China: Getting Around

I never thought I would become an expert on China and I'm still far from being one. But our business relationships with Chinese partners have been growing strongly and that is reflected in much more frequent China trips. So here is the mini series of blogs with some tips which you may find helpful. China is not straightforward for Western visitors. It is just different and small things matter when preparing for a trip. Or just knowing what to expect.

May marks my second trip to China in 2025 an I plan to be here back in June. What is different is I'm the first time on my own, which I find both exciting and liberating. Being able to do things on my own has always been important, be it soldering a PCB or writing a piece of assembly code or trekking in the mountains of Georgia or Kirgizstan. Organized trips and telling people to do things for you or carry your bags is simply not my style.

So you are going to China - where to start?

Passport.

Obviously the number one step is making sure you will be able to pass the immigration. That not long ago required a visa, but now visitors from many countries are allowed to enter China visa-free for short trips. But of course you need a passport. And the passport is super important also after entering China, as it is required and checked frequently: when checking in into a hotel or buying a train ticket. Not to mention airports. So find yourself a way of conveniently and securely carrying the passport.

Upon arrival, at the airport (if this is your first visit) you will record your fingerprints at a machine. That is before the immigration. The fingerprints are associated with your passport and the registration must be done before approaching an immigration officer. Also carry a pen, as you will need to fill a paper entry form with the hotel addresses etc. The forms are aplenty but pens are sometimes scarce. 

Speaking of security and safety - the country feels ultra safe and secure. During my multiple trips I have not been remotely close to any uncomfortable situation. Running early morning in parks, on public transport, or strolling late in the night in city suburbs. Police are frequently visible and there are millions of security cameras everywhere. The cameras may make you feel uncomfortable, but just get over this. If you don't want to be recorded, just don't go. On the other hand there are some conveniences related to face recognition technologies - I remember my surprise at the Beijing airport, when I approached an information screen and it showed my the route to my departure gate, without me even touching anything. It clearly recognized my face, pulled up the related flight info and presented the route.

Also on the related subject - people are generally super friendly and helpful here. Language is a barrier for many but generally there is an overwhelming willingness to help.

Phone with a data plan.

Item number two after the passport (and again this is obvious) is a smartphone. It is as essential as the passport. It is becoming so in the West, but still probably credit cards are more important in America and Europe. They may decline to check you in a hotel without a physical credit card in America. Or they may not have a contactless reader in Germany. But in China credit cards are not needed. Nor is cash (more on that later).

But without a phone you many even have difficulties funding a public toilet in a metro, as the guides are displayed in form of QR codes. QR codes are everywhere (restaurants, vending machines, local info, payments in stores, paying for taxis,...). Everywhere. So make sure your phone camera functions properly. And that your battery lasts a day at minimum. And that you have an internet connection.

Speaking of the internet - free WiFi is available in many places, but there are two problems with WiFi: it is slow, any many sites (such as Google) are not accessible. So make sure you have a local data plan. These days most phones support eSIMs and I recommend activating a Chinese eSIM before landing in China. I have successfully used the Revolut eSIM. My typical data usage is in the range of 2GB-3GB per day (that includes photo uploads and all needed activities). 10GB per week may not be enough, now my rule of thumb is to buy 20GB for a week long visit. Cellular connections are very fast, 5G is prevalent, and you can seamlessly run conference calls. One advantage of using an eSIM such as the Revolut is that you have access to all international services - Google works too. So if you're on Gmail, an eSIM is a must.

So we have covered the passport and the phone with internet access. In the next episode I will be sharing more about the apps, as in most cases the apps for China are not the ones you use in Europe or America. Stay tuned!