China Lens Guide

Guide

China Travel Guide

Most of what makes China hard for a first visit is not the country, it is the fifteen minutes after you land when your maps, your messages and your bank card all stop working at once. This is the version written from inside: what the entry rules actually say, what to install before you fly, what a trip costs, and the two places we know well enough to be specific about.

Every page below carries the date it was last checked. Rules and prices in China move quickly — trust the date on the page over the year in any title.

Start here

Will my apps work in China?

Check any app against the Great Firewall before you fly, while you can still install things.

6 digital nomad bases compared

Prices, locations, contacts, and what each operator would and would not confirm.

Entry rules and other one-question answers

Before you fly

The things that stop working the moment you land, and what to install while you can still reach the app store.

Where to go

Two places we know well enough to be specific about: tickets, timings, and what the viral photographs leave out.

Working remotely

Visas, cost, coworking and the bases themselves, for people staying longer than a holiday.

Staying longer

If you are coming to work rather than to look around, the Digital Nomad China section covers visas, legality, cost and the coliving bases in more depth.