77 guides · last checked Aug 2026

Your AI Guide to China

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How to book China attraction tickets with a passport

The single most common way a China trip goes wrong is turning up at a famous site expecting to buy a ticket at the gate.

Check the site's booking window — around a week ahead for the Forbidden City and the Terracotta Army — and be ready at the release hour, because headline sites sell out within minutes.
Install WeChat and register with your own phone number; nearly all official booking runs through WeChat mini-programs. Some attractions also sell on Meituan.
Chinese-only mini-program? Look for a 中文/English toggle on the home screen first. If there is none, tap the three dots at the top right and use the translate button in the drawer's lower row — the icon is an A above 文 — to convert the whole mini-program into your language.

Updated Aug 2026 7 steps 1 official sourceRead the full guide

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China changes its rules quietly. This is the last time we went and looked.

NEWJust launched· Aug 6, 2026

The QR code trick: scan with Alipay, not your camera

Power banks, rental bikes, ordering from a table — scan them with your phone camera and the App Store tells you the app is unavailable in your country. Scan the same code from inside Alipay and it just opens: none of it needs an app. Plus how to translate a Chinese-only mini program, and why switching your App Store to China is the wrong fix.

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