Overview & preparation
Before China: your preparation checklist
Know what needs attention before departure. Detailed registration, setup and recovery workflows live in the action guides below.
Prepare before you leave
- ✓Check your passport, entry eligibility and any visa needed for your exact route and dates.
- ✓Keep your booking documents, first hotel address and emergency contacts accessible offline.
- ✓Plan internet access and payment before departure; keep more than one way to pay.
- ✓Keep your home number reachable for bank or account verification.
- ✓Pack charging essentials and any personal medical information you may need.
Apps to have ready
- ✓Alipay and WeChat for payment and everyday services.
- ✓DiDi for ride-hailing; a map and translation app for navigation and communication.
- ✓China Railway 12306 if you plan to travel by train.
- ✓Download from official app stores. Availability and account requirements vary.
Entry rules are not one-size-fits-all
- ✓Use the NIA and the Chinese embassy serving your home country to check current requirements. Do not assume visa-free transit and visa-free entry are the same.
- ✓The official Arrival Card is free. Eligibility and required documents depend on your passport and itinerary.
Free sample · From the complete guide
Try this part of your Beijing journey
Which entry route are you relying on?
Visa or ordinary visa-free entry
With a visa, check its validity, entries remaining, permitted stay and purpose. Ordinary visa-free entry depends on your nationality and the policy in force for your travel dates; do not assume the transit rules below apply to it.
240-hour transit: check the onward journey
The NIA's August 2026 policy covers 57 nationalities, with an ordinary passport and confirmed onward travel to a third country or region. Your port and stay area must qualify. A → Beijing → B can qualify; A → Beijing → A does not become third-country transit just because the flights have different numbers.
24-hour airside transit is different
Staying in the restricted transit area and entering Beijing are different permissions. Under the 24-hour policy, leaving that area requires a temporary entry permit from border inspection. A long layover alone does not authorize a city visit.
If this does not workUnsure about your passport or route? Ask immigration service 12367 and your airline before departure. Have nationality, passport type, flight sequence, ports and dates ready. Your admission and permitted stay are decided by immigration, not by this guide.
About this excerpt
Selected from Leave home with your apps and arrival plan working. Guide updated October 5, 2026. App labels and local arrangements can change.
Inside the Full Guide
Included in the Full Beijing Guide, together with this city’s Quick Cards.
- Your preparation workflow
All three journey stages
Full Beijing Guide
$39 / city · One-time purchase
All Beijing guides, step-by-step instructions, troubleshooting, backup options and Quick Cards. Other cities are sold separately.
Use it on your phone and one other device. Emergency help is always free.
Access & purchase details
Personal access tied to your account, on up to 2 registered browsers. Sharing a link does not share your purchased guide. You may show and screenshot Quick Cards for your own trip.
No downloadable offline pack is available. Live human support is not included. Save stores a link on this browser, not an offline copy.
Login sessions last up to 30 days. Sign in again with your email to recover your guides. Each browser counts separately; you can manage registered browsers in your account.
Checkout is not live. Purchase and refund terms will be published before payments open. For an access problem, use Help; do not buy again.