Three categories only: data, a bed, and the two things that go wrong on arrival day. Each link sits next to the guide that explains the trade-off first, so you can decide before you are asked to pay.
How the money works. No link on this page is paid right now. When a partnership goes live, every paid link will be labelled Ad and this note will say the same thing. Until then these are plain links to the provider, with no tracking beyond our own click counter.
Connectivity
Get online before you land
Buy the data plan at home, install it on hotel or home Wi-Fi, and switch it on after the seatbelt sign. Airport Wi-Fi in China usually needs a Chinese phone number to verify, which you do not have yet.
Official linkAiralo
China eSIM with international routing
The point of an eSIM here is not the data, it is the routing. A plan on international routing keeps Google Maps, WhatsApp and your usual apps working, which is why it costs more than a local SIM. Install it at home, leave it off until you land.
Install before you fly
Keeps your home number
Data only
Best for Trips of 3–30 days, on a phone that supports eSIM
Priced per plan and per day in the app. Short trips are cheap; anything past two weeks is usually better value in a larger plan.
Foreign guests must be registered at check-in. Big hotels do it as a matter of course; small guesthouses sometimes cannot. Filter for a 24-hour front desk and read reviews written by foreign guests, not just by locals.
Official linkBooking.com
Hotels in Shanghai that can register foreign guests
Every hotel in China is legally required to register foreign guests, and most do it without comment. The exceptions are small budget properties and some guesthouses. Filter for a 24-hour front desk and read recent reviews from foreign guests before you book.
24-hour front desk
Free cancellation filter
Foreign-guest reviews
Best for First trips, when you want the check-in to be unremarkable
Same rates as booking direct — the filter is the value here, not a discount.
Hotels in Zhangjiajie that can register foreign guests
Every hotel in China is legally required to register foreign guests, and most do it without comment. The exceptions are small budget properties and some guesthouses. Filter for a 24-hour front desk and read recent reviews from foreign guests before you book.
24-hour front desk
Free cancellation filter
Foreign-guest reviews
Best for First trips, when you want the check-in to be unremarkable
Same rates as booking direct — the filter is the value here, not a discount.
Hotels in Beijing that can register foreign guests
Every hotel in China is legally required to register foreign guests, and most do it without comment. The exceptions are small budget properties and some guesthouses. Filter for a 24-hour front desk and read recent reviews from foreign guests before you book.
24-hour front desk
Free cancellation filter
Foreign-guest reviews
Best for First trips, when you want the check-in to be unremarkable
Same rates as booking direct — the filter is the value here, not a discount.
Hotels in Shenzhen that can register foreign guests
Every hotel in China is legally required to register foreign guests, and most do it without comment. The exceptions are small budget properties and some guesthouses. Filter for a 24-hour front desk and read recent reviews from foreign guests before you book.
24-hour front desk
Free cancellation filter
Foreign-guest reviews
Best for First trips, when you want the check-in to be unremarkable
Same rates as booking direct — the filter is the value here, not a discount.
Every hotel in China is legally required to register foreign guests, and most do it without comment. The exceptions are small budget properties and some guesthouses. Filter for a 24-hour front desk and read recent reviews from foreign guests before you book.
24-hour front desk
Free cancellation filter
Foreign-guest reviews
Best for First trips, when you want the check-in to be unremarkable
Same rates as booking direct — the filter is the value here, not a discount.
Hotels in Chengdu that can register foreign guests
Every hotel in China is legally required to register foreign guests, and most do it without comment. The exceptions are small budget properties and some guesthouses. Filter for a 24-hour front desk and read recent reviews from foreign guests before you book.
24-hour front desk
Free cancellation filter
Foreign-guest reviews
Best for First trips, when you want the check-in to be unremarkable
Same rates as booking direct — the filter is the value here, not a discount.
Hotels in Hangzhou that can register foreign guests
Every hotel in China is legally required to register foreign guests, and most do it without comment. The exceptions are small budget properties and some guesthouses. Filter for a 24-hour front desk and read recent reviews from foreign guests before you book.
24-hour front desk
Free cancellation filter
Foreign-guest reviews
Best for First trips, when you want the check-in to be unremarkable
Same rates as booking direct — the filter is the value here, not a discount.
Every hotel in China is legally required to register foreign guests, and most do it without comment. The exceptions are small budget properties and some guesthouses. Filter for a 24-hour front desk and read recent reviews from foreign guests before you book.
24-hour front desk
Free cancellation filter
Foreign-guest reviews
Best for First trips, when you want the check-in to be unremarkable
Same rates as booking direct — the filter is the value here, not a discount.
A sight that only sells same-day tickets, and a taxi rank at 11pm. Both are solvable in ten minutes now, and painful at the airport.
Pendingklook
Timed-entry tickets and airport transfers
Two things that go wrong on arrival day: a sold-out attraction that only sells same-day tickets, and a taxi queue at 11pm. Pre-booking fixes both. We are waiting on partner approval before publishing links.
Timed entry
Fixed-price transfer
Best for Arrival day and any sight with timed entry
It has to work for a foreign passport holder. A product that only accepts a Chinese ID card is not a recommendation, however good the commission.
One default per job. A list of nine eSIMs is a research task, not a decision. We pick one, and explain when the other choice is better.
Nothing is permanent. When a partner stops working for travellers, the link comes off the page — the guide stays, with the workaround written into it.
Prices, fees and availability are set by the provider and can change without notice. Where a number matters, the guide links to the official source and shows the date we last checked it.
Not sure what you actually need?
Tell us the trip — dates, cities, budget — and we will point you at the right guide rather than a shopping list.