, that's the pattern.
- Traffic takes getting used to. Scooters are quiet, they can appear from directions you don't expect, and a green pedestrian light doesn't mean the road is empty. Look both ways even when it's your turn to cross.
- Keep your passport handy — it’s an ID check, not a problem. You'll need it for trains, hotels and some sights. Most people carry the original in a zipped pocket or leave it in the hotel safe and keep a photo on their phone for the day-to-day, bringing the original on travel days.
- Health basics. Don't drink the tap water (every hotel provides bottled or boiled water), and bring any prescription medicine in its original packaging with enough to cover the trip plus a few days.
On our tours there's also a practical layer underneath: a driver and a local guide with you in each city, our WhatsApp open while you travel, and hotels and routes we've used before.
2. How do you pay for things? Alipay, WeChat Pay and your bank card
This is the one to sort out before you fly, because China runs on phone payments to a degree that surprises everyone. Street stalls, taxis, metro gates, temple tickets, a bottle of water from a kiosk — nearly all of it is paid by scanning a QR code with Alipay or WeChat Pay. Cash is still legal and shops are supposed to accept it, but many small places have no change and haven't seen a banknote in days. Your foreign bank card, on its own, will only work in bigger hotels, department stores and some chain restaurants.
The good news: both apps now work properly with foreign cards. What most visitors do:
- Download Alipay before you leave home and switch it to the international version. Sign up with your foreign mobile number, verify your identity with your passport, and link a Visa, Mastercard or other supported international card. WeChat Pay works similarly inside WeChat — same kind of setup, same passport verification.
- Test it once at home so you know the card is accepted and any bank verification is out of the way. Setting this up at the airport with jet lag is the version of this story that goes badly.
- In China, you just scan and pay. Either the shop shows you a QR code to scan, or you show your payment code for them to scan. The amount comes off your linked card, converted automatically. Small payments normally need no PIN; larger ones may ask for the payment password you set in the app.
- Carry a small cash backup anyway — a few hundred yuan from an airport ATM or your home bank. If your phone dies or an app asks you to re-verify at an awkward moment, cash settles it.
- Know the limits. Foreign-card payments through the apps are fine for everyday spending. Very large single purchases can hit per-transaction or annual caps, which is one reason tour payments are never done this way — your tour balance is paid by the methods confirmed in writing with your quote, not by scanning a code in a chat. Foreign cards linked to Alipay or WeChat Pay can pay up to US$5,000 per transaction and US$50,000 per year. Payments of ¥200 or less generally have no platform fee; above ¥200 a 3% fee on the full amount may apply — the app shows it before you confirm. Your bank may add its own foreign-transaction fee.
Alipay also covers a lot of daily life in one place: metro and bus QR codes in most cities, DiDi taxis, train tickets and translation are all built in or one tap away, which is why we suggest it as the default if you only install one app.
When you book with us, we'll send you a short setup walkthrough before you travel — most people finish it in about ten minutes at their kitchen table.
3. Will WhatsApp, Google and Instagram work in China?
Straight answer: not on a Chinese network. WhatsApp, Google (Search, Maps, Gmail, YouTube, Google Translate), Instagram, Facebook and X are blocked on mainland Chinese Wi-Fi and local SIM cards. Hotel Wi-Fi follows the same rules — a five-star lobby doesn't change it. If staying in touch and using your usual apps matters to you, decide how you'll handle this before you board, because the app stores and websites you'd need are also hard to reach once you're there.
What works, in order of how simple it is:
- A travel eSIM bought before departure. For most visitors this is now the easiest answer. An eSIM from an international provider routes your data outside the mainland, so WhatsApp, Google and your other apps generally work as normal, and it starts working the moment you land. Check your phone supports eSIM and buy enough data for maps and photos. We'll point you to the options that suit your phone when you book.
- Roaming on your home SIM. If your carrier offers a reasonable China roaming pass, data roaming usually bypasses the block in the same way. It's the zero-effort option — and often the most expensive one, so check the price first.
- A VPN is a backup option. A VPN is a backup option; a travel eSIM or roaming plan is usually simpler. If you do use one, it must be downloaded, installed and tested before you land, and reliability varies.
A few practical consequences worth knowing:
- Maps: Google Maps is both blocked and patchy in China. Apple Maps works well on iPhones; otherwise your guide handles navigation on tour days, and Alipay and DiDi have English interfaces for getting around on free time.
- Translation: Google Translate won't load without one of the fixes above — download languages for offline use before you fly, or use Apple Translate or the translate tools inside Alipay and WeChat.
- Talking to us: You'll plan the whole trip with us on WhatsApp before you go, which is unaffected. While you're in China, stay reachable by using the eSIM/roaming option above — your guide will also have your hotel and itinerary, so nothing depends on a single app.
- Two-factor codes: SMS codes from your bank can be patchy on roaming. If your bank offers app-based approval, switch it on before the trip.
4. What if I don't speak any Chinese?
Most of our travellers don't, and honestly, most independent travellers who come to China don't either. It is worth knowing what to expect, though: outside international hotels, major airports and the odd coffee chain, spoken English is limited. A taxi driver, a noodle shop or a train-station ticket window will usually have none. This is an inconvenience to plan around, not a reason not to come.
- Signs are easier than speech. Metro systems, airports, high-speed trains and big sights are signed in English (or pinyin) throughout, and announcements on intercity trains are bilingual.
- Translation apps do the heavy lifting. Camera translation turns a menu into English in seconds, and voice translation handles simple exchanges. Download what you need for offline use before you fly (see the internet section above).
- Show, don't say. Addresses in Chinese characters — for your hotel, a restaurant, a sight — are what drivers and passers-by can actually act on. Hotels give you a name card for this; screenshot addresses before you head out.
- Food is visual. Picture menus are common, pointing works, and in the worst case your guide will happily pre-order or write down dishes for you.
On a guided tour — private or group — this is the worry that mostly evaporates: your guide speaks English, handles the tickets, the drivers, the ordering and the questions, and stays reachable on the days they're with you. Language is one of the main practical reasons people book a guided trip for a first visit and then travel more independently the second time.
The short version
Set up Alipay at home. Buy an eSIM at home. Download offline maps and translation at home. Then get on the plane — the safety and language parts take care of themselves far more than you'd expect, especially with a guide meeting you at the other end. If anything above doesn't match your phone, your bank or your route, ask us on WhatsApp before you book anything and we'll walk through your exact case.
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