Hello (nǐ hǎo), China.
Online advice about traveling in China is a mess of conflicting claims. Navi China cuts through it with four simple checklists — before you fly, landing day, day-to-day, and flying home — plus the numbers and warnings that matter. Nothing here is sponsored. Everything is calm, specific, and checked against official sources. Work through the lists in order, check items off as you go, and ask me anything the lists do not cover.
Ask a local.
Every trip has questions no checklist anticipates. A real person — me — reads every message. I will try my best to answer your questions. WeChat is an app you'll need in China anyway.
No WeChat yet? Install it before you fly — App Store · Google Play
Before You Go
9 checkpoints
Everything worth settling while you are still at home, on your own Wi-Fi, with time to spare. Most China-trip anxiety comes from three things — payments, connectivity, and the visa question. Handle them here and the rest is easy.
Arrival
6 checkpoints
The first three hours in a new country are the most stressful. This list walks you through immigration, your first internet connection, your first payment, and the one piece of paperwork everyone forgets.
During Your Stay
12 checkpoints
Day-to-day survival skills: paying, getting around, ordering food, staying healthy, and spotting the few scams that actually target tourists. Check items off as you go.
Departure
5 checkpoints
Leaving well is part of the trip: getting your tax refund back, clearing customs without surprises, and ending your stay the way you planned it.
Essentials
6 entries — save this one
Save this page to your phone. Emergency numbers, your embassy, medical help, and the short list of scams that actually happen — so you can recognize them in seconds.
📱 Save this guide to your phone
Navi China works fully offline. On your phone: open this site → browser menu → "Add to Home Screen". The whole guide — all four stages and essentials — stays on your phone, no internet needed in airports, trains, or queues.
🖨️ Print or save as PDF
Prefer paper or a PDF in your files? Each stage has a clean printable version.
Open the full printable guideHow this guide is checked
Every card that quotes a rule, a fee or a deadline carries its source — usually a ministry, an operator or a bank, and always a link you can open. I research with AI assistance, then spot-check the numbers and the wording by hand, and each card shows the month I last did.
China's rules do move. A visa policy, a ticket rule or a payment limit can change between your booking and your flight — so read that date as “last looked at”, not “guaranteed today”. When it matters, open the official link and read the original. It takes ten seconds, and it is always the final word.
And if you find something out of date, tell me on WeChat — that is how it gets fixed.
Still have a question? Just ask.
Add me on WeChat and send your question straight over. Whatever it is — where to eat, what to wear, how things work here — I'll do my best with it, and I read every message myself.
Ask a local →