Your First 24 Hours in China: An Arrival Checklist
What to set up before you leave home and what to do in the first hours after landing — so payment, internet and transport work from the start.
- Before you fly
- Alipay + card, eSIM, arrival card, offline translations
- At the airport
- Immigration, cash machine (optional), metro or DiDi
- At the hotel
- Passport registration is done by the hotel
- Emergency
- 110 police · 120 ambulance · 119 fire
One week before
Do these at home, where your bank can approve verification texts.
- Check your entry route: 30-day visa-free, 240-hour transit or a visa.
- Install Alipay (and optionally WeChat), link a Visa or Mastercard and verify your passport.
- Buy an eSIM with a data plan that routes outside China if you need Google, WhatsApp or Instagram.
- Download Amap, DiDi, a translation app and offline language packs.
- Book tickets for the Forbidden City, Terracotta Army and other capped sights.
Three days before
Fill in the free online arrival card through the NIA website, app or mini-program.
On landing
Turn on your eSIM, pass immigration and customs, and withdraw a small amount of cash from a bank ATM as a back-up (some small vendors and older travellers’ services still prefer cash). Take the airport express metro or a DiDi to your hotel.
Hotels register foreign guests with the police automatically when you check in with your passport. If you stay in a private home, you must register at the local police station within 24 hours.
Before you go
- Passport + printed hotel booking and onward ticket.
- Alipay with verified card, tested on a small payment.
- eSIM activated or ready to activate.
- Arrival card confirmation.
- Hotel address in Chinese characters.
FAQ
Do I need cash in China?
Very little. Almost everything is paid by QR code. Carry a few hundred yuan as a back-up for places where foreign-linked payments fail.
Related briefings
Sources
Rules change often. If something here no longer matches the official source, the official source wins — and please tell us at [email protected].
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