China rewards preparation. The country is efficient once your phone, payments and route are sorted, but small setup mistakes can snowball quickly after landing.
The Big Mistakes
- Arriving without Alipay or WeChat Pay set up.
- Trying to install a VPN after landing.
- Booking a hotel that cannot host foreign guests.
- Relying on Google Maps for local navigation.
- Travelling during Golden Week or Spring Festival without advance bookings.
- Going to the wrong train station in a large city.
- Planning too many cities for the number of days.
- Accepting unofficial taxi offers at airports or stations.
The Fix
Use the checklist before booking, keep the first itinerary simple, and test the practical parts of the trip before departure: payments, VPN, translation, maps, hotel address and train booking account.