China Travel, Planned in the Right Order

China is open to ordinary tourists again, but there is no single entry rule. Depending on your passport you either enter visa-free for 30 days, qualify for 240-hour visa-free transit if you are flying on to a third country, or need an L visa from a visa centre. Which of those three you fall under decides your dates, your route and how far ahead you have to book. Check your rule first, then plan the trip.

Last verified: 29 October 2026 · Sources: National Immigration Administration (NIA) visa-free list of 17 February 2026, Chinese embassy FAQ of July 2026, CVASC fee schedule

Which entry rule applies to you?

Three rules cover almost every tourist, and they are not interchangeable. The 30-day unilateral visa-free scheme applies to ordinary passports from 50 countries and needs no onward ticket. The 240-hour transit scheme applies to 57 countries but only if you are travelling on to a third country and exit through a permitted port. The L visa is the default for every passport outside both lists, including the United States, and takes roughly four working days to process. Read your row before anything else on this site.

China entry rules for tourists, October 2026

Rule	Who it covers	Maximum stay	Onward ticket	Where to check
Unilateral visa-free	Ordinary passports, 50 countries	30 days	No	The 50-country list
240-hour visa-free transit	57 countries, arriving and departing at 65 permitted ports	10 days (240 hours)	Yes, to a third country	Transit rules and ports
L visa	Everyone else, including US passports	As granted, typically 30-90 days	Usually required with the application	Application steps

One trap sits between the first two rows: the two schemes do not stack. You cannot enter visa-free for 30 days and then extend the stay using transit hours, and you cannot use the transit scheme if your next flight returns you to the country you came from. If your itinerary touches China twice, check both segments separately.

Why this site exists

Most English-language coverage of China travel is either out of date or vague about the one thing that matters — whether you can board the plane. The rules changed several times between 2024 and 2026, they differ by passport, and the difference between “visa free” and “visa-free transit” is a refused boarding at the gate. Every page here names the rule, the date it applies from, the date we last checked it, and the official page it came from.

Visa-free entry is granted for a stay of no more than 30 days. The period begins at 00:00 on the day after entry. It does not permit employment, study or news reporting. (Summary of the National Immigration Administration visa-free policy, list updated 17 February 2026)

We are not a visa agency and we do not take applications. We sell nothing that requires your passport number. When a page links to a booking partner, it says so on the page.

What should you decide before you book?

Four decisions cause almost all the avoidable cost on a first China trip, and they are cheaper in this order: which entry rule you have, then which two weeks, then how much you can spend once you land, then how your phone will work without a Chinese number. Settle them in that order and most of the rest of the planning is just choosing cities.

1. Your entry rule. This sets the minimum lead time for paperwork and rules out some routes entirely. A US passport needs a visa centre appointment before anything else is booked; a German passport can book flights today.
2. Your dates. China has four domestic holiday peaks that double hotel prices and fill trains — the Spring Festival (mid-February in 2027), the Qingming, Labour Day and National Day windows. Avoid them unless you are going for them.
3. Your money. Foreign cards are linked to Alipay or WeChat Pay before departure, with a USD 5,000 per-transaction cap and a 3% fee on transactions above CNY 200. Carry a small cash float for the places where the QR terminal is down.
4. Your data. A travel eSIM or an international roaming plan decides whether Maps, WhatsApp and your work mailbox work. Do not assume hotel Wi-Fi solves this.

Where should you go on a first trip?

Beijing, Shanghai and Xi’an carry the first visit for most travellers, and for good reason: between them they hold the imperial palaces, the Great Wall, the colonial waterfront and the terracotta army, all on high-speed rail. Add the south-west only if you have a second week. The table below is about sequencing, not about ranking cities by beauty.

First-trip cities and how much time each needs

City	Go for	Days to allow	Best months
Beijing	The Forbidden City, the Great Wall, imperial-scale sights inside a walkable core	3-4	April-May, September-October
Shanghai	Food, the art-deco riverfront, nightlife, and the easiest landing for a first week	2-3	March-May, October-November
Xi’an	The Terracotta Army, the Ming city wall, and the deepest food street in the country	2	April-May, September-October

If you have one week, pick two cities and take the four-and-a-half-hour train between them rather than a flight. If you have ten days, the third city fits without a long transfer day. Our destination hub has the other nine cities worth a detour, with the honest note on which ones need their own trip.

How many days do you need?

A first China trip works at seven days or at ten, and the difference is one city rather than a rest day. Seven days gives you Beijing and Shanghai at a comfortable pace. Ten adds Xi’an and the terracotta army without adding a flight, because the Beijing-Xi’an leg is faster by rail than by air including the airport transfers at both ends.

Plan	Route	Who it suits	Details
7 days	Beijing 4 → Shanghai 3	A first visit with one internal transfer and no ambition to see everything	Day-by-day, 7 days
10 days	Beijing 4 → Xi’an 2 → Shanghai 3	Anyone who came specifically for the Wall and the warriors	Day-by-day, 10 days

What should you set up before you fly?

Three things fail on arrival if they are not done at home: payment apps, data, and train tickets. Alipay and WeChat Pay accept foreign Visa, Mastercard, Amex, JCB, Diners and Discover without a Chinese bank account, but the foreign-card channel is off until you add the card and verify your identity, and the 3% fee above CNY 200 is charged on the full amount rather than the excess. A travel eSIM activated before boarding avoids the airport SIM queue and the passport registration that goes with a local number. Train tickets open 15 days ahead on 12306 and the good morning departures go first.

• How to set up Alipay and WeChat Pay before departure — limits, the 3% rule, and what happens when a card is declined.
• Data for China — travel eSIM versus roaming versus a local SIM, and what stays blocked.
• Booking high-speed rail — 12306, passport registration, and seat classes that are worth the extra.

How we keep this current

Visa and payment rules are re-checked every 30 days against the National Immigration Administration, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the visa centre pages; prices are re-checked quarterly. The verified date at the top of every page is the date of the last check, not the date the page was written. When a rule changes, the page changes the same week and the change is logged on our methodology page. The editorial team and its beats are listed on our authors page.

FAQ

Can I enter China visa-free and then extend my stay with the 240-hour transit rule?

No. The schemes apply to separate entries. The 240-hour transit rule requires you to arrive from one country and depart to a different third country within ten days, and it is assessed at the border on the documents you present on arrival. Entering visa-free for 30 days and then trying to convert the stay is not permitted.

Do US citizens need a visa to visit China in 2026?

Yes. The United States is not on the unilateral visa-free list, so US ordinary passports need an L visa from a Chinese visa application service centre unless the trip qualifies for 240-hour transit or the Hainan scheme. The fee for US citizens is USD 140, fingerprints are waived for eligible short-stay applicants until 31 December 2026, and processing is about four working days.

How much cash should I carry?

Enough for two or three days of small payments, in CNY. Almost every counter in the cities takes Alipay or WeChat Pay, but ticket offices at smaller sights, some taxis and village guesthouses still prefer cash or the local QR code only. Withdraw from an airport ATM and expect a single-withdrawal cap of about CNY 3,000 at many banks.