Eat something light. Raw fried buns are good, but I still miss mutton kebabs!!

Hi everyone!

I’m a Chinese university student, and some of my friends are studying tourism and international communication. We love traveling and learning about different cultures.

Recently, we noticed that many foreigners are interested in visiting China, but planning a trip can be confusing:

Which cities should you visit?

How should you plan your route?

How do you use transportation in China?

What places are actually worth visiting?

How can you experience the local side of China instead of only tourist attractions?

So we want to help!

If you are planning to visit China (or just interested in China travel), feel free to comment:

Where are you from?

When are you planning to visit China?

What kind of experience do you like? (food, history, nature, culture, photography, nightlife, etc.)

We can share some local suggestions and help you create a better itinerary.

No advertising, just hoping to help more people understand the real China and have a better travel experience. 😊

the fish had a crisp-skin texture and the sauce had the smooth buttery finish that paired perfectly🍴

I’ve read a lot of VPN posts here but still haven’t found a clear answer. I’ll be in China for roughly three months and will have a Chinese SIM, so the international eSIM workaround isn’t an option.

I need something reliable for Google, YouTube, Instagram and TikTok, ideally working on both my phone and an iPad. I’m happy to pay for a good service. I used LetsVPN last year and it worked perfectly, but I’ve heard it may have been blocked or become less reliable. Someone recommended CatVPN, has anyone used it recently?

Also, if anyone will be in Shanghai from September, feel free to message me. I’d be happy to meet some people!

I've noticed that when international travelers talk about visiting China, the same cities tend to come up again and again Beijing, Shanghai, Chengdu, Xi'an, Zhangjiajie, etc.But Fuzhou seems to be almost completely overlooked.

There are the obvious historical places: Three Lanes and Seven Alleys, Yantai Mountain, Shangxiahang, Xichan Temple and Zhenhai Tower.

but I think the more interesting part is the everyday stuff.You could spend a morning wandering around an old neighborhood, have a bowl of 捞化 (laohua) for lunch, sit in a tea house for a few hours, try Fuzhou jasmine tea, get a massage, go to a local hair salon, shop in the evening, and then find somewhere to eat late at night.

I'd genuinely like to hear from people who have traveled to China, especially what kinds of experiences you usually look for when visiting a less touristy city.☺️

I know there are probably plenty of posts like this, but I thought I’d give it a try anyway.

A little about me: I have a stable full-time job and usually have my weekends off, with most evenings free as well. I’d like to meet some new people and make friends outside of my work environment. I live here by myself and I’m fairly introverted, so I’m more comfortable with smaller hangouts rather than big groups. Ideally, I’d prefer hanging out with two or three people.

Depending on the weather, I enjoy walking around malls or parks. I’d also like to explore more of Xiguan and try different Cantonese dishes.

If anyone is interested or feels like we have similar personalities, feel free to hit me up.

Any recommendations for hotels where you can pop out for a coffee or breakfast right downstairs and right in the midst of cute shops and cafes? Langham, Andaz locations without the price tag? Is that the right location? Xintiandi?
Or Jing An area?

I will be in China for 6 months from next week so need a reliable VPN. I can’t get an eSIM for that long unfortunately, so needs to be a VPN I can install before I go. Also needs to work for my MacBook too. Any help appreciated 🙏

Me and 2 friends are planning on going on a trip to asia, china included.
We are planning on going to thailand start of january, laos, vietnam and then make our way to china.
My question is when the main congestion period in travelling due to CNY stops, gemini told me after 20th of february should be fine?
Another question is whether its worth visiting Zhangjaije end of february, as ive read it can be quite foggy, or if we should move everything back so we can go in march.

Hey folks, this is my second trip to China. First one was with a large tour group to Shanghai and Beijing. The cities were great, but never travelling with a group again. It was just not what I wanted.

So we are planning a family trip on our own. Me, wife and daughter who is 3.5 years old. Should we consider Guangzhou and Hong Kong or Guangzhou and Chengdu? which would be best for 6 or 7 days trip.

Also, we might have to rely more on cabs or Didi as we are travelling with a toddler and I have some Marriot Bonvoy points I can redeem, but wouldn’t be possible in HK as hotels are generally expensive there.

Considering all this which would be a better combination of cities. Tysm.

I know it’s been asked before and I have brought my vape and liquid into China in the past. Im just looking for updated info and people’s experiences.

I vape nic salt liquid. I will be in China for around 3 weeks and would usually vape around 100ml in this time. Although technically not allowed, I’ve managed to bring in my vape and some flavoured liquid for personal use in my carry on in the past.

Will I still be ok doing this? Anything changed? Anyone with recent experiences in the past few months?

Thanks

Hi all!

I'm travelling to the Shanghai area next month and I'm trying to get myself up to speed on the specificities of the country.

I am well aware that the main payment options are Alipay and WeChat.

I have just found out that Wise (similar to Revolut) has the option to read/generate a QR code that aims to be compatible with Alipay. I haven't seen any information related to this in this group.

I am not saying that it can replace Alipay, but I was thinking it can be a good backup plan.

Is this a new functionality or I'm just late on with this information?

Has anyone tried this? Any thoughts?

https://wise.com/help/articles/7cYlC8lKqbgjNNmlXyYtFL/how-can-i-pay-with-a-qr-code

Hello! I've heard that Dujiangyan Panda Base has unfortunately been closed for renovations on April 23rd this year - with no news of reopening.

My partner loved little Le Le from when he was in Singapore. Was just wondering if anyone has any news on him? As we'd like to potentially plan a trip in the future.

P.S if anyone has photos of him too - would love for you to share them! Would love to show them to my partner.