How to Join

Finally visited 6 cities in China through TCT.

They were amazing with the organization, guides in each city, good hotels and good food. One can do top cities in China by themselves, but getting around and communication is difficult even with a translator. So, a guide does help with a lot such as paid VIP queues, local shortcuts, evading crowded areas and crowd timings, which most wouldn't know of otherwise.

Things to be prepared with

1. Portable Charger

Must carry the ccc portable charger, buy one from China, very reasonably priced. I had 2 portable chargers since your phone is needed for everything.

1. E-sim from Trip.com

I had read multiple reddit suggestions for this before leaving and I could use all the apps using this esim such as WhatsApp most importantly, except a few websites and some infamous apps. Using VPN is technically illegal in China of what I heard, but the e-sim is allowed.

1. Payment

Alipay and Wechat are the majorly accepted modes of payment. Most won't have cash, but you may pay using cash, if they have the change in return.

I had an hour to activate the apps, and ended up messing up the activation due to which I could only use Alipay and couldnt pay any fellow travellers, so needed cash to pay them if they paid for anything for me. So, please activate the apps and add your cards to it prior. You may also activate the food delivery ordering systems from Alipay and WeChat such as Meituan.

Thus, take atleast 10-20 GB data, as you will only be using the mobile data even in the Hotel. Wifi disallows the apps usage.

1. Food

I am a non-vegetarian who doesn't eat beef and pork, and had a bit of a hard time explaining that, so I thank the guides for doing that due to which we got the chance to taste all the local dishes

Must try -

Hotpot at Chengdu and Chongqing

Sweet Water Noodles at Chengdu

Dan dan noodles at Chengdu

Roast Duck/Peking Duck for those who eat at Beijing

Biang Biang noodles and Chinese Burger at Xi'an

Boba tea, anywhere in China

Tangyuan

Clay pot rice at Zhangjiajie

1. Language

You need a translator to translate to Chinese to speak to every single person, so it is a must-have application and will work only if you have the esim for all apps.

1. Miscellaneous

You need to use Didi to book all your transportaion within the city. Use Trip.com to book trains way prior, as they get sold out immediately as soon as it goes live 2 weeks prior. To enjoy a slightly better experience while traveling choose the first class seats, it is convenient and clean on most journeys. For the long journeys must try the business class tickets, a fun ride.

Our guides spoke English very well and were highly educated, so we could have a lot of insightful discussions with them.

You may also book day tours through GetYourGuide or Klook, I use them for alternate itinerary plans

And please be prepared to walk uphill and on stairs and otherwise walk a lot in China, we had some elderly travellers who weren't being able to match-up, and theres not much for them to do except sit somewhere and wait for all of us, which is sad. It's quite strenuous, which would tire us too and we would not have much time to do laundry or sleep infact as it was pretty rushed. The only time we could catch up on sleep or a little work would be in the train journey. Expect atleast 20k steps a day, Chengdu was slightly easier but both Chengdu and Chongqing even though were lesser than 10K steps, it was way too hot to explore on foot.

Keep hydrating yourself - (the sugar drinks are not so sugar loaded in China, they are health conscious as a country) especially until September. But post October, the views won't be green in most places, so even if it was hot I was glad I went during the heat. So buy a fan and get an umbrella and you will be good. Just save your skin like the Chinese do!

Edit - Use AMAP compulsorily, Google maps doesnt have updated locations.

Anyone tried a daytrip to the Great Wall from Shanghai?

I’ve been to Beijing before for a whole week. I’m going to Shanghai this December but my tickets are round trip to and out the city. I just want to see the Great Wall again lol even just for a few hours.

My plan is overnight train from Shanghai to Beijing wherein I’ll be projected to arrive at Beijing by 7 AM. Then go to the Great Wall and catch the high speed train at night so I’ll be back in Shanghai by midnight.

I think this cuts costs by a lot + maximizes the most out my time. Has anyone tried something similar?

Im visiting Shanghai October 23rd for a few nights before moving on and would like to see everything in the are that is worth visiting and therefore im trying to plan very i stay strategically.

With that I would love to know peoples reccomendations for the best places to stay for convenience without breaking the bank too much, I also hear some hotels dont accept foreigners, I want to be cautious about which one I book if that is the case.

I am going to be city hopping the Jiangnan region in October: Shanghai, Suzhou, Wuxi, Yangzhou, Nanjing, Hangzhou, Shaoxing, Ningbo, Taizhou, and even Wenzhou.

Beginning of November I'll be in Guangzhou, Shunde, Meizhou, Taishan, and Shantou.

Mainly visiting to explore food and I want to do meals at some restaurants that are best eaten with a larger group, and I'm a solo diner unfortunately. It's a longshot, but anyone interested in joining me? Dates are not solidified but will be using Shanghai and Guangzhou as a homebase for the most part.

Hello,

Earlier this year I used the 10 day transit visa for US citizens to travel from HK to Beijing to Shanghai to Bangkok. It went smoothly since inbound and outbound were both international flights.

But later this year I would like to travel by train to Guangzhou and Shenzhen. I would like to do HK to Shenzhen to Guangzhou to Macau via Zhuhai. I would later go back to HK from Macau and fly home.

Is this possible since technically Macau and HK are different countries? And if so, has anyone tried this and knows what documents are needed to pass immigration? My fear is that they would only look at my flights from HK and not my train tickets.

Thanks!

Headed to Hong Kong, Beijing and Shanghai for for Christmas break with my 12 year old. FS HK, and Peninsula for both Beijing and Shanghai. What restaurants should we not miss. Already have reservations to caprice and Hung King Leen. We are doing private tours since we don't speak the language.
And one more question, should we fly from Beijing to Shanghai or business bulletin train?
Thanks in advance

Hi All,

I’m staying 8 nights in HK and planning to travel to China to stay for a night and enjoy the city for the first time.

Since I’ve never been, I was wondering if GZ or Shenzhen is the best spot to go?

Looking for a good mix of food, culture, shopping and nightlife.

Thanks!

Hello everyone,

Myself, my wife and my 13yo son want to vacation in China next May for a total of about 40 days. Any insights to the visa process? We are coming from the US and already have passports. Some questions are, 1. does my son also need a visa? 2. Is there a way to do 1 application for a family or do we need to each do one? 3. Anything else I need to know about the process?

hi everyone, i will be going to shanghai and was wondering if i can slot my disneyland trip on the same day i am flying back.

my flight is on monday night (11:50pm) at PVG airport, which from the map i see is quite near to disneyland. and monday = lesser crowd? as i will be in shanghai from fri-mon.

we are thinking if we can bring our luggage to disneyland and find a locker there to store it, play, and then go to the airport straight. does it makes sense? will i have enough time? i would love to stay for the fireworks, is it at 8:30pm?

🇨🇳** Help me finalize our China itinerary! ✈️🏮
We originally planned to visit Zhangjiajie, but decided to take it out because we’re traveling with an elderly family member who may not be able to keep up with all the walking, stairs, and uphill sections.

Now we’re thinking of replacing it with Fenghuang and Furong Ancient Town. But I’m wondering if that’s actually the best use of our time or if we’re traveling too far just to see two ancient towns.

What would you recommend?

Is Fenghuang and Furong worth the extra travel time?

Would you choose a different destination that’s easier for an elderly traveler but still beautiful, memorable, and Instagrammable?

Is 3 nights in Chongqing too much, or is there enough to keep us busy?

Does this overall route make sense, or would you rearrange the cities?

🗓️Current itinerary
Oct 27 - Shanghai 🇨🇳✈️ Arrive PVG @ 13:30

Oct 28 - Shanghai 🐼Shanghai Wild Animal Park

Oct 29 - Shanghai → Day Trip 🚄🏮* *Suzhou or Zhujiajiao

Oct 30 - Shanghai 🛍️

Oct 31 - Shanghai → Fenghuang 🚄

Nov 1 - Fenghuang + Furong 🏮Fenghuang in the morning → Furong Ancient Town from noon until night → back to Fenghuang
Nov 2 - Fenghuang → Chengdu 🚄

Nov 3 - Chengdu 🐼

Nov 4 - Chengdu 🏥 Executive health checkup

Nov 5 - Chengdu → Chongqing 🚄Depart around 12:00 noon

Nov 6 - Chongqing 🌃

Nov 7 - Chongqing 🌃

Nov 8 - Chongqing → Seoul ✈️

Hi all, first time visiting China this year and the only times I could feasibly get from work/other commitments is the 20th September to 10th October. my rough itinerary is this:

21st - 25th Beijing

25th - 28th Xian

28th - 1st Chengdu

1st - 3rd Chongqing

3rd - 6th Shanghai

6th - 10th Hong Kong

I have already booked my flight into Beijing and out of Hong Kong (back to London) as well as my flight to Shanghai and have prebooked my train from Chengdu to Chongqing on trip.com. I also have already booked all my accomodation.

I was not planning on going to the touristy spots in Chongqing/Shanghai but was still wondering if I'm still going to survive travelling in that Golden Week. Honestly didn't realise it was this bad until after booking everything.

thanks for any advice

Hello, my wife and I are planning on going to China in March 2027 for 2 weeks. Mainly Shanghai, Xi'An, Chongqing, and Chengdu (Itinerary not finalized yet)

We want to do a couples photoshoot while we are in China and I am wondering if anyone has any suggestions or experience in getting one done?

Preferably an english speaker studio/photographer as we are both not fluent in Mandarin.

Thanks in advance!

Just spent two months in China and recently got back to the US. While it’s all still fresh in my mind, I wanted to write down a summary of my experiences to share with everyone here:

Payments: You can link American credit cards to WeChat Pay by following the in-app prompts. You will need to upload your US passport and pass a facial recognition check. I linked my Costco Citi card, which has no foreign transaction fees. Alipay also supports American credit cards, it's best to set that up ahead of time too. Additionally, TenPayGo is a new app that's pretty simple and definitely worth trying out.

High-Speed Rail & Hotel Bookings: We just used Trip.com. The user experience is fantastic. For travel between cities in China, take the high-speed trains, they are way more comfortable than flying. Spending a bit extra for first class is well worth it. For hotels, go for 4- or 5-star options, as the value for money is significantly better than in the US. If you're there for sightseeing, stay close to major attractions. China's official railway app (12306) is slightly cheaper than Trip.com, but it's noticeably more hassle to use.

I'm planning on taking the G2929 to Guangzhounan, then switching to the G6525 to Hong Kong West Kowloon (24 minutes to switch trains - is that enough time or tight?) arriving at 14:43. My understanding is that I would need to clear border control there. I have a HKID card so my understanding is that I can clear this quickly. I then plan on taking the 15:17 A22 bus to Hong Kong Airport Terminal 1 arriving 15:57. The flight is at 19:45, I will be checking in a bag.

Given the bus stop is around the corner on Jordan Road I was thinking this is enough time to catch this bus, leaving me with around 3 hours and 45 minutes for the flight. The A22 (and as a backup the Airport Express which is horrendously expensive) are pretty frequent so I'm not really that concerned on that leg as long as border control is quick.

Hello everyone, I am looking for exclusive clothing like hoodies or t shirts in all of Beijing, chongchinq, and Shanghai. I wear US Men’s XL so I know that could be pretty tough to find, so I want to see if anyone knows of any stores in any of these cities. For reference, something like how stussy has shirts that say Shanghai, Hong Kong, etc. price isn’t really an issue just looking as to what’s available as I want something memorable of a sort. Thanks!

hello! i will be in hangzhou and i decided to depart from it on 28 sept and move to shanghai. i want to stay 1 day more in hangzhou. is 29 feasible or there are already a lot of person?

also, my plan is to stay in shanghai to wait for the golden week and avoid any crowd. but i dont want to spend too much time here. my initial plan is to move from shanghai to wenzhou on 9 october, but what if i move on 8 october? would it be feasible? or there are still a lot of people going home at that day?

my two fear is to move with the big crowd and not be able to purchase the train ticket in time

I am planning to go to Beijing+Greatwall, xian, chengdu and chongqing for about 10 days. Transport by train/HSR. Is week 12-October (monday) still crowded (many people take extended holiday after the golden week)?

I'm from the tropics. I'd like to avoid the cold temperature but also want to avoid the GW crowd.

When is the "safe" period?

In September when usually the crowd starts for GW? I know it's too rushed.. so i think october is better . thank you.

US traveler planning to visit Hong Kong and Shanghai. If I use my existing Verizon plan with TravelPass added, will I be able to access social media sites and Google, or will I need a separate eSIM and/or VPN?

Going to china in 3 weeks and naturally wanted to setup my alipay. After I typed my passport details and got my faced scanned thought it was done until I had to scan my passport chip by nfc through the app which seem to always say my passport information was not recognised. I already set we chat pay no problems so whats with alipay.

Please settle a debate between my husband and myself. We are going to be in Shanghai for three nights. We are a single couple with no kids and no Chinese language ability. I want to focus our time exploring Shanghai. He is very keen to do Shanghai Disney, and loves Disney parks. He's heard it's absolutely fantastic, and something special.

Given the limited time we have in Shanghai, I don't think Disney is worth it. Additionally, we are from the States and his family lives in Orlando. We will be visiting them in for Thanksgiving in November and will be visiting a park. (We almost always visit a park when we go down to vist approximately once a year.)

So reddit tell me, is Shanghai Disney is worth it? Do we do it? I have agreed to abide by the group's verdict. 😀

Hi! Does this Zhangjiajie itinerary make sense?
Sep 19: Late arrival → sleep near Wulingyuan
Sep 20: Zhangjiajie National Forest Park
Sep 21: Grand Canyon + Glass Bridge → change hotel to Zhangjiajie city
Sep 22: Tianmen Mountain → flight at 23:25

Is changing hotels on Sep 21 worth it near tianmen mountain, or should we stay in Wulingyuan?

We’d also love to visit Furong Town, preferably in the evening when it’s lit up. Could we realistically fit it in somewhere, or would the itinerary become too rushed?
Thanks!

I’m from Yunnan and lived in Shenzhen and Shanghai for many years. Meituan is just a very normal part of daily life for us in China, so I’m always a little surprised that I don’t see foreign travelers talk about it very much.

When traveling outside China, people often use Google Maps to find restaurants or shops. In China, a lot of us would open Meituan instead.

I use it to look for restaurants, check reviews and customer photos, compare prices, and see if there are any discounted meal packages. We also use it for things like massages, hair salons, KTV and other local services.

A lot of the time there are deals on Meituan that are cheaper than just walking into the shop and paying directly.

It’s also not only for finding places. You can order food, groceries and medicine, book hotels, and use quite a few other services there.

I checked recently and it looks like you can sign up with a foreign phone number, and there is English support too.

Just wanted to share this because it’s something very normal for locals but maybe not so obvious if you’re visiting China for the first time.

If you are looking for something specific and don’t know what to search in Chinese, I’m happy to tell you the keyword I would use on Meituan.

Update: many people report that they cannot use foreign number. I will have a try and contact their customer service about it then come back.

English translation is pretty good for the App. I cannot upload photos, but you can find it here:

https://kommodo.ai/i/CPMTJa47hZcLiBZ1GvqG

https://kommodo.ai/i/KtxQPcePJ792O8RrYfiK