Before you fly
Sort out three things before departure: a visa (check the current rule for your nationality, including the visa-free transit schemes), mobile payment, and a data plan that works in China. Alipay and WeChat Pay both accept foreign cards now, and linking a card takes ten minutes in the app — do it at home, on a connection you trust, rather than at a hotel desk after a long flight.
Google, Instagram, WhatsApp and most Western news sites are not reachable on Chinese networks. If you need them, arrange a roaming eSIM or a VPN before you arrive; installing one after you land is considerably harder.
Money and paying
China is close to cashless. Street vendors, taxi drivers and temple ticket offices all expect a QR code. Alipay and WeChat Pay are the two that matter, and both work for foreigners with a linked Visa or Mastercard, though small transactions under a few yuan sometimes fail on foreign cards. Carry a few hundred yuan in cash as a backup, and keep small notes.
Getting around
The high-speed rail network is the reason to travel by train rather than fly: city-centre to city-centre, 300 km/h, and reliable to the minute. Book with your passport number, collect or scan in with the same passport, and arrive 30–40 minutes before departure for security. Metro systems in the big cities are cheap, signed in English and usually the fastest way across town.
Taxis are metered, but drivers rarely speak English — have your destination written in Chinese. DiDi, the local ride-hailing app, has an English interface and avoids the language problem entirely.
Everyday habits
Your passport is your ticket: hotels, train stations, museums and many attractions check it, and some sell tickets only against a passport number. Carry it, not a photocopy.
Tap water is not drinkable; hotels provide bottled water and kettles. Restaurants bring tea or hot water rather than cold drinks, and ice is uncommon outside big cities. Tipping is not expected and can cause confusion.
Queues are looser than you may be used to, and personal space at popular sites is smaller. It is not rudeness — it is simply a different norm, and matching it makes the day easier.
Language and food
Outside hotels and major attractions, English is limited. A translation app with camera input (for menus) and a few phrases go a long way. For food, the most reliable approach is a photo menu or a picture of the dish you want; ordering by pointing works everywhere.
If you have dietary restrictions, carry a written card in Chinese. "No meat", "no shellfish" and "not spicy" are all phrases worth having on paper, since the mildly spicy option in Sichuan and Hunan still means spicy.