The one rule most first-time visitors learn about too late is China temporary residence registration. If you stay anywhere other than a registered hotel, the law requires your address to…
Few travel experiences sum up modern China better than bike sharing in China for foreigners: you scan a code on the street, climb onto a bright bike, and glide past…
A reliable China metro guide for tourists is the single most useful thing you can carry into a Chinese city. Dozens of mainland cities run clean, cheap, punctual and English-friendly…
You arrive at a major national museum at nine in the morning, join the shortest queue you have ever seen in China, and are turned away in four seconds because…
It happens on about day nine. You are standing in a Jingdezhen ceramics studio holding a tea set that will not survive a baggage carousel, and your suitcase is already…
Buy a ¥6,000 jade bracelet in Shanghai and roughly ¥540 of that is refundable when you fly home — if you asked for the right piece of paper at the…
Connecting through Beijing, Shanghai or Guangzhou is one of the cheapest ways to cross Asia, and one of the easiest ways to miss a flight if you assume it works…
For travelers chasing the roof of the world, altitude sickness in China is the single biggest health consideration. The Tibetan Plateau and the highlands of Qinghai sit at heights where…
Falling ill abroad is worrying, but pharmacies and medical care in China are more accessible than many visitors expect. The country runs a vast network of pharmacies, clinics, and hospitals,…
One of the first things travelers ask is can you drink tap water in China. The straightforward answer is that most visitors should not drink untreated municipal tap water, even…