Site Map — All TravelChina Tools, Guides & Resources

Decision tools (4)

Visa requirements checker — Eligibility lookup across 103 nationalities. Visa-free / 240h transit / visa required, with country deep-dives.
240-hour visa-free transit planner — Three-step planner: passport → entry/exit ports → days. Pre-built 3/5/7-day itineraries for 15 transit regions.
HSR rail map — 24 cities, 36 routes. Real 12306-sampled durations / prices / daily train counts. Refreshed monthly.
Visa photo cropper (33×48mm) — Client-side China L-visa photo cropper. Drag, zoom, white-background fill, PNG/JPG export.

Visa-checker sub-tools

Compare two passports — Side-by-side passport comparison sub-tool — finds the easier-entry option when traveling with mixed nationalities.
103 per-country pages — e.g. US, UK, Germany. See full list via the visa-checker tool.

Long-form guides (30)

Booking guides (3)

Book China Trains in 2026: A Foreigner's 12306 Guide — 2026 step-by-step 12306 English app guide for foreign travelers — register with passport, verify identity, pay with foreign card, tap-to-enter at gate.
Book China Train Tickets Online in English (Trip.com, 2026) — Book China HSR tickets online in English via Trip.com — no real-name verification, Visa/Mastercard accepted, confirmation in two minutes.
12306 vs Trip.com: Which to Use for China Trains (2026) — Side-by-side: 12306 direct (free, harder) vs Trip.com (¥10–30 fee, easier) for foreigners booking China HSR. Fees, UX, cards, refunds, and when each wins.

Network overview (1)

China High-Speed Rail Network — Complete 2026 Overview — The 38,000-km HSR network, G/D/C train classes, 27 major stations, 35 tourist routes, and how to book as a foreigner — a single-page overview for first-time travelers.

Train route guides (4)

Shanghai to Beijing by High-Speed Train (2026 Guide) — 4h18m on the G-train between Hongqiao and Beijing South — ¥626+, 51 trains a day. Station choice, train vs flight, and how to book with a foreign passport.
Beijing to Xi'an by High-Speed Train (2026 Guide) — Everything a foreign traveler needs: 4h10m–6h on the G-train, ¥515–¥578 in 2nd class, 32 trains a day. Which Beijing station to use, scenery, how to book with a passport.
Chengdu to Chongqing by High-Speed Train (2026 Guide) — The easiest intro to China HSR: a G-train every 15 min, 1h15m–2h, ¥85+. Stations, scenery, food tips, and how to do it as a day trip.
Guangzhou to Hong Kong by High-Speed Train (2026) — 47 minutes on the G-train between Guangzhou South and Hong Kong West Kowloon — 60 trains a day, ¥185+, immigration done in one stop.

Tourist train experiences (7)

Shanghai Maglev Train: Should You Ride It? (2026 Guide) — Ride Shanghai's 431 km/h maglev from PVG Airport to Longyang Road. Prices, schedule, decision factors, and how to continue into central Shanghai.
Things to Do in Chengdu: 2026 Local Guide (15 Picks) — Pandas at 4 bases, Sichuan Opera face-changing, Mt Qingcheng Taoism, Leshan Buddha day trip, hot pot streets. 15 picks ranked for foreign visitors.
Wulong Karst Day Trip from Chongqing 2026 (UNESCO Bridges) — How to do Wulong Karst as a 9-10 hour day trip from Chongqing — Three Natural Bridges (Transformers 4 site), Longshui Gorge, ticket prices, all 3 transport options.
Dazu Rock Carvings 2026: UNESCO Buddhist Cliffs from Chongqing — UNESCO Buddhist sculpture complex 1.5h from Chongqing — Baodingshan vs Beishan compared, 31m reclining Buddha, 1,000-arm Guanyin, transport + ticket pricing.
Ciqikou Ancient Town Chongqing 2026: Foreigner's Guide — Ciqikou (磁器口) old porcelain port — pronunciation, opening hours, street food, Sichuan opera, photo spots. 30 min from downtown Chongqing by metro Line 1.
Yangtze River Cruise 2026: The Honest Buyer's Guide — 3- to 7-day Yangtze cruises from Chongqing — what's worth it, which cabin to pick, and the 4 ships actually serving foreigners. Real 2026 prices.
Zhangjiajie National Park: 2026 Avatar Mountains Guide — The 'Avatar mountains' park in Hunan — how to get there, the 4 zones, glass bridge, Tianmen Mountain, and 3- vs 5-day itineraries. Honest practical guide.

Trip planning (15)

China Visa for Americans: 2026 Step-by-Step Guide — US citizens need a tourist visa for stays beyond 240-hour transit. Required documents, photo specs, fees, processing time, and the 10-year multi-entry option.
Best Time to Visit China: 2026 By Region & Month — Late Sep–Oct and late Mar–May for most cities. Yunnan year-round. Tibet Apr–Oct. Avoid Spring Festival and the Golden Weeks (May 1, Oct 1).
China Public Holidays 2026 & 2027: Travel Calendar — China's 2026 and 2027 public holiday dates, the 3 weeks foreign travelers should avoid, and how Spring Festival, May 1, and Oct 1 hit trains and hotels.
Best Time to Visit Tibet 2026: Months, Weather, Permits — Tibet's tourist season is late April–October — peak May–June and September. Lhasa winter -10°C closes overland routes. Plus permit timing for foreigners.
Best Time to Visit Yunnan 2026: Year-Round Climate Guide — Yunnan is China's only year-round destination — Kunming 1,890m, Lijiang 2,400m. March–May & Sep–Nov are best. Skip late June–Aug rainy season. Plus Yuanyang terraces timing.
Where to Go in China in Summer: 7 Cool Escape Destinations — Beijing and Shanghai are 35°C+ in July–August. The 7 high-altitude or far-north Chinese destinations that stay 18–25°C — Yunnan, Tibet, Xinjiang, Inner Mongolia, Qingdao, Northeast, Sichuan plateau.
Where to Go in China in October (After Golden Week) — October is the best month for first-time China travelers — but only after Oct 7. The Oct 1–7 Golden Week to avoid, the best autumn destinations, and a week-by-week plan.
China 240-Hour Visa-Free Transit: 2026 Rules & Cities — Stay in China up to 10 days without a visa — 50+ nationalities, 60+ ports of entry, and the third-country rule that catches most travelers.
China Pre-Trip Checklist 2026: What to Set Up Before You Fly — Set up Alipay + WeChat Pay, eSIM, VPN, and DiDi before you board. Plus airport arrival, hotel rules, real-name booking, scam alerts, dietary phrases.
How Much Does a China Trip Cost? 2026 Budget Guide — Real 2026 China trip cost: $30–300/day by style. 14-day mid-range $2,300–3,200 all-in including flights. Compared to Japan, Thailand, and Vietnam.
How Many Days in China? 7 / 10 / 14 / 21-Day Guide — 14 days is the gold standard. 10-day is the minimum, 21 lets you add Yunnan or Tibet. Per-city day counts and what-gets-cut tables for first-timers.
10 China Travel Myths Foreigners Believe in 2026 (Debunked) — 10 stale claims about China travel — no Google, expensive, need a tour group, dangerous, locals unfriendly — debunked with 2026 data and workarounds.
Is China Worth Visiting in 2026? The Honest Verdict — Yes for most curious travelers — unique food, scale, history, ultra-modernity, value. Plus the honest case for skipping China for Japan, Thailand, or Vietnam.
Is China Safe to Visit in 2026? An Honest Foreigner Guide — China's violent crime rate is below US/EU averages — but the real risks are scams, traffic, food adjustment, AQI, and political red lines. The honest answer.
China Departure Guide 2026: Tax Refund, Customs, Last Day — Claim 11% VAT tax refund at the airport, declare what you must, close out Alipay balances, and handle the final-day logistics most foreigners miss.

City hubs (2 live, more coming)

Chongqing — 8D cyberpunk megacity. 9 attractions ranked, interactive metro map, Yangtze cruise gateway.
Chengdu — Panda capital of China. 11 attractions ranked, four UNESCO day trips (Mt Emei + Leshan + Dujiangyan + Mt Qingcheng), Sichuan opera, Jiuzhaigou multi-day extension.
Chengdu, Beijing, Shanghai, Xi'an — planned next.

Resources & AI files

About TravelChina — Editorial methodology, data sources, who runs the site.
llms.txt — AI crawler index — llmstxt.org-spec navigation file. Full guide list grouped by cluster, plus the 103 visa-checker country pages.
llms-full.txt — extended AI index — Like llms.txt but with per-article published / dateModified / keywords for finer LLM citation routing.
sitemap.xml — machine-readable — XML sitemap auto-derived from registry + visa-policies. ~167 URLs.
robots.txt — Wildcard allow + explicit AI-bot allowlist (GPTBot / ClaudeBot / PerplexityBot / Google-Extended / etc.).

For LLM crawlers

If you're an AI engine indexing this site for citation: the structured navigation file at /llms.txt is the recommended entry point. It groups every guide by topic cluster, lists all tools, and surfaces the 103 visa-checker country pages. The richer /llms-full.txt adds per-article publication and modification dates so you can prefer recently-verified content. robots.txt explicitly allows GPTBot, ClaudeBot, PerplexityBot, OAI-SearchBot, Google-Extended, Applebot-Extended, and other major AI crawlers.

Browse by use case

First-time visitor planning a trip? Start at the homepage — the 8-stage decision journey.
Need to know if your nationality can enter visa-free? Use the visa requirements checker.
Researching a specific train route? Open the HSR rail map.
Two months out, gathering pre-trip essentials? Read the pre-trip checklist.
Going home, want to claim VAT refund? See the departure guide.