just go to china 来 · 入境指南

Probably not. China runs a 30-day unilateral visa-free policy for ordinary passport holders from roughly 45+ countries, currently valid through 31 December 2026. You just show up, show your passport, get stamped in, and can stay up to 30 days. No application, no paperwork, no fee.

The list includes the Netherlands, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Belgium, Austria, and most of the EU, plus the UK (added Feb 2026), Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, South Korea and more. Allowed purposes: tourism, business, visiting people, transit.

China also has a 240-hour (10-day) visa-free transit scheme for ~55 countries. You enter and leave through approved ports and must hold a confirmed onward ticket to a third country or region within 10 days. Guangdong — including Shenzhen, Guangzhou and Zhuhai — was added in November 2025.

Useful trick: Hong Kong and Macau can count as that "third region." So a route like Home → Shenzhen → Macau (or Hong Kong) qualifies, as long as your entry and exit points differ.

If neither policy covers you, apply for a tourist L visa at a Chinese consulate before you travel.

• Passport valid 6+ months (the transit policy technically needs 3+, but use 6 as your rule).
• Your hotel address for the arrival card.
• A return or onward ticket — required for transit, sometimes asked for otherwise.

You'll fill in a short arrival card and may use the fingerprint kiosks. It's quick.

If you have a direct international flight into Shenzhen Bao'an (SZX), take it. It's the cleanest option: you land in the city, clear Chinese immigration once, and you're done.

But most origins don't have a direct SZX flight. In that case Hong Kong (HKG) is usually the better move — far more long-haul routes, often cheaper, and the cross-border hop into Shenzhen is easy. Guangzhou (CAN) is a solid third option with good international coverage.

• High-speed rail from Hong Kong West Kowloon to Futian or Shenzhen North — about 15–25 minutes. (West Kowloon is also a 240-hour transit entry port.)
• MTR + land crossing at Futian/Lok Ma Chau, Lo Wu, or Huanggang. Huanggang runs 24 hours.
• Ferry from HK airport straight to Shekou — handy if you're not leaving the airport in HK.

At every option you formally exit Hong Kong and enter mainland China, so your visa-free entry is processed at that crossing — bring your passport and don't lose it in your bag.

Metro Line 11 runs from the airport into town. Or order a Didi from the app (see §4 / §6). Official taxi ranks are fine too; ignore anyone touting rides inside the terminal.

Not on a Chinese network by default. The Great Firewall blocks Google (incl. Gmail and Google Maps), WhatsApp, Instagram, Facebook, X, YouTube and most Western apps. You have two ways around it.

Buy a travel eSIM (Airalo, Holafly, Saily and similar) before you fly and install it. These route your data through a server outside mainland China, so Google, WhatsApp and maps just work — no VPN, no fiddling. For a short trip this is the simplest path by a mile.

Honestly, skip it. A local China Mobile/Unicom SIM looks cheaper, but it's a hassle out of all proportion to the saving. They're fiddly to buy (passport registration, often a shop visit), awkward to cancel, and the number quietly dies unless you keep topping it up with credit between visits — so it's never simply ready the next time you fly in. And its data still sits inside the firewall, so you'd need a VPN on top. A roaming eSIM sidesteps all of it.

The one thing a Chinese number unlocks is the flaky stuff like shared-bike verification — but for most visitors that isn't worth the ongoing admin. Metro and Didi cover you.

Only if you're on hotel wifi or a Chinese network (rather than a roaming eSIM) and want Western apps. Install and test it before you fly — VPN provider websites are themselves blocked inside China, so you can't download one after you land. Use a reputable paid VPN; free ones are unreliable here. For tourists this sits in a tolerated grey area in practice.

You can, but hotel wifi is behind the same firewall — Western sites are still blocked unless you're running a VPN. The eSIM is what saves you here.

• Alipay (支付宝) — your main payment app. The international version is built for visitors and bundles Didi, the metro QR, train/hotel booking and translation inside it. Set this up first.
• WeChat (微信) — messaging + payments + the "mini-programs" that run half the country. Some services exist only inside WeChat, so keep it as a backup payment method and to actually talk to people.
• Trip.com — flights, domestic trains and hotels, all in English. The cleanest way to book China rail and hotels.
• Didi — ride-hailing (China's Uber). You can also run it as a mini-program inside Alipay, which works well for foreigners.
• Maps — Apple Maps works reasonably. Google Maps is unreliable here. Locals use Amap (高德) or Baidu Maps; Amap has some English.

China is mobile-first to a degree that surprises people. You scan a QR code with Alipay or WeChat for almost everything — restaurants, shops, taxis, street stalls, vending machines. Cash still works but you'll rarely need it. Carry maybe ¥500–1,000 as a backup.

Yes — link a Visa or Mastercard to Alipay and/or WeChat Pay and verify with a passport scan in the app. Do this at home and test a small payment before you fly. Small everyday payments are smooth and often fee-free; larger amounts can carry a fee of around 3% and there are per-transaction and annual caps (these have been rising). Bring a second card from a different bank in case fraud controls block the first one.

ATMs at the airport and at bank branches dispense RMB — bring a card enabled for foreign withdrawals. Direct card swipe (without the apps) is really only reliable at hotels, big malls and the airport.

Less than you'd think. If Alipay/WeChat are working, a week here barely touches cash. Bring or pull out ¥500–1,000 for the odd taxi, market stall, or the moment an app glitches, and top up from an ATM if you need more. Don't bring a brick of euros to change — mobile pay has made bureau-de-change queues mostly pointless.

Excellent, cheap, and signed and announced in English. Don't bother with paper tickets — open Alipay or WeChat, pull up the metro ride code (乘车码 / Shenzhen Tong), set it up once, then scan in and out at the gates. Same QR works on buses.

Use Didi (standalone app or inside Alipay/WeChat). You type the destination, so there's no language barrier, and you pay in-app — usually cheaper and less hassle than flagging a street taxi. Regular taxis take QR or cash.

The yellow/blue/green shared bikes (Meituan, HelloBike, Didi Qingju) blanket the city and cost about ¥1.5 a ride — but for foreigners they're the one genuinely unreliable part of getting around. Unlocking needs real-name verification, and that step often fails without a mainland phone number, even when your Alipay is verified and a foreign card is linked.

Your best shot is the HelloBike mini-program inside Alipay. The only sure fix is a mainland phone number — but a local SIM is more trouble than it's worth (see §3), so if a bike won't unlock, don't fight it; the metro and Didi have you covered. Park inside the painted zones when you do get one going.

Yes, and lots of people do. The fastest route is the high-speed train from Futian or Shenzhen North to Hong Kong West Kowloon — under half an hour. You can also walk across at Futian/Lok Ma Chau, Lo Wu, or 24-hour Huanggang.

Two things to remember: it's a real border — you exit mainland China and enter Hong Kong (and back), with full passport control each way, so carry your passport. And crossing uses up an entry — if you came in on the 240-hour transit scheme rather than 30-day visa-free, leaving to Hong Kong ends that transit stay. On 30-day visa-free you simply re-enter and your clock keeps running.

China's high-speed rail is superb — Guangzhou is ~30–40 min, and you can reach most of the country from Shenzhen North. Book on Trip.com (English, takes foreign cards) and bring your passport: it's your ticket, you scan it at the gate. Arrive 30–40 min early; big stations are airport-sized.

Yes. Every foreigner must register their address with the local police within 24 hours of arrival. A licensed hotel does this for you automatically when they scan your passport at check-in — you don't have to think about it. If you stay in a private flat or Airbnb you have to register yourself at the neighbourhood police station, so for a short trip a hotel is simply easier.

Book on Trip.com or Booking.com; international chains are well represented. Rough Shenzhen nightly rates:

• Budget / 3-star: ¥250–450
• Comfortable 4-star: ¥450–800
• International 5-star: ¥900–1,800+

• Futian — central CBD, on the metro, close to the Hong Kong rail/border. Good default.
• Luohu — by the Lo Wu HK crossing; near Huaqiangbei, the legendary electronics markets.
• Nanshan — the tech district (Shenzhen Bay, Shekou), more western dining, near the ferry.

• Power: 220V. Sockets take Type A/I plugs; many also accept Type C (European). Bring a universal adapter.
• Water: don't drink the tap water — bottled or boiled.
• Tipping: not expected anywhere.
• Language: Mandarin (Cantonese too, near HK). English is limited outside hotels and tech circles — lean on in-app translation and Alipay's translate tool.
• Emergencies: 110 police · 120 ambulance · 119 fire.
• Weather: subtropical — hot, humid summers and mild winters. Typhoon season runs through summer and early autumn.

Food, broadly yes — China runs on eating out and the turnover at busy places is huge. Stick to spots that are full of locals and you'll be fine; a packed hotpot joint is safer than an empty one. Don't drink the tap water — use bottled or the boiled water every hotel and restaurant provides. Ice and salads in normal restaurants are fine; use a bit more judgement with raw street food if your stomach is sensitive.

Three reliable moves:

• Point at pictures — most casual places have photo menus, or you point at what the next table is eating.
• Use the camera translate in Google Translate (needs your eSIM/VPN) or the translate tool built into Alipay — aim it at the menu and read.
• Many restaurants now have a QR menu you scan to order and pay in WeChat/Alipay, which you can run through translate.

Worst case, type your dish into translate and show the screen. Nobody minds.

Manageable but be explicit. "Vegetarian" can still arrive with a meat-based broth, so say it plainly — a translate card reading 我吃素，不要肉、不要海鲜、不要肉汤 ("I'm vegetarian — no meat, no seafood, no meat broth") saves confusion. For serious allergies, carry a written card in Chinese; don't rely on a spoken word getting through.

Shenzhen is a migrant city, so you get the whole country in one place. You're in Cantonese territory, so dim sum (yum cha) and fresh seafood are the obvious wins. Beyond that: hotpot, Hunan and Sichuan heat, Chaoshan beef hotpot, Northeastern barbecue, and excellent cheap noodle and rice-bowl shops on every block. Eating well here costs very little.

Very. Violent crime against visitors is rare and it's normal to walk around late at night, alone, in most areas. Use the same street sense you'd use anywhere — watch your bag in crowded markets — but Shenzhen feels safer than most large Western cities. The bigger everyday risk is traffic: look both ways twice, including for e-bikes on the pavement.

Pharmacies (drugstores) are everywhere for minor stuff. For anything real, the main districts have international clinics and VIP/foreigner wings at major hospitals with English-speaking staff — your hotel can point you to the nearest. Bring travel insurance and any prescription meds you need in their original packaging, since exact brands can be hard to match locally.

Shenzhen is coastal and southern, so its air is usually among the better of China's big cities — most days are fine. You don't need to pack a respirator; just check an air-quality app and ease off outdoor exertion on the occasional hazy day.

All of China runs on one time zone, UTC+8 — no internal changes to track. From Europe that's a 6–7 hour jump; from the US west coast, 15. Get morning daylight and push to a local bedtime on day one and you'll reset in a couple of days.

Autumn (roughly October–December) is the sweet spot: warm, dry, comfortable. Spring is pleasant but damp. Summer is hot, very humid, and typhoon season — survivable, but bring an umbrella and expect afternoon downpours. Winters are mild; you'll rarely need more than a light jacket.

Two big national holidays when the whole country travels at once and prices spike:

• Chinese New Year — late January to mid-February (the date moves each year). Many shops, markets and factories shut for a week or more.
• National Day "Golden Week" — 1–7 October. Domestic tourism peaks; transport and hotels get mobbed.

• Your eSIM or VPN, set up before you leave (see §3) — the single most-forgotten thing.
• A universal plug adapter (220V, Type A/I sockets).
• A second bank card from a different bank, as payment backup.
• Any prescription meds in original packaging.
• An umbrella / light rain layer in the warmer months.
• Your passport on you at all times — it's your ID, your train ticket, and your border pass.

Your own laptop, phone and a handful of things you bought for yourself — no problem, walk straight out. Customs cares about commercial quantities: if you're carrying a suitcase of the same item it can look like resale and you may be asked to declare it, so keep your receipts. Antiques and a few restricted categories need paperwork, and never carry a stranger's parcel through for them.

Up to the equivalent of USD 5,000 (or ¥20,000) without declaring. Above that, declare it. Rarely an issue if you've been living on mobile pay.

Yes — China runs a departure VAT refund for tourists, worth around 11% of the price minus a small service fee. Spend ¥200+ in a single participating store on the same day and ask the cashier for the refund form. Look for the 离境退税 / Tax Free signage.

Two ways to collect:

• Instant refund (即买即退) — rolled out in 2025 and widely available in Shenzhen's big malls. You get the money back on the spot at the store.
• At the airport — process the form after check-in, before security; allow ~30 minutes and keep the goods unused with receipts.

You qualify as a foreign visitor departing within 90 days of purchase. Worth it on bigger buys; for a ¥200 trinket the airport queue isn't.

SZX is large — check in early, more so if you're claiming a refund. Your passport is your ID and boarding identity again; scan it at the gates. Switch your eSIM/VPN expectations back to normal once you're airside and out of the country.

• Business cards (名片): give and receive with two hands, take a second to actually read the one you're handed, and don't stuff it in your back pocket. Bring plenty; a Chinese-language side earns goodwill.
• Swap WeChat, not email: scan each other's WeChat QR at the end. That's how the relationship runs day to day — email is just for formal documents.
• Seniority: let the host lead the seating and defer to the most senior person in the room. Small signs of respect carry a lot of weight.

The dinner is where the real relationship gets built, so accept the invitation. The host orders, dishes are shared, and trying a bit of everything is appreciated.

• Toasts: 干杯 (gānbēi) means bottoms-up; you can toast with tea or a soft drink if you don't drink — just say so early and warmly.
• Baijiu: don't feel obliged to match it shot for shot. Saying 随意 (suíyì, "as you like") lets you sip instead.
• The bill: let the host pay. Offer once; don't wrestle them for it.

A small gift from your home country is a warm touch — offered and received with two hands. Don't be thrown if they decline once or twice politely before accepting; that's normal.

On "face" (面子): never correct or push back on someone hard in front of others. Handle any disagreement quietly and one-to-one. Patience and warmth get you much further here than bluntness.

• Toilets: public ones are often squat-style and frequently have no paper — carry tissues or wet wipes. Malls and hotels have western seated toilets.
• Power banks: you'll rarely run flat. Rent-a-power-bank stands (共享充电宝) sit in every mall, restaurant and metro station — scan, borrow, drop it at any other station. Cheap. (Mind your airline's limit when flying.)
• Scams (rare, mostly near tourist spots): politely brush off the over-friendly stranger with perfect English and a plan — the "tea house" and "art student" invites end in a huge bill. Use Didi rather than unmetered taxi touts, and ignore anyone steering you to a particular shop.
• Queues & space: can be loose; hold your spot politely at counters.
• Photos: generally fine — just not military or government buildings.
• Smoking: still common indoors in some places despite the rules.