Staying connected in China Voyage Tips and guide

China presents a unique digital situation for travellers. On one hand, China is one of the most connected countries in the world: people are highly digitally literate, mobile payments are nearly universal, and internet access is widespread. On the other hand, the Great Firewall of China blocks many popular foreign websites and services, including Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, Google, WhatsApp, Telegram, Wikipedia, and even our dear Wikivoyage. Moreover, foreign credit cards are rarely accepted. An unprepared traveller may arrive in China unable to use familiar apps or websites, pay easily for goods and services, or contact friends and family back home.

Fortunately, there are ways around these problems. With preparation before arrival, and a few steps after you arrive in China, you can stay connected, access many of your usual websites and apps, keep in touch with people abroad, and use China’s mobile payment systems. This guide explains how to prepare before travelling and what to do once you arrive.

	Note: This guide is about how to stay connected to the outside world while travelling in China. It is not a guide to maintaining privacy or data security in China. If you handle sensitive information, research appropriate security precautions before travelling.

China blocks access to many foreign websites and services through the Great Firewall of China. The Great Firewall normally works by inspecting Internet traffic going between China and the outside world, then blocking connections to banned websites and services. A virtual private network (VPN) routes your Internet connection through a server somewhere else. Instead of connecting directly from China to a blocked site, your phone or computer first makes an encrypted connection to a VPN server. Because that connection is encrypted, the Great Firewall should not be able to see that you are trying to reach a blocked site; it sees only the connection to the VPN server. The VPN server then connects to the blocked site for you and sends the data back through the encrypted connection.

In China, a VPN may let you access sites and apps that are otherwise blocked. However, not all VPNs work reliably in China. The Great Firewall actively detects and disrupts many VPN connections, and performance can vary by provider, server, device, network, city, and even the time of day.

Using VPNs and other tools is common in practice, including among Chinese residents. China regulates VPN services, and companies operating VPNs inside China generally need government approval. Unauthorized VPN services have been targeted by the authorities, but ordinary tourists are rarely the target of enforcement. That said, you should be discreet. Do not use a VPN or other circumvention tool for political activism or anything that could attract official attention. The practical risk for normal tourist use is very low, but it is not zero.

China’s consumer economy relies almost entirely on mobile payments, and the normal way to pay for almost anything is by scanning a QR code with your phone. The two dominant payment platforms are Alipay and WeChat Pay. Alipay is widely used for payments, while WeChat Pay is built into WeChat, China’s dominant messaging app. Almost every merchant in China will have an Alipay terminal or QR code and a WeChat Pay QR code for you to scan and pay. You can link an overseas card to Alipay or WeChat Pay, though reliability varies widely by card.

Foreign cards can be used with Alipay and WeChat Pay, but not every card works, regardless of whether they are on supposedly supported networks such as Visa or Mastercard. You should bring more than one card to China and from different issuers. Travel-oriented debit cards, such as Wise or Revolut work better than mainstream cards. Don't assume your card will work. If UnionPay credit or debit cards are available in your country, consider applying for them, as these are usually targeted specifically at people who travel to China regularly.

Many Chinese services are accessed through mini-programs inside larger apps rather than through websites or standalone apps. The most important hosts are WeChat and Alipay. A mini-program opens inside the main app and can more-or-less do all the things a regular phone app can do. Some businesses require that you use a mini-program to interact with them.

Many tourist attractions have their own mini-programs – these are extremely useful for making tourist-site reservations (where available). Some services that have standalone apps actually work better with their mini-programs instead. For example, DiDi – China's Uber – is often easier for foreign travellers to use through Alipay, because your payment is integrated and the standalone app (the China version, which you must use in China) can be quite persnickety about foreign cards.

Mini-programs are far easier to find by searching in Chinese characters. Copy the Chinese name of thing you're interested in into the WeChat or Alipay search box, or scan the QR code posted at a site's entrance. When searching by name, particularly for tourist attractions, beware of mini-programs with similar names that are in fact unofficial services trying to sell you tours, etc.

Both WeChat and Alipay include built-in translation features, though coverage is rough. Text in menus and customer-service chats may translate reasonably well, while pop-up notices and error messages may not. The Alipay translation option usually floats above the app and is easily tappable, while the WeChat translation is available through a menu at the top-right.

Digital maps function differently in China compared to the rest of the world. China uses its own coordinate system, so foreign maps show almost everything in a bizarre offset from where they really are. This "shifted map" problem applies to Google Maps and most OpenStreetMap-based apps, so you'll need to use a Chinese map app instead. Google Maps is useless in China and should not be used. Apple Maps is occasionally recommended on web forums, but given that it offers little more than Google other than an accurate coordinate system, it is mostly useless as well.

The main local options are Amap (also called Gaode Maps) and Baidu Maps. Both have far better local data than Google Maps or Apple Maps, including public transport, restaurants, shops, hotels, attractions, road closures, and walking routes. Amap is usually the most useful choice for travellers because it offers an English interface and English map labels.

That said, even with Amap, Chinese characters are important. Many places are easier (or even only possible) to find by searching for their Chinese names. Copy Chinese names from Wikivoyage, booking confirmations, attraction websites, etc., when searching.

Much commerce in China takes place over social media, and influencers are often contracted by businesses to sell their products during livestreams. Unfortunately, foreign social media apps are blocked in China, which has its own parallel social media ecosystem instead. Even TikTok runs separate servers for its international and Chinese domestic versions, and content on one is not available on the other.

If you can understand Chinese, social media is a good way to search for recommendations in the area you are visiting. The most popular social media platforms are Douyin (the Chinese domestic version of TikTok) and Xiaohongshu (also called Renote in English). Chinese social media sites require identity verification in order for you to register for an account, but in most cases, foreigners can register using their passport.

Prepare your phone, payments, and Internet access before arrival. Do not assume you can fix everything after you land: VPN websites may be blocked, app downloads may fail, cards may need verification, and some accounts may require SMS codes sent to an existing phone number.

Bring more than one credit or debit card, preferably from different issuers. A foreign Visa or Mastercard may work normally elsewhere in the world, but still fail when linked to Alipay or WeChat Pay. Travel-oriented debit cards, such as Wise or Revolut, typically work better than mainstream cards.

Know your card PINs, make sure your cards are enabled for overseas and online payments, and bring enough cash or ATM access to cover a few days if mobile payments fail. Cash is still legal tender in China, but it is much less convenient than mobile payment.

Install Alipay and WeChat before travelling to China. Link at least one foreign card to each app, complete any identity verification requested, and make sure you can receive SMS codes on the phone number attached to your accounts. Set up both apps rather than relying on only one. Alipay is often easier to use for everyday payments, but WeChat mini-programs (which use WeChat Pay) are usually preferred for reserving tickets at tourist attractions. If your SMS phone number doesn't work in China, then you should get a Chinese phone number once you arrive and then switch both apps to that.

The Beijinger has an illustrated guide to setting up Alipay and WeChat Pay.

Set up any VPN before arriving in China. VPN websites and downloads will almost certainly be blocked once you are inside the country. Be sure to test your VPN on all your devices before you arrive! If you are a propeller-hat you may have other workarounds, but this guide covers only VPNs.

Not all VPNs work reliably in China. Performance changes frequently, and a VPN that works on one network, device, server, or day may fail on another. Paid VPNs are generally more plausible than free VPNs, but no provider should be treated as guaranteed. Post-secondary institutions often provide VPN to their staff and students for free, as do many other big institutions and companies for their employees. As of 2026, travellers report success with Mullvad and Astrill, while Proton VPN rarely works and NordVPN does not work at all.

Have more than one option. A sensible setup is one primary VPN, one backup VPN, and a roaming SIM or travel eSIM that can access blocked sites without using mainland Chinese internet routing. In theory, you may not need a VPN if you can tether your computer to your phone’s roaming connection. However, roaming plans often have data limits, which can make regular computer use expensive or impractical.

A working mobile data connection that accesses the Internet beyond the Great Firewall is one of the most useful things to have in China. There are two options:

• Roaming from your home carrier — usually the easiest option, and often allows access to blocked foreign websites and apps because the traffic is routed through your home carrier. It can be expensive, depending on your plan.
• A travel SIM or eSIM — often cheaper than home-carrier roaming and may also bypass the Great Firewall, depending on the provider and routing. As of 2026, this Trip.com eSIM is popular and works.

Make sure your phone is unlocked before travelling. If you plan to use an eSIM, check that your phone supports arbitrary eSIMs and that your model is not region-locked in a way that disables it.

Install the apps you are likely to need before arriving. App stores, login pages, and verification systems can be harder to use in China.

Useful apps include:

• Alipay — payments, DiDi ride-hailing, transport, translation, mini-programs, and many travel services
• WeChat — messaging, WeChat Pay, mini-programs, and many local services
• Amap — the most useful map app for most foreign travellers in China. When you set up Amap and it asks for your country, be sure to select a country for which you will have SMS-message access in China! If you are planning to get a Chinese phone number, then you can say your country is China and bind your phone number later. If you don't select a country for which you have SMS access in China, the app will still work, but you will not be able to bind your phone number to sync to the desktop version of the app, and if you delete the app your saved places will be lost. You cannot change your country after you install the app, for only-China-would-know reasons.
• MetroMan China – if you know the names of the metro stations, can provide more efficient metro directions than Amap.
• Trip.com — as as of 2026, your best booking resource for hotels, trains, flights, and some attraction tickets (although WeChat mini-apps can be cheaper for attractions).
• A translation app with offline Chinese support. Since this guide recommends using a roaming SIM or travel eSIM, Google Translate should work fine, but download offline Chinese anyway. You might download Baidu Translate just in case. Pleco is a useful Chinese/English dictionary, but not a fully-fledged translation app.
• Your VPN or proxy apps.
• Airline, hotel, banking, and password-manager apps you may need during the trip.

You can install the Mainland China version of DiDi for ride-hailing, but using DiDi through the Alipay or WeChat mini-program is usually easier, as the standalone app has trouble with foreign payment methods.

For weather, Weather China, China's official weather service, is usually more accurate than foreign services, but as of 2026 it does not have an app and must be accessed through the website.

Set up a Chinese (Simplified) keyboard on your phone before travelling. Even if you don't speak Chinese, it can be useful when you hand your phone to a Chinese speaker for help.

The most useful input methods are usually Pinyin and handwriting. Pinyin is the standard way mainland Chinese people type Chinese characters using the Latin alphabet, so it is useful when someone else is entering Chinese text for you. On iPhone, the Chinese (Simplified) Pinyin keyboard offers layout options such as QWERTY, AZERTY, and 10 Key; QWERTY is usually the safest choice for travellers, since it matches the normal Latin keyboard layout. Android phones have similar options.

Also add Chinese (Simplified) Handwriting if available. Handwriting input lets someone draw characters directly on the screen, which can help with signs, names, addresses, and cases where copying text is not possible. Many Chinese like to use this, and you may find yourself using this as well (it can be fun).

Choose Simplified Chinese rather than Traditional Chinese. Mainland China uses simplified characters, while Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Macau mostly use traditional characters.

Save important information before arrival, preferably both in English and Chinese. This includes hotel names and addresses, airport and train station names, attraction names, booking confirmations, emergency contacts, and the Chinese names of places you plan to visit. Chinese-character names are often needed for maps, taxi destinations, mini-program searches, restaurant lookup, and asking for help.

For example, for food emergencies, save the word for noodles 面条 so you can quickly search in Amap. 馄饨 (wontons) and 饺子 (dumplings) might also come in handy. Searching for these in Chinese will give you far more results than searching in English.

If your phone supports dual SIMs (for example, one physical SIM and multiple eSIMs), consider getting a mainland Chinese SIM in addition to your roaming SIM or travel eSIM. A Chinese phone number is extremely useful because many Chinese services are tied to SMS verification, including food delivery, mini-programs, and ticket reservations – foreign phone numbers are rarely recognized regardless of whether you are able to receive SMS messages in China. Set mobile data to the roaming SIM or travel eSIM, and set calls and text messages to the Chinese SIM.

Buying a Chinese SIM requires passport registration. Airport kiosks for China Mobile, China Unicom, or China Telecom are usually the easiest places, but prices may be higher. For better prices, wait until you can go to an official store; in major cities, staff should be able to set you up quickly. There are also many unofficial mobile service shops, which will not be able to register a SIM for a foreigner, but the staff should happily point you to an official location.

Test Alipay and WeChat Pay before you need them for anything urgent. A hotel front desk is a good place to try a payment. If a payment fails, try another linked card or the other payment app. Failures can be caused by the card issuer, the app, identity verification, the merchant’s payment setup, or the type of transaction. It is much easier to troubleshoot this before you are in a rush.

Withdraw a small amount of cash from an ATM as backup. Cash is still legal tender, but it is less convenient than mobile payment, and some merchants may have trouble making change.

Set up local public-transport QR codes in WeChat or Alipay. Instead of physical cards, most Chinese cities have metro and bus cards inside WeChat or Alipay, which is extremely convenient. (Alipay tends to be more straightforward and easier to use.) Activating them may require passport verification (you can do this on your phone), but you should only have to do it once, even though you will need to activate a new transport card in each city. Test the transport code before rush hour or before making a timed connection! Some stations also sell paper tickets or accept cash, but QR-code payment is far easier once set up.

Many museums, scenic areas, restaurants, and local services use WeChat mini-programs for tickets and reservations. You can reserve in advance usually if you have a Chinese phone number from your Chinese SIM – this may save you a lot of time waiting in line. In WeChat, pull down from the main chat screen to open the mini-program area; this shows recently used mini-programs and a search box. You can also find mini-programs by scanning QR codes, searching WeChat, or following links from an organization’s official WeChat account. Search using Chinese characters whenever possible. English searches often fail or return unofficial results. Copy the Chinese name of the place you want to visit and paste it into the search box. Once you find the right mini-program, it should be saved in your recent mini-programs so you don't have to search for it again. Don't worry if you can't get this working; almost all tourist attractions are lenient towards foreigners, and you can just show up, show your passport and buy a ticket, no problem.

China uses real-name registration for many tickets and reservations. Chinese citizens usually use their national ID cards for this; Hong Kong and Macau citizens use their Home Return Permit, Taiwanese citizens use their Taiwan Compatriot Pass, and foreign travellers use their passports. This applies to train tickets, many museums and tourist attractions, some ferry or long-distance bus tickets, and many reservations made through WeChat or Alipay mini-programs. You’ll probably need to carry your passport more often in China than you do in other countries.

When booking, enter your name and passport number carefully – make sure what you enter matches your passport exactly. At the site or station, show your passport and you'll either collect a ticket or they'll just wave you on your way, no physical ticket needed. At train stations, you'll likely need to have your ticket inspected manually, as the automated gates are usually only set up to scan Chinese ID cards. There will be a manual inspection lane or window somewhere; look for a uniformed person amongst the gates.

Many sit-down restaurants use digital ordering, where you scan a QR code using WeChat, and a page will pop up, allowing you to place your order and pay. Unfortunately, the menu is almost always in Chinese only. Some restaurants can provide you with physical menus and you can usually also place your order manually with the waitstaff (though it is highly unlikely that you will meet an English-speaking waiter). Nevertheless, restaurants often have pictures of their most popular dishes either in their menus or on a billboard somewhere inside, so you can just point to what you want, or take a photo of the dish with your phone and show the staff.

Some chain-restaurants require (or practically require) that you use either a phone app or an Alipay/WeChat mini-program to order food. For example, KFC, ubiquitous in China, is nearly impossible to order without using either their phone app or a mini-program. McDonald's, on the other hand, provides convenient digital kiosks at their restaurants with menus in English, so you don't need to bother with your phone.