Your almanac
Which passport are you travelling on?
Answer that and the cover fills itself in. Every page after this one is useful either way.
Your entry route
You can enter visa-free
No visa, no onward-ticket condition, no transit requirement. Book the trip you actually want.
Your entry route
240-hour visa-free transit
This applies to travel from one country or region, through China, on to a third — entering and leaving through one of the eligible ports. The clock starts at midnight on the day after you enter.
One more question
Are you travelling on to a third country?
For your passport this is the question that decides everything. Transit visa-free only applies if you leave China for somewhere other than where you came from.
Your entry route
Transit visa-free won't cover this trip
It only applies when you continue to a third country. Coming to China and going home again needs a visa.
Your entry route
You'll need a tourist visa
Applying has its own timeline, so start there. Then come back — every page in this almanac still applies to you.
Your entry route
We don't have data for that country
So we're not going to guess. Confirm it in these two places, then carry on — the rest of this almanac works whatever your entry route turns out to be.
China-Bound Tear-off Almanac
Mend the roof before the rain comes.
For generations, Chinese families tore one page off the almanac each morning — every day marked with what it favours (宜) and what it warns against (忌). This one reads your trip, not the stars.
How you are getting in
Which passport are you travelling on?
Answer that and the cover fills itself in. Every page after this one is useful either way.
8 pages
LIFT TO BEGIN
AUG 25
T−45
Good for today
Work out which door you are coming in through
Visa-free, 240-hour transit, or a visa. Three different sets of rules.
While you are there, check your passport expiry date.
Not today
Assuming transit visa-free works like ordinary visa-free.
Each traveller
The part people miss
The 240 hours do not start when you land. The clock starts at midnight on the day after you enter. The policy covers 65 ports across 24 provincial-level regions.
The pouch
Most people find they have most of an extra day.
Chinese Embassy in Canada — when the 240-hour clock starts ｜ Checked 2026-07-10
AUG 25
T−30
Good for today
Lock in the leg that takes you out of China
What matters is that you can produce it at check-in and at the border.
Not today
Leaving it in your inbox and never downloading it.
One person is enough
The part people miss
On 240-hour transit the onward leg is not paperwork. It is the condition the whole route rests on: one country or region, through China, on to a third.
The pouch
Save the PDF to the phone itself. The arrival hall is exactly where a roaming connection tends to let you down.
gov.cn — China expands 240-hour visa-free transit ｜ Checked 2026-07-10
AUG 25
T−21
Good for today
Open a 12306 account and finish the passport check
You can register and buy named tickets on a foreign passport. Tickets go on sale 15 days before the train runs — not 15 days before you fly — so the earliest window that could matter to you opens 15 days before you arrive.
Not today
Starting the registration on the morning tickets open.
One person is enough
The part people miss
Foreign passports clear real-name verification through a manual channel rather than the automatic gates, so this step wants days in hand, not hours. The 15-day presale counts back from the day the train runs; some stations and products differ.
The pouch
Do it now and presale day is just a day you buy a ticket — not the day you find out the account is not ready.
12306 help centre — ticket presale window ｜ Checked 2026-07-26
AUG 25
T−7
Good for today
Install Alipay, add your card, pay once at home
Five networks are supported: Visa, Mastercard, JCB, Discover and Diners Club.
Not today
Planning to set it all up after you land.
Each traveller
The part people miss
Installing the app and verifying the card both need a connection you can rely on — which is the one thing you have not sorted out yet on arrival day.
The pouch
Buy a coffee with it at home. A cheap test beats finding out in the back of a taxi.
Alipay — international version supported card networks ｜ Checked 2026-07-26
AUG 25
T−6
Good for today
Set up a second way to pay
Weixin Pay documents how to add an international card too. A second route means a card refusal is an inconvenience, not the end of your day.
Not today
Betting the whole trip on one app.
Each traveller
The part people miss
Cash is the third route, and it still counts: rules in force since 1 February 2026 require businesses, in principle, to accept RMB cash. You may carry up to CNY 20,000 in or out per person per trip.
The pouch
Add the card if it goes on. Do not fight it if it does not. Two apps plus cash is enough.
Weixin Pay help centre — adding an international card ｜ Checked 2026-07-26
AUG 25
T−5
Good for today
Remember one number: 200
The most useful number of the whole trip.
Not today
Letting a single payment drift over 200 without noticing.
Each traveller
The part people miss
Beijing and Shanghai both publish the same rule: on an international card the 3% fee is waived on a single transaction of CNY 200 or less, and applies above it. It is counted per transaction, not per day.
The pouch
Split the large ones, or save them for cash. Hold that number and the fee mostly stops being your problem.
Beijing municipal government — 3% fee waived under CNY 200 ｜ Checked 2026-07-10
AUG 25
T−3
Good for today
Decide now how you will get online
Either sort out an eSIM before you fly, or plan to buy a physical SIM after you arrive. Decide which — do not leave it open.
Not today
Planning to work it out once you land.
Each traveller
The part people miss
Buying connectivity after you arrive has a catch built into it: the buying usually needs a connection of its own.
The pouch
Set an eSIM up while you still have a connection you trust — activation generally needs one. Older handsets do not support eSIM at all, so check yours before you pay for anything.
AUG 25
T−2
Good for today
Fill in the arrival card, if it applies to you
There is more than one official way in: the NIA web platform, the NIA 12367 app, and the WeChat and Alipay mini-programs.
Not today
Losing any sleep over this one.
Each traveller
The part people miss
The current official notice sets no hour-by-hour deadline. You can fill it in before you travel, or after you arrive.
The pouch
Nothing to panic about. The thing actually worth having ready is your hotel address — copy it down somewhere before you start the form.
Chinese Embassy notice — online arrival card ｜ Checked 2026-07-09
AUG 25
Arrival day
Landing day
Good for today
Make your first payment in a convenience store
Everything you set up over the last few weeks becomes real at this moment.
Not today
Saving the first attempt for a midnight taxi.
Each traveller
The part people miss
Keep it at CNY 200 or under. There is no reason to pay the 3% just to prove the card works.
The pouch
If it goes through, the rest of the trip is easy. If it does not, turn back to the two payment days — cash is the route that does not depend on an app.
Beijing municipal government — 3% fee waived under CNY 200 ｜ Checked 2026-07-10
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CHECKLIST
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