ChinaTravel

I get this question at least twice a week: "Peng, how many days do I need in Beijing?" The honest answer: 4 days minimum. 5 if you want to breathe. Day 1: Forbidden City + Jingshan Park (book tickets a week ahead) Day 2: Great Wall — leave by 6:30am, Mutianyu is closest Day 3: Temple of Heaven in the morning, Summer Palace after lunch Day 4: Hutong walking tour + 798 Art District Day 5 (optional): Xi'an — take the 4.5hr high-speed train, see the Terracotta Warriors This isn't a rushed itinerary. It's what I've refined over 15 years of bringing clients here. You could do it in 3 days but you'd hate yourself by day 2. Want a full day-by-day plan? That's what I do. Just ask.

Client tip I give everyone: book the Great Wall for a Tuesday or Wednesday morning. Arrive before 8am. Why? I took a family from Melbourne to Mutianyu last Thursday. We got there at 7:45. Had the entire section to ourselves for a full hour. No crowds, no noise, just the wall stretching into the mist. By 9:30 the tour buses started arriving. By 10 it was shoulder-to-shoulder. We were already heading down on the toboggan run laughing our heads off. Timing is everything in China travel. I've been doing this 15 years — I know which spots to hit early and which to skip entirely. If you want my honest itinerary tips, just ask. I don't gatekeep.

Someone in my DMs just asked: "Is Chongqing worth visiting?" Let me tell you about the last time I took a client there. We arrived at night. Stepped out of the airport, and she stopped dead. The entire city was glowing — skyscrapers built into mountains, lights reflecting off the river, bridges crisscrossing in every direction. She said: "This looks like a movie set." Next morning we ate noodles at a tiny shop my friend runs. Bowl of chongqing xiaomian — 8 yuan, and she said it was the best thing she'd eaten in China. That afternoon we took the Yangtze River cable car across the city. She was pressed against the window taking videos the whole way. At dinner she asked me: "Why don't more tourists come here?" Good question. I don't know either. But my clients do.

A client from Texas asked me last week: "Do I really need WeChat Pay and Alipay, or can I just use cash?" Short answer: bring cash as backup, but you'll struggle without the apps. Here's the reality: even street vendors in Chengdu now have QR codes. I watched a French tourist try to buy an egg crepe (jianbing) with a 100 yuan note last month. The vendor couldn't make change. The guy behind him in line scanned a QR code and paid for it. The Frenchman looked so confused I stepped in and helped him set up Alipay on the spot. My advice: set up Alipay before you leave home. Link your international card. It takes 10 minutes and saves you a hundred awkward moments. Need help? I wrote a step-by-step guide. Link in bio.

I took a British family to a night market in Kunming last week. The dad stopped at a stall selling fried insects and his 10-year-old daughter said: "Daddy if you eat one I'll never be embarrassed by you again." He ate three. She high-fived him. The mom filmed the whole thing. This is what I tell my clients: China's street food isn't just about eating. It's about the stories you take home. And some of those stories come on a stick.

I have taken China's high-speed trains hundreds of times. Last month I fell asleep and missed my stop by 200 kilometers. Woke up in a panic. The conductor saw my face, checked my ticket, and said calmly: "Get off at the next stop, cross the platform, take the train back. No new ticket needed." Total damage: 45 minutes and zero yuan. I sat there thinking — in what other country does missing your stop cost you nothing? 400 million people ride these trains every month. 99% on-time rate. And when you mess up? They just... help you. My client still scolded me for being late to our meeting. Some things even China's railway cannot save you from.

A 70-year-old Australian lady needed a ride to her hotel last week. No Chinese. Never used a ride-hailing app in her life. I installed Didi on her phone, showed her how messages auto-translate, sent her off praying she would make it. She called me 20 minutes later, laughing. The driver had played traditional Chinese music the whole way and taught her to say 谢谢. She used Didi four more times during her trip — completely alone. Each ride she sent me a voice note: "Your Chinese robot is working!" This is the part of my job nobody talks about. Not the itineraries, not the hotel bookings. The moment someone realizes they can navigate China on their own. That is what I actually sell.

A friend from Germany visited Chongqing and asked nervously: "Is it safe here at night?" I told him: I let my 6-year-old go downstairs alone to buy soy sauce from the corner shop. My 70-year-old mom square dances in the park at 9 PM. In 15 years of doing this work, violent crime against a tourist? Not one. Pickpocketing at crowded spots? Sure — same as anywhere. Lost my wallet in a Didi three times — got it back every time. He walked back from a night market at 11 PM on his last night. Messaged me: "This city feels alive at night, not dangerous." The real danger in China? Crossing the road in Chongqing during rush hour. That I cannot defend you from.

Three things I tell every client to pack that they never think of: 1. A power bank. China runs on phones — maps, payments, translation, everything. A dead phone means you're stranded. ¥80 at any convenience store gets you 10,000mAh. 2. An insulated thermos. Not for hot water (well, also for hot water) — but because most hotels and restaurants have free hot water stations, and cold bottled water from a thermos is surprisingly nice after a day of walking. 3. A small pack of tissues. Public bathrooms in China don't always have toilet paper. I learned this the hard way my first year in the industry. Never again. Everything else — clothes, toiletries, adapters — you can buy in China for less than bringing it from home. But these three? They'll save your trip. Full packing list on the blog.

Saw a confused tourist at the ticket machine in Chongqing North Railway Station today. He was holding a printed booking confirmation and trying to figure out what to do next. I told him: you don't need a paper ticket. Your passport IS the ticket. Just scan it at the gate and walk through. His face went from stressed to relieved in two seconds. That interaction reminded me how much has changed. 15 years ago I was the confused one — queuing for paper tickets, showing up an hour early just in case. Now? I book on 12306 while cooking breakfast, scan my passport at the station, and I'm on the train. The whole thing takes 10 seconds. I told the guy: if you're nervous about the train system, download 12306 and practice searching a route before your trip. Even if you're not booking yet, just get familiar with the interface. And remember — your passport is your ticket. No printing needed.

After 15 years of eating through every night market I can find — with my own kids in tow — here's my honest answer on street food safety in China: Most of it is perfectly safe. And some of it is the best meal you'll have in China. I follow rules I teach my clients too: Eat where locals eat. A stall with a line of Chinese customers is a good sign. Watch for high turnover. Constant fresh cooking is safer than food sitting out. Skip raw or lukewarm stuff. Stick to freshly fried, grilled, or steamed. Bring your own tissues or wipes. Street stalls don't have napkins. My kids have eaten street food across China — jianbing for breakfast, chuan'er (grilled lamb skewers) for dinner — never had a problem. Your stomach might need a day to adjust to the oil and spice if you're not used to it. That's not a safety issue, just an adjustment. My golden rule: if it smells good and you see locals eating it, go for it. Some of my best travel memories involve a plastic stool, a paper plate, and something I couldn't name but was delicious.

Can I use Google in China? Nope — not without a VPN. Google, Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram, Twitter/X — none of them work on China's domestic internet. I tell all my clients this before their trip, because I've seen too many people land at Beijing airport and panic when they can't check their messages. Here's what I recommend: Download a VPN before you leave home. Most VPN sites are blocked inside China. Install everything you'll need on your home WiFi: VPN app, WhatsApp, Google Maps offline, Alipay, DiDi. Test the VPN works before you board. Which VPN actually works in China? It changes constantly. The government blocks some, others get through. I update my list on the blog regularly. One thing people don't realize: hotel WiFi has the same restrictions. So plan ahead and you'll be fine.

Short answer: nope. Uber sold its China business to Didi in 2016, so the app won't work here. But honestly? Didi is better anyway. Works exactly like Uber with English interface and maps. I've been using it for years with clients who can't read a word of Chinese. One tip: link it to Alipay before you leave home. Saves the hassle of figuring out payment when you're jet-lagged at 2am outside the airport. Oh, and download the app BEFORE you land. Setting it up needs a SMS verification. Do it on WiFi at home.