Travel tips for China

Day-to-day practicalities

In China your phone is an everyday working tool: navigation, translation, talking to hotels, storing tickets and often paying too. Treat it like a second passport — keep it charged, back up anything important, and prepare a fallback for the moments you have no internet.

If you are taking domestic flights inside China, pay attention to the newer rules on power banks. Many airports require the power bank to carry a CCC mark, and without it security may refuse to let it through. Don't assume every power bank will be accepted just because it is a familiar brand or worked for you in another country.

Keep a photo of your passport, your hotel address, your destination written in Chinese and a contact phone number somewhere that works offline. It is worth saving the details both in a notes app and as an image in your gallery, so you can show them to a driver, a receptionist or station staff without having to explain anything.

Prepare a few basic phrases or translation cards: your hotel address, food allergies, asking for water, toilets, the train station and the airport. You don't need to speak Chinese to travel well, but a little preparation takes a lot of pressure out of the moments when nobody around you speaks English.

• A power bank and charging cable in your day bag — ideally one carrying a CCC mark if you have domestic flights.
• If you buy a power bank in China, check explicitly that it carries the CCC mark.
• Screenshots of addresses, bookings and tickets before you leave the hotel.
• A short note in Chinese with the key details you can show quickly.

Getting around and finding your way

Railway stations and airports in China can be enormous, extremely well organised, and still take time. There is security screening, gates, walking between zones, and sometimes moving between floors or halls. On trains the boarding gates usually open only ten to fifteen minutes before departure, but given the size of the stations and the screening process it is worth arriving about 45 minutes ahead rather than counting on a last-minute entry.

Save place names in two forms: English and Chinese. Drivers, ticket desks and hotels won't always recognise an English transliteration, and in some places the Chinese name is simply the easiest way to get to the right destination.

The metro is easy to navigate by line numbers, colours and exits. Before you get off the train, check which exit is closest to your destination — the wrong exit in a large station can add ten minutes of walking and a lot of unnecessary confusion.

• Check the exact station name in advance, especially in cities with several railway stations.
• For intercity trains, aim to arrive around 45 minutes before departure.
• Photograph or note the metro exit number before you arrive.
• Leave time for security, walking inside the station and collecting tickets when needed.

Food, pace and breathing room

Food is a huge part of the experience in China, but it is also somewhere to move patiently. If you don't know the local cuisine, order a few dishes at a time, taste, then add more. It is much easier to find what suits you that way, instead of covering the table with dishes you won't finish.

On travel days, keep water and a small snack with you. Between trains, security, taxis and getting to the hotel there isn't always a convenient stop for food — and even when there is, it isn't always easy to work out what to order on the spot.

Don't fill every hour of the itinerary. A lot of the magic in China is in side streets, small markets, neighbourhood gardens and moments that appear on no list. Good planning leaves room for an unplanned stop, a quiet coffee, or an early return to the hotel when you need it.

• Save the names of dishes you liked so you can order them again.
• If you have an allergy or dietary restriction, prepare a clear wording in Chinese.
• Plan anchor points for the day, but leave air between them.