Guides

Written on the ground,
and dated.

Most China travel advice online was written by someone who hasn't been, and carries no date — which is why so much of it is now wrong. These pages say who wrote them, when they were last checked, and what was actually tested.

Dated
Every page carries the date it was last verified. If it's old, you'll know.
Attributed
Written by someone who lives here, or tested with the version number recorded.
No paid placement
Nothing on these pages is sponsored and no link earns a commission.

Cities 城市

Local knowledge rather than lists of sights — the handful of decisions that change how the first few days actually go.

Canton Tower at sunset over the Pearl River

Guangzhou · 广州

Guangzhou, if this is your first stop in China

The Cantonese city that shares a culture with Hong Kong — so you arrive with a reference point instead of none. Airport metro, when to come, and how a tea house actually works.

8 tips · Resident · Checked 21 Aug 2026
Chengdu 成都 Shenzhen 深圳 Beijing 北京 Shanghai 上海 Xi'an 西安

Five more cities in progress. We'd rather publish one city properly than six thinly.

Getting things to work 实测

Apps, payments and bookings — tested on a real device, with the version number and date recorded so you can judge how stale it is.

Nothing published here yet. First up: getting AMap into English without a Chinese phone number, binding a foreign card to Alipay, and booking trains on 12306 with a passport.

Something you'd want tested? Tell us.