Visit China
The State Council of the People's Republic of China
Accessed Oct 25, 2026
Sources & checks
Check the sources behind our guides.
See where our China travel information comes from, when it was checked and what still needs review. Check the original sources before making time-sensitive travel decisions.
Sources
Open source ↗
A Guide to Working and Living in China as Business Expatriates (2025 Edition)
The State Council of the People's Republic of China
Accessed Oct 25, 2026 · Published Apr 9, 2025
Guide to Payment Services in China
The State Council of the People's Republic of China
Accessed Aug 26, 2026 · Published Aug 22, 2024
National Immigration Administration
National Immigration Administration of China
Accessed Oct 25, 2026
Visa-Free Transit Policies
National Immigration Administration of China
Accessed Oct 25, 2026 · Published Aug 20, 2026
Kyrgyzstan and Vietnam added to the 240-hour visa-free transit policy
National Immigration Administration of China
Accessed Oct 25, 2026 · Published Aug 20, 2026
Visa-free transit policies — current Chinese policy and nationality list
National Immigration Administration of China
Accessed Oct 25, 2026 · Published Aug 20, 2026
NIA 10 new measures — transit conditions and stay calculation
National Immigration Administration of China
Accessed Oct 25, 2026 · Published Nov 3, 2025
Eligible ports and permitted stay areas for 240-hour visa-free transit — English table
National Immigration Administration of China
Accessed Oct 25, 2026
Eligible ports and permitted stay areas for 240-hour visa-free transit — Chinese table
National Immigration Administration of China
Accessed Oct 25, 2026
12306 China Railway
China State Railway Group Co., Ltd.
Accessed Aug 27, 2026
12306 China Railway — Travel Guide and FAQ
China State Railway Group Co., Ltd.
Accessed Oct 25, 2026
Set up eSIM on iPhone
Apple
Accessed Aug 26, 2026 · Published Mar 10, 2026
Lost Passport — official contact guidance
National Immigration Administration of China
Accessed Sep 27, 2026 · Published Mar 27, 2021
City Sightseeing Double-Decker Bus
Shanghai Municipal Administration of Culture and Tourism
Accessed Oct 25, 2026
都市观光双层巴士 — 上海官方旅游网站
Shanghai Municipal Administration of Culture and Tourism
Accessed Oct 25, 2026
全国推广网上办理外国人旅馆以外住宿登记的公告
National Immigration Administration of China
Accessed Oct 25, 2026
网上办理外国人旅馆以外住宿登记政策解读
National Immigration Administration of China
Accessed Oct 25, 2026
留宿人如何代为办理住宿登记？
National Immigration Administration of China
Accessed Oct 25, 2026
如何查看和复用住宿登记记录？
National Immigration Administration of China
Accessed Oct 25, 2026
网上办理住宿登记后，有哪些注意事项？
National Immigration Administration of China
Accessed Oct 25, 2026
External pages can change after our access date. Open the original record before relying on time-sensitive entry, transport or payment instructions.
Information checks
See what’s checked and what’s pending.
Entry eligibility and document requirements can change by nationality, route and date; confirm them on official immigration and government sites before departure.
HIGH RISK · VERIFIED · Checked Oct 25, 2026 · Review by Nov 1, 2026
NIA lists 57 eligible countries from August 20, 2026, including the newly added Kyrgyzstan and Vietnam; nationality alone does not establish eligibility for 240-hour visa-free transit.
HIGH RISK · VERIFIED · Checked Oct 25, 2026 · Review by Nov 1, 2026
NIA identifies 65 designated entry ports across 24 provincial-level regions for 240-hour visa-free transit; an open international port is not automatically a designated transit entry port.
HIGH RISK · VERIFIED · Checked Oct 25, 2026 · Review by Nov 1, 2026
NIA's transit table permits cross-province visits within the designated stay areas. Some regions permit only listed cities, rather than the whole province.
HIGH RISK · VERIFIED · Checked Oct 25, 2026 · Review by Nov 1, 2026
NIA limits the visa-free stay to 240 hours and calculates it from 00:00 on the day after entry under the temporary-entry formalities.
HIGH RISK · VERIFIED · Checked Oct 25, 2026 · Review by Nov 1, 2026
NIA requires an ordinary passport, at least three months' travel-document validity, eligibility to enter the third country or region, and confirmed onward travel within the allowed period. Temporary entry requires immigration inspection and formalities.
HIGH RISK · VERIFIED · Checked Oct 25, 2026 · Review by Nov 1, 2026
China's official payment guide lists bank cards, mobile payment, cash, bank accounts and e-CNY as basic payment methods.
MEDIUM RISK · VERIFIED · Checked Aug 26, 2026 · Review by Nov 26, 2026
Available transport and payment methods vary by city, operator and station; check on-site signage or the operator's official channel.
HIGH RISK · VERIFIED · Checked Oct 25, 2026 · Review by Nov 1, 2026
China Railway provides an official English-language 12306 passenger service website.
LOW RISK · VERIFIED · Checked Aug 27, 2026 · Review by Feb 27, 2027
Apple documents carrier activation, QR code, carrier link, carrier app and manual entry as possible eSIM activation methods on supported iPhones; provider support and device compatibility still need to be checked.
LOW RISK · VERIFIED · Checked Aug 26, 2026 · Review by Feb 26, 2027
Call 110 for police help involving personal assault or property crime.
MEDIUM RISK · VERIFIED · Checked Aug 26, 2026 · Review by Feb 26, 2027
Call 119 for fire emergencies.
MEDIUM RISK · VERIFIED · Checked Aug 26, 2026 · Review by Feb 26, 2027
Call 120 for first aid or an ambulance.
MEDIUM RISK · VERIFIED · Checked Aug 26, 2026 · Review by Feb 26, 2027
Call 12367 for National Immigration Administration service information.
MEDIUM RISK · VERIFIED · Checked Aug 26, 2026 · Review by Feb 26, 2027
The official mobile-payment guide describes app registration and card linking, refers linking failures to the payment provider or card issuer, and says supported cards, fees and limits depend on the payment product. Setup does not establish that an individual merchant payment will succeed.
MEDIUM RISK · VERIFIED · Checked Sep 27, 2026 · Review by Oct 27, 2026
Official references direct passport-loss enquiries to local police, public-security exit-entry offices and the traveller's embassy or consulate. This contact guidance does not establish replacement-document requirements or permission for onward travel.
MEDIUM RISK · VERIFIED · Checked Sep 27, 2026 · Review by Oct 27, 2026
The current official Shanghai tourism listing describes Tourist Lines 1, 2 and 10 as routes connecting classic Puxi landmarks, Puxi and Pudong architecture, and the Bund with modern Pudong landmarks.
MEDIUM RISK · VERIFIED · Checked Oct 4, 2026 · Review by Nov 4, 2026
Shanghai's official Chinese listing gives Tourist Line 1 as 09:00–19:00, Line 2 as 09:00–20:30 and Line 10 as 10:00–20:30. Its passenger notes say Line 10 runs Tuesday to Sunday and is out of service on Monday. The English route descriptions differ by one minute; confirm the current schedule with the operator.
HIGH RISK · VERIFIED · Checked Oct 25, 2026 · Review by Nov 1, 2026
The official listing currently shows a RMB 60 one-day ticket and a RMB 80 two-day ticket.
HIGH RISK · VERIFIED · Checked Oct 25, 2026 · Review by Nov 1, 2026
The passenger notes say that some routes offer night service between 16:30 and 20:30 and that night stops and guidance can differ from daytime service.
HIGH RISK · VERIFIED · Checked Oct 25, 2026 · Review by Nov 1, 2026
The current listing names the City Sightseeing WeChat Mini Program, Meituan, Ctrip, Douyin, Tongcheng and Klook as online sales channels and says that screenshots or photos are not valid QR riding vouchers.
HIGH RISK · VERIFIED · Checked Oct 25, 2026 · Review by Nov 1, 2026
自 2026 年 9 月 21 日起，全国推广网上办理外国人旅馆以外住宿登记。
HIGH RISK · VERIFIED · Checked Oct 25, 2026 · Review by Nov 1, 2026
外国人在旅馆以外住所居住或住宿，应在入住后 24 小时内由本人或留宿人向居住地公安机关办理登记。
HIGH RISK · VERIFIED · Checked Oct 25, 2026 · Review by Nov 1, 2026
外国人在中国境内旅馆住宿，由旅馆按规定办理住宿登记并向所在地公安机关报送信息。
HIGH RISK · VERIFIED · Checked Oct 25, 2026 · Review by Nov 1, 2026
线上渠道包括国家移民管理局政务服务网站、移民局12367 App、微信小程序和支付宝小程序；在外国人服务的住宿登记模块注册认证后按提示办理。
HIGH RISK · VERIFIED · Checked Oct 25, 2026 · Review by Nov 1, 2026
官方政策解读要求首次由留宿人协助办理住宿登记；不能据线上渠道的存在承诺首次入住者可独立完成所有操作。
HIGH RISK · VERIFIED · Checked Oct 25, 2026 · Review by Nov 1, 2026
曾通过国家移民管理局平台办理住宿登记、需要在同一住所再次办理的住宿人，可以自行办理。
HIGH RISK · VERIFIED · Checked Oct 25, 2026 · Review by Nov 1, 2026
住在自有住所的住宿人可以自行办理；自有住所包括外国人本人或其配偶在中国境内所有的住所。
HIGH RISK · VERIFIED · Checked Oct 25, 2026 · Review by Nov 1, 2026
留宿人代办涉及住宿人证件资料页和详细地址；境外留宿人首次在当前地址代办时，指南另列产权或购房合同证明，配偶住所还需婚姻登记证书。材料要求按留宿人身份区分。
HIGH RISK · VERIFIED · Checked Oct 25, 2026 · Review by Nov 1, 2026
办理完成后，可通过登记记录查询查看住宿登记记录。
HIGH RISK · VERIFIED · Checked Oct 25, 2026 · Review by Nov 1, 2026
按照再次办理指南，住宿人在他人住所办理时，验证码会发送至留宿人预留手机号，完成自办仍可能需要留宿人配合。
HIGH RISK · VERIFIED · Checked Oct 25, 2026 · Review by Nov 1, 2026
通过该系统办理后无需打印记录；办理签证证件业务或接受检查时可出示电子记录，如需纸质住宿登记表可到记录所示属地派出所领取。
HIGH RISK · VERIFIED · Checked Oct 25, 2026 · Review by Nov 1, 2026
线下登记渠道保留，线上与现场办理具有同等效力；有疑问可咨询 12367，或向居住地公安机关出入境服务窗口、属地派出所寻求现场协助。
HIGH RISK · VERIFIED · Checked Oct 25, 2026 · Review by Nov 1, 2026
How we research
How we researched the information.
Online research alone does not confirm how a service works in person. The records below show how each check was made.
desk research
Reviewed the National Immigration Administration policy page. No traveler case, port decision or firsthand transit record is claimed.
Recorded Aug 26, 2026
desk research
Initial refresh: compared the 2026-08-20 NIA announcement and Chinese policy text with the older English overview; corrected the superseded nationality count. Read the conditions appendix and visually inspected the English port table. The Chinese table could not be inspected at that stage; the later table-crosscheck record resolves that access gap. No traveler case, carrier confirmation or human approval is claimed.
Recorded Aug 27, 2026
desk research
Follow-up: retrieved the Chinese port-table image and visually compared both language versions, including all 65 port rows, 24 regional groupings, city-limited areas, Guangdong's exit note and the cross-province footnote. No substantive policy difference was found; English port labels sometimes abbreviate the Chinese terminal names. This research record resolves the earlier source-access gap only and does not itself supply human approval. Individual eligibility and firsthand experience remain unconfirmed.
Recorded Aug 27, 2026
desk research
Reopened the current NIA nationality, port, stay-area, duration and document sources; both official port-table fingerprints remained unchanged. Reviewed the new Shigatse border-area permit suspension and found no impact on the linked general-entry or 12367 facts. The Owner separately approved the NO_FACT_CHANGE source decision and all six KEEP_UNCHANGED fact findings on 2026-08-30. This does not clear an individual itinerary or authorize publication.
Recorded Aug 30, 2026
desk research
Reviewed the State Council payment guide. A real non-mainland account, device and merchant payment test has not yet been recorded.
Recorded Aug 26, 2026
desk research
Reviewed device activation guidance only. Provider purchases, speed, coverage, latency and support have not been comparatively tested.
Recorded Aug 26, 2026
desk research
Reviewed the official English-language China Railway 12306 entry point and government visitor guidance. No complete station journey is claimed as tested.
Recorded Aug 26, 2026
desk research
Reopened the official 12306 homepage and FAQ plus the State Council train section. They support official booking channels, real-name passport ticketing, use of the original booking document for station and train checks, allowing time for station procedures, and current change/refund paths. No booking or station journey was performed.
Recorded Aug 27, 2026
desk research
Rechecked the official 12306 homepage and relevant FAQ sections immediately before the first publication, with the government guide's train section as supporting context. The approved preparation sequence remains supported. Exact fees and station deadlines are not generalized; firsthand booking, boarding and refund experience remains UNKNOWN.
Recorded Aug 27, 2026
desk research
Checked the current Official Shanghai China Travel Website sightseeing-bus listing and compared its route, ticket, night-service and QR-ticket notes with the photographed booklet supplied on October 4, 2026. The booklet is a visual source; its differing timetable blocks are not used as current public hours. No complete ride, booking or live vehicle-availability test is claimed.
Recorded Oct 4, 2026
desk research
Rechecked the official Chinese and English listings on October 16, 2026. The owner accepted explicit attribution of the Chinese hours, disclosure of the one-minute English discrepancy and Line 10's Tuesday–Sunday/Monday-closure clarification. Price, night-service and QR-ticket statements remain supported. No ride, booking, operator response or live availability is claimed.
Recorded Oct 16, 2026
desk research
Five official NIA source captures from 23 September 2026 support the approved knowledge version. The publisher confirmed this exact English content on 24 September 2026. Phone-number authentication, current app screens and completed traveler registrations have not been tested. Publication approval remains separate.
Recorded Sep 23, 2026