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Trip Checklist Three Weeks in China: What I Didn't Expect, What Broke, and What I Built An indie dev's honest account of three weeks in China, the friction nobody warned me about, and the travel app we built before and during the trip.
02 Payments How to Pay in China as a Foreigner: What I Actually Learned WeChat Pay, Alipay, cash, and card failures across three weeks in China, plus what I built to stop fumbling through payment setup next time.
03 Essential Apps I Built a China Travel App Before the Trip. Three Weeks Later, I Understood Why. An account of three weeks in China field-testing a travel utility app I built, including what worked, what broke, and what's still rough.
04 Connectivity China SIM Cards and the VPN Thing Everyone Forgets Real-world notes on staying connected in China: which SIM option works, why the VPN matters more than most guides admit, and what I got wrong.
05 Food Ordering Food in China Without Speaking the Language What actually works for ordering food in China when you can't read the menu, from camera translation to the phrases you'll actually use.
06 Phrase Cards Chinese phrases for when things actually go sideways Emergency Chinese phrases that matter when you're lost, sick, or in trouble, learned the hard way across three weeks of real travel.
07 Visa Prep Getting a China Tourist Visa in 2025: What to Know Before You Apply A practical guide to the Chinese tourist visa process, from someone who just went through it and spent three weeks in China.
08 Safety Is China Safe? What I Actually Worried About and What Surprised Me Street crime, surveillance, and the stuff nobody warns you about: an honest account of what the real risks are for tourists in China.
09 Transit China's Bullet Trains Are Incredible. Navigating Them as a Tourist Is a Different Story. What it's actually like to book, board, and ride China's high-speed rail network, from a foreign traveler who figured most of it out the hard way.
10 Internet Access Great Firewall of China: Draft Draft placeholder article for the China internet access guide.
11 Budget What China Actually Cost Me as a Traveler A practical China travel budget from my own trip, with food, hotels, trains, taxis, and the small costs that surprised me.
12 Solo Travel Solo Female Travel in China Felt Safer Than I Expected A grounded look at solo female travel in China, including street safety, attention from locals, transport, hotels, and preparation.
13 Insurance China Travel Insurance: The Part I Would Not Skip What I learned about travel insurance for China, including hospitals, upfront payment, evacuation coverage, and claim paperwork.
14 Air Quality Air Quality in China: What I Checked Every Morning A traveler-friendly guide to China AQI, masks, city differences, and how I planned days around air quality without panicking.
15 Arrival The China Airport Arrival Checklist I Wish I Had Earlier How I got from Chinese airports to hotels, with practical advice for addresses, metro, DiDi, taxis, SIM cards, and late arrivals.
16 Family Travel Traveling China With Kids Is Easier Than It Looks Practical advice for family travel in China, from food and trains to toilets, crowds, air quality, and kid-friendly cities.
17 Beijing My First-Timer's Guide to Beijing A practical Beijing travel guide built from real trip notes, with the Forbidden City, Great Wall, hutongs, food, transport, and planning.
18 Shanghai Shanghai Is the Easiest China City to Start With A first-person Shanghai guide for foreign visitors, covering neighborhoods, food, metro, day trips, and what makes the city different.
19 Chengdu Chengdu Made Me Slow Down A Chengdu travel guide shaped by pandas, Sichuan food, tea houses, day trips, and the slower rhythm that makes the city memorable.
20 Guangzhou Guangzhou Is the China City More Travelers Should Eat Their Way Through A practical Guangzhou guide focused on Cantonese food, old neighborhoods, Shamian Island, transport, weather, and why the city is underrated.
21 Xi'an Xi'an Was the China History Trip That Actually Felt Alive A first-timer's Xi'an guide covering the Terracotta Warriors, city walls, Muslim Quarter food, transport, and practical planning.
22 China Ready Travel China's 240-Hour Visa-Free Transit: What You Actually Need to Prepare A practical guide to China's 240-hour visa-free transit policy in 2026: who qualifies, what the onward ticket rule really means, and the preparation most people skip.