Money
The 200-RMB Line
Four ways to pay, the 3% fee that starts at RMB¥200 and applies to the whole bill, the email-only app from September 2026, and the transfers a foreign card still cannot make.
China guides for the curious from abroad
Plan China like you've
Plan China like you've
already lived there
Practical, plain-English guides for foreigners planning a trip or a move to China. Set up WeChat and Alipay, get around, shop, and break the language barrier — with a local’s perspective. Continually recording, slowly sharing.
Featured Guides
Handwritten, verified, and updated seasonally.
Money
Before You Come
Before You Come to China
The complete prep guide as a timeline: visa, arrival card, money, connectivity, packing, and your first hour on the ground.
Visas
China Visa Guide 2026
Who enters visa-free (50 countries, 30 days), how the US$140 ten-year visa works, and the 240-hour transit option — before you book anything.
Apps
Five Apps, and the One That Needs a Witness
Which app stops at which gate, and why WeChat has to be finished before you fly: the sign-up that needs another person to scan your code.
Money
Cost of Living in China Per Month
Rent, food, transport and utilities in RMB¥, US$ and ₹, with city-by-city indices and a six-country basket comparison.
Reference
China by the Numbers
Seventy figures on one page, each with the ministry and the notice number behind it. Payment limits, residence fees, overstay tiers, refund rates, and what a month here costs.
Legal
Thirty Days After You Land
The five residence permit categories and what each one asks for, the fee that jumps at the one-year mark, and the overstay table counted from the eleventh day.
Connectivity
How to Get Online in China
Travel eSIMs, roaming, and airport SIM cards compared: what to set up before you fly, and which apps keep working.
Transport
How to Buy Train Tickets in China
Passport registration on 12306, foreign card payments, the 15-day release window, real fares by class, and the official refund tiers.
Where to Live
Best Cities in China for Foreigners
The official foreign-talent index, the aviation and metro numbers behind it, and the top 20 cities sorted by what you are going there to do.
Safety
Is China Safe?
What the Gallup survey and the Ministry of Public Security actually report, the scams worth knowing, and the passport and registration rules that catch newcomers.
Connectivity
Is Google Blocked in China?
The honest 2026 status list for mainland networks, the apps that replace each one, and the three ways travelers keep their own apps working.
Browse every guide
Sorted by the decision in front of you rather than by date: visas and entry, payments, apps, transport, housing, shopping.