Just got back from 3 weeks in China, here's the stuff I wish someone told me before I went

City: Beijing, China

Travel style: Cultural

I have just got back from China about a week ago. 3 weeks, mostly Beijing and Shanghai with a few days in Chengdu. Figured I'd dump everything I learned the hard way while it's still fresh. **Paying for stuff** It's basically all QR codes. Like, even the grandma selling fruit on the street has a QR code taped to her cart. I set up Alipay before the trip and linked my Visa. Worked in maybe 90% of places. Restaurants, convenience stores, metro, vending machines. WeChat Pay was a bit more annoying to set up but worth doing because a few smaller spots only took WeChat. I kept about ¥500 cash on me just in case. Used it maybe 3 or 4 times the whole trip. Once was because my phone decided to freeze right when I was trying to pay at a noodle shop, and the guy behind me was already sighing. Cash saved me from that. Bank of China ATMs worked fine with my Visa. Didn't try others. Set up Alipay and WeChat Pay before you fly. Seriously. You don't want to be standing in the arrivals hall at PVG trying to verify your phone number with no signal. **Internet** I went with an eSIM from trip.com. WhatsApp, Google Maps, Instagram, Gmail all worked without a VPN for me. Might depend on the plan or the city though, I don't know, just telling you what happened in my case. If you go with a regular Chinese SIM (saw some at the airport for around ¥100/30 days), install your VPN before you land. You probably can't download one once you're on a Chinese network. **Getting around** Metros were honestly great. Enough English signs in Beijing and Shanghai that I never really got lost. Chengdu was a little trickier but still manageable. Didi is basically Chinese Uber. Linked it through Alipay, typed in where I wanted to go, car showed up. Didn't need to speak Chinese. Probably used it 20+ times with zero issues. For airport taxis, just use the official queue outside. Ignore anyone who approaches you inside the terminal. I made that mistake in Beijing, didn't get scammed but definitely overpaid. One thing that saved me multiple times: screenshot your hotel address in Chinese characters. Not the English name. I showed a taxi driver "Grand Hyatt Beijing" and he just stared at me. Showed him北京东方君悦大酒店and we were moving in 5 seconds. High-speed trains are incredible. Beijing to Shanghai in about 4.5 hours, smoother than most flights honestly. I booked everything on [Trip.com](http://Trip.com) because I wanted English and didn't feel like creating yet another Chinese app account. **Food** OK so this was actually the most stressful part of the trip, which I did not expect. A lot of restaurants, not just fancy ones, like random neighborhood places, have switched to QR code menus. You scan, you get a menu in Chinese, you order from your phone. Google Translate camera mode kind of works but it kept translating things into nonsense. I spent like 10 minutes in a Chengdu restaurant trying to figure out if something had peanuts in it (I'm mildly allergic) and eventually just gave up and pointed at what the table next to me was eating. Not my proudest moment. The places right next to major tourist spots were almost always meh. The restaurants within eyeshot of the Forbidden City entrance were overpriced and bland. Walk 10 minutes in any direction and the food got way better and cheaper. Oh and the tea house scam, yeah it's still a thing. Two very friendly college-age girls came up to me near the Temple of Heaven, great English, wanted to "practice conversation" and then "show me a traditional tea ceremony." I'd read about it beforehand so I just said no thanks. But they were convincing, I get how people fall for it. **Other stuff** Download offline maps before you go. GPS worked for me even when data was spotty. Book Forbidden City tickets in advance because it sells out. Get WeChat set up before the trip, you'll need it at some point. Bring a portable charger. Your phone is your wallet, your map, your translator, your taxi, your train ticket, your restaurant menu. If it dies you're kinda screwed. I also kept a note on my phone with emergency numbers, my hotel address in Chinese, my passport number, and my embassy info. Never needed it but felt better having it. **The thing nobody warns you about** Everyone talks about the Great Firewall and payment apps, which fair enough, those are important. But nobody warned me how mentally tiring it is to do everything through your phone in a language you can't read. By day 3 I had like 15 screenshots of different things I might need, I was switching between 4 apps constantly, and I was spending real energy on stuff that should be simple, like ordering lunch or figuring out how to say "no spice" to a waiter. Not a dealbreaker at all. China is amazing and I'd go back maybe soon. Just saying, budget some mental energy for the logistics, especially the first few days. It gets easier once you figure out your own system. Anyone who's been recently, what caught you off guard? I feel like everyone has a different "wait nobody mentioned that" moment.

Tags: r/chinatravel