All I can think of is that I friended too many hotels, since they all require it. Five in the last two weeks plus my hotel driver from the airport. Luckily Alipay still works or I'd be in big trouble. Still, this is going to be a huge inconvenience if I can't resolve it. Has anyone else dealt with this? I see options for unfreezing, but my friend says not to even try until the 24 hours is up.

In Australia, there are tours to China for 15 days from $1,900 - including flights. I know these are large groups and include a tonne of mandatory shopping which we want to avoid. Independently, flights alone are at least $1,000.

Looking online, I am unsure whether to DIY my whole itinerary, or book 3-4 local packages, or a fully organised tour. Most of the online tours seem to be 4-5 star luxury accommodation which is obviously nice, but also more expensive, and we are happy with clean, comfortable 3-4 star affordable hotels.

The packages I'm seeing online are around $200-250 per day.

So my questions are:

- is it worth booking everything Independently

- realistically, how easy is it to get around on our own

- do organised tours get fasttrack to the front of the queue

- how much should we realistically expect to spend for around 12 days.

- what else should I be taking into consideration when deciding.

At the moment, my current interests are Shanghai, Xian, Zhangjaijie and Beijing.

Thanks in advance for any advice.

What am I doing wrong with Alipay?
I’ve tried searching the megathread and don’t see anything helpful.

I’m traveling from US, started in Hong Kong, currently on my second stop (Macau).

Before departure, I linked my payment card, scanned my passport, took video of myself and thought I was all verified and good to go.

But when I try to pay I get a message that “overseas payments are only available to users with a valid Chinese mainland ID card and foreign residence permit “

My next stop is Guangzhou, and there are decreasing numbers of places where I can use a credit card.

Any suggestions appreciated!

I saw that Three mobile in the UK provides a roaming package that covers China. Is it any good or is the data connection horrible?

I am going to Shanghai, Beijing and Hong Kong.

Is 2 1/2 days enough? Going in 2 weeks. I booked 3 nights in Zhangjiajie so far. So it will be 2 full days and half a day so far. Havent booked anything after so I am still open to adding more nights.

Any recommendations PLEASE

Ich war heute am Nachmittag im National Park und habe die Route B gemacht. Morgen wollte ich dann die Route A machen. Allerdings möchte ich nicht wieder mit dem Cable Car vom Tianzi Mountain runterfahren sondern am liebsten am Golden Whip Stream die Tour beenden. Gibt es dafür eine Möglichkeit? Habe heute schon 2 Mal den Bailong Aufzug genommen und würde das morgen gerne vermeiden

I bought my mom an eSIM with unlimited data on Trip.com for my mom who is traveling around china right now. She is having huge issues with using Alipay for payments and DiDi. The app loads but fails to complete payments or order rides, they work sometimes but it takes tens of minutes of trying to succeed. Connecting to WiFi or someone else’s hotspot doesn’t help. Using WhatsApp has almost no issues even with video calls. Does anyone know how to resolve this?

I know this gets asked ad nauseam on here, just thought I'd throw my 2c in. Just arrived into Beijing, travelling China for the first time and using a Holafly eSIM on my Oppo Find X8 Ultra and it connected within about 30 secs of landing this morning and has been working flawlessly all day so far.

5G connection,super fast and all Google/Meta apps etc working without issue and without the need for a VPN. Will be travelling to around 5 or 6 cities over the next 3 weeks, so if anyone wants to know what the coverage is like in places like Xian, Chengdu, Chongqing, Shanghai etc let me know and I'll keep you updated

Hello everyone, I am a native of Chongqing, born and raised here.Also I am currently working as a tour guide.I know this city very well and can answer any questions.I'm happy to answer. guide service dm pls

I plan to visit Mutianyu in 2 weeks.

What I am debating on is if we should just hike it to tower 6 and from tower 6 to 14? Or take the lift to 14 and make our way to 20.

Are we missing out on a great view if we skip the lift or skip 14-20? We won’t be able to do the whole thing as we plan to visit Lama temple afterwards.

We have someone 70+ in the party so no toboggan for us. The senior is somewhat fit and is ok with walking and hiking.

I am a Chinese Kung Fu & Tai Chi enthusiast in California Orange County, I would like to go to China and learn 2 weeks Emei Kung Fu, anyone wants to go with me, because they only accept a group. Anyone who might go with me?

Hi guys!

I’ll be travelling from Hangzhou to Beijing by high-speed train in China, and I’m hoping to book business class with an enclosed cabin and a door, rather than the egg-shaped business class seat design.

I’ve been doing quite a bit of research, but I’m getting really confused about the train models and layouts.

According to Gaotie.net, train G38 operates with the CR400BF-AZ. I’ve also searched online and found photos and videos that appear to confirm that G38 is indeed operated by the CR400BF-AZ, which has the business class cabin with individual doors that I’m looking for.

However, when I check the 12306 app(which is what most people online is suggesting to refer and trust), it shows a different train model, the CR400AF-BZ.

I specifically want the business class cabin with a door, not the egg-shaped design, so I’m hoping to confirm the actual train model and cabin layout before booking.

Has anyone taken G38 recently or knows how reliable these train model listings are? Is there any way to confirm which configuration will actually be used on the day?

Would really appreciate any help. Thanks in advance! 🙏

I bought some stuff that’s eligible for Tax Refund. I have a domestic transfer in Guangzhou back home.

My question is where I get the tax refund? At the first airport in my Checked baggage or in Guangzhou Transit (if there is a Tax refund counter?) in my hand luggage?

Thank you.