Before you fly
- Confirm entry eligibility on official China MFA / embassy sources for your nationality (unilateral visa-free windows and 240-hour transit rules change — including end dates). We do not publish a nationality legal table here.
- Install Alipay and WeChat Pay; verify passport; link Visa/Mastercard; test a tiny payment.
- Book hotels that clearly accept foreign passports; plan to hand over the passport at check-in for police registration.
- Open our release-times table and set calendar alarms in Beijing time.
First 48 hours after landing
- Complete hotel registration the first night — keep confirmation / room card handy.
- Book or confirm: Forbidden City, Tiananmen, National Museum if Beijing is on the plan.
- If WeChat booking fails for lack of +86 SMS, ask the hotel desk (Tiananmen pattern) or use labelled overseas / Trip.com paths — see booking without a Chinese phone.
- Prefer English web when it exists; use WeChat only when that’s the real inventory — channel chooser.
Practical checklist based on our verified attraction booking captures (Oct 2026) plus common hotel registration requirements for foreign guests. Visa eligibility: always re-check MFA / your embassy — policies and expiry dates move.
Payments: Alipay / WeChat Pay setup.
FAQ
Does visa-free mean I can skip attraction reservations?
No. Forbidden City, National Museum, Tiananmen, Lingyin, and many others still need timed tickets or reservations.
What about hotel check-in?
Hotels must register foreign guests with public security using your passport. Keep the passport on you for the first night check-in; some budget properties are awkward with walk-ins — book somewhere used to foreign passports.
Alipay Tour Pass?
Outdated for new users — link a foreign Visa/Mastercard in the main Alipay/WeChat Pay apps after passport verification.
What should I book first?
Anything with a fixed release clock or WeChat-only path: Forbidden City (20:00), National Museum / Shaanxi History Museum (17:00), Tiananmen (12:00 date refresh), Lingyin (08:00 / 7 days).