browseexplore china
explore china
by vibe.
pick a door.
they all lead somewhere good.
useful
guides.
- visa-free chinathe 30-day list + 240-hour transit
- alipay & wechat paysetup, payments, can foreigners use it?
- esim & vpnwhat actually works behind the firewall
- bullet trains12306 app, seat classes, step by step
- the appsmaps, didi, translate, menus
- when to goseasons + the holiday weeks to dodge
- budgetreal daily costs, in usd
- the great wallmutianyu vs badaling vs the wild ones
- what to eatevery city, and how to order it
cities.
all city guides →
shanghai 上海
global city, easy entry, and a little bit of everything.beijing 北京
palaces, hutongs, roast duck, and the great wall an hour away.chengdu 成都
pandas, hotpot, teahouses, and absolutely zero rush.chongqing 重庆
vertical city, spicy food, and the most insane urban layout in china.xi’an 西安
terracotta warriors, a bikeable city wall, and the best food street.guilin & yangshuo 桂林 · 阳朔
karst peaks, bamboo rafts, and bike rides through a painting.go deeperhistory, neighborhoods,
history, neighborhoods,
and a lot of noodles.
the stuff you tap, drag
and get lost in.
what works in china
50 apps: works, blocked, or swap itvisa-free checker
your passport → yes, no, or transitfestivals through the year
ten festivals, one lunar loopbanquet etiquette
a round table is a map of who's whohow to read a temple
si, guan or miao? read the roofwhat china believes
10% religious, 75% at the gravesthe three teachings
buddha, laozi, confucius: one vennxi'an through the dynasties
zhou → qin → han → tang → mingthe central axis
7.8 km, 700 years, one straight linedumpling family tree
8 dumplings, 1 very big familythe noodle atlas
8 noodles, 8 cities, one mapchongqing neighborhoods
the 8d city, one layer at a timechengdu neighborhoods
five chengdus, one slow citybeijing neighborhoods
an 800-year-old grid, five moodsshanghai neighborhoods
five cities wearing one nameweather by month
6 cities × 12 months, one chartbeijing vs shanghai
palaces vs skyline, side by sidechengdu vs chongqing
calm pandas vs cyberpunk cliffsfrom the roadstories, not
stories, not
brochures.
stuff that actually happened.
mistakes included. — b
alipay froze on me
a checkout meltdown + the actual fixesby brandon · 8 min reada teahouse afternoon
one bamboo chair, three hours, zero plansby brandon · 8 min reada week of hotpot
7 days, 7 pots, 1 humbled stomachby brandon · 8 min readmy first 48 hours
pudong, panic, and one very long gateby brandon · 8 min readthe sleeper train
beijing west → xi'an, lights out at 10by brandon · 8 min readmy carry-on list
three weeks, one bag, zero regrets*by brandon · 8 min readitineraries
realistic
itineraries,
not fantasies.
- beijing days 1–3forbidden city, great wall, hutongs
- xi’an days 4–5warriors, city wall, muslim quarter
- shanghai days 6–7the bund, french concession
- the full day-by-day, with train times
- beijing days 1–3forbidden city, great wall, hutongs
- xi’an days 4–5terracotta warriors, city wall bike ride
- chengdu or chongqing days 6–7pandas + hotpot, or neon cyberpunk hillsides
- shanghai days 8–10the bund, french concession, a water town
- the full day-by-day, with train times
- beijing days 1–4add the summer palace + a 2nd wall section
- xi’an days 5–6warriors, city wall, muslim quarter
- chengdu days 7–8pandas, teahouses, hotpot
- chongqing day 9the 8d city at night
- guilin & yangshuo days 10–11li river, karst peaks, bamboo rafts
- shanghai days 12–14plus a hangzhou or suzhou day trip
- the full day-by-day, with train times
good trains,better views.the bullet train guide →
the kit
what we actually use.
no sponsored fluff.
we’d tell our friends this.
via airaloget a china esim before you flyroaming esims route through hong kong, so google, insta and maps just… work. no vpn babysitting.grab the china esim
via trip.combook bullet trains in englishtrip.com plugs into the official 12306 system, takes foreign cards, and you just tap your passport at the gate.search train tickets
via trip.comhotels that accept foreignersnot every chinese hotel is licensed for foreign guests. trip.com listings are the least likely to surprise you at check-in.find a hotel
via safetywingtravel insurancecheap, monthly, covers you abroad. hospitals in china want payment upfront — be covered.get covered
affiliate links — we earn a little if you book, you pay the same. how this works.
the dispatchchina rules
china rules
change monthly.
visa updates, new train routes, the app that broke this week. one email, every other friday. no spam, no cap.
we’ll text you.
(email. we’ll email you.)