Documents
Passport, entry proof, first hotel booking, onward travel where relevant, insurance details, and offline copies.
Prepare -> Trip Checklist
Before-you-fly checklist
China Travel Checklist
Use this page as the final pass before departure: the documents, money, phone access, bookings, and first-day basics that prevent small friction from becoming a travel problem.
Money
Payment app, linked card, backup card, a small cash reserve, bank contact, and transaction alerts.
Phone
Data plan, charger, power bank, adapter, maps, translation, booking apps, and account recovery.
Arrival
Chinese hotel address, airport transfer, late-arrival note, first meal option, and next-day route.
1
Two to four weeks before departure
Lock the items that can block the trip.
- Confirm the entry route that applies to your passport, itinerary, stay length, and purpose of travel.
- Check passport validity and keep the exact spelling and document number consistent across bookings.
- Book the first hotel and save the Chinese name, address, phone number, and reservation number.
- Create or verify accounts for payment, maps, train booking, ride-hailing, email, and phone recovery.
- Reserve major trains, flights, and attractions that are likely to sell out or require passport details.
2
One week before departure
Make the travel system work before you are tired.
- Install or activate your data plan according to the provider instructions.
- Link payment cards and confirm your bank allows international and online transactions.
- Save offline copies of passport page, visa or entry proof, hotel bookings, transport bookings, and tickets.
- Download Chinese addresses for the first hotel, airport, stations, and must-not-miss destinations.
- Check weather by city, not by country, and adjust shoes, rain gear, warm layers, and medication.
3
The day before flying
Reduce airport decisions to a checklist.
- Charge phone, power bank, earbuds, and backup device if you carry one.
- Put passport, cards, medication, first-night clothing, adapter, and charging cable in the carry-on.
- Screenshot the arrival route from airport or station to hotel.
- Confirm the first-night hotel can receive you at your expected arrival time.
- Turn on account recovery methods that will still work while abroad.
4
After landing
Do the boring checks first.
- Reconnect data before leaving the airport or station.
- Follow the prepared transfer plan instead of improvising while tired.
- At the hotel, test one small payment, charge devices, and save tomorrow’s first route.
- Keep the next morning lighter if the first arrival involves jet lag, late check-in, or a long transfer.
- Store the passport in a consistent place and keep a copy reachable offline.
Good stopping point
You are ready when your first 24 hours work offline.
A useful checklist is not a perfect packing list. It is a confidence check: if the phone has no signal, the bank blocks a card, or the flight arrives late, you still know where you are sleeping, how to get there, and how to recover access.