China Travel Guide: What to Know First

China rewards planning in a way most countries don't. The distances are bigger than they look on a map — Beijing to Shanghai is roughly the same as London to Naples — and the language gap is real enough that even a simple address can turn into a small negotiation with a taxi driver. None of that makes the country harder to enjoy. It just means the logistics deserve fifteen minutes of attention before the trip, not fifteen minutes of stress during it.

That's what this hub is for: a running collection of guides on the cities worth building a China trip around, the practical questions that come up before you land (visas, payment apps, how the trains actually work), and the transfers that get you from the airport to wherever you're actually headed. If you'd rather skip the research and just have a driver waiting with your name on a sign, Kiwitaxi's China transfers cover Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Shenzhen and dozens of smaller hubs, at a price that's fixed the moment you book it.

Where to Start: The Gateway Cities

Beijing — the political and cultural core, where the Forbidden City sits a few subway stops from glass towers. Most first trips start or end here.

Shanghai — the skyline everyone recognizes, plus a French Concession that reads more like a European neighborhood than anything else in the country.

Guangzhou & Shenzhen — the Pearl River Delta's business engine, and an easy add-on if Hong Kong is already on the itinerary.

Hong Kong — technically its own entry system, but close enough geographically that it belongs in the same trip planning.

(Guides for each city are in production — links will go live here as they publish.)

Beyond the Big Four

Once the gateway cities are covered, the country opens up fast:

• Xi'an, home to the Terracotta Army and a city wall you can bike around in an afternoon

• Chengdu, for panda reserves and a food scene that treats spice as a personality trait

• Guilin & Yangshuo, where the karst hills look almost too deliberate to be natural

• Hangzhou, an easy day trip from Shanghai built around West Lake

• Harbin, if the trip happens to land in winter and an ice festival sounds more interesting than another temple

(Destination guides for this cluster are next in the production queue.)

The Practical Layer

A few things worth knowing before booking anything else:

• Visas. As of 2026, ordinary passport holders from around 50 countries — most of the EU, the UK, Canada, Australia, Japan, South Korea among them — can enter for up to 30 days without applying for a visa in advance. US and a handful of other passports still need one, though a 240-hour transit exemption covers travelers connecting onward to a third country. Rules shift often enough that it's worth checking the current list close to departure rather than trusting last year's blog post.

• Payment. Cash is increasingly rare outside tourist-facing businesses. Alipay and WeChat Pay now accept foreign cards directly, and setting one up before landing saves a fair amount of friction at train station ticket machines.

• Distances. China's high-speed rail network is genuinely excellent between major cities, but it's still a five-hour ride from Beijing to Xi'an. Building a route with two or three regions rather than a dozen cities tends to make for a better trip.

• Getting from the airport. For longer legs — say, a multi-day loop through several cities with a driver on call rather than one-off taxis — Kiwitaxi's chauffeur hire is available by the hour or the day in China's major metro areas, which tends to work out simpler than re-booking a ride at every stop.

What's Coming to This Hub

This page will grow into the guide as the individual city and regional pieces go live — starting with Beijing and Shanghai first-timer guides, then Xi'an and Chengdu, with a food-focused Chengdu piece and a Terracotta Army logistics guide likely to follow. Check back, or bookmark this page if it's useful as-is.