Your Visa gets a blank stare.
The noodle shop only takes a QR code taped to the counter. The line behind you grows. You leave hungry.
CH 02Pay like a local
2026 edition · 240 pages · EN / 日本語 / FR
Visit China
like you belong.
The field manual for foreigners who want to pay, eat, move and sort out paperwork in China without getting lost. Written by people who have lived here for years.
- 30 day refund, no questions
- 12 months of free updates
- One time price
Tap the water to feed the koi
01·The problem
China runs on apps you don't have yet.
Nobody tells you before you land. Here is what goes wrong in the first 48 hours, and where the guide fixes it.
Your map is guessing.
The pin says the subway entrance is here. It is across a six lane road. The taxi driver does not take your card either.
CH 04Get around the city
Your group chat goes quiet.
WhatsApp, Gmail and Google stop loading at the airport. Everyone around you is on WeChat and you have no account.
CH 09The Great Firewall
Everything that took us five years to learn, in one afternoon of reading.
02·What's inside
Twelve chapters. One survival kit for your first year.
Each chapter stands on its own. Read them in order on the plane, or jump straight to the one you need today.
Land & don't panic.
First 24 hours: airport SIM, the Alipay tourist card, hotel WiFi that never shows up, and what the arrival card is really asking.
18 pagesFree chapter
Pay like a local.
WeChat Pay and Alipay with a foreign card, what to do when the QR code fails, and how to split a hotpot bill.
22 pagesFree chapter
Eat everything.
Read a menu with photos only. Six phrases that get you fed anywhere. How to pick the good restaurant on a street of bad ones.
26 pagesFull chapter in the guide
Get around the city.
Didi, the metro, high speed rail and the bus app you actually need. When a taxi beats Didi on price.
16 pagesFull chapter in the guide
Visa & paperwork.
Z, M and X1 visas, the residence permit, and the checklist for the exit and entry bureau. What to bring, what to wear in the photo.
20 pagesFull chapter in the guide
Seven more chapters.
- 06Get an apartment
- 07Healthcare without panic
- 08Banking & money
- 09The Great Firewall
- 10Holidays & travel
- 11Culture & etiquette
- 12Going home
03·The country you are actually going to
Not the China in the headlines.
Eight things the guide assumes you will want to do, photographed where they happen.
01 · Cashless · 支付宝
Every cab, every cart, every dumpling shop runs on QR.
02 · 高铁 · High-speed rail
Shanghai to Beijing in 4½ hours. Faster than your flight.
03 · 蟹宴 · Crab feast
A whole-crab banquet. The food is the reason you came.
04 · 租车 · Rentals
EV, scooter, shared car — without a Chinese license.
05 · 张家界 · Zhangjiajie
Stone pillars that look like Pandora. They are real.
06 · 花江峡谷大桥 · Huajiang Canyon Bridge
World's tallest bridge — 625m above the canyon floor.
07 · 培育珠宝 · Lab-grown gems
World capital of lab-grown diamonds, sapphires, emeralds.
08 · 汉服 · Hanfu photo session
A weekend of dynasty silk in West Lake or Forbidden City.
01 · Cashless · 支付宝
Every cab, every cart, every dumpling shop runs on QR.
02 · 高铁 · High-speed rail
Shanghai to Beijing in 4½ hours. Faster than your flight.
03 · 蟹宴 · Crab feast
A whole-crab banquet. The food is the reason you came.
04 · 租车 · Rentals
EV, scooter, shared car — without a Chinese license.
05 · 张家界 · Zhangjiajie
Stone pillars that look like Pandora. They are real.
06 · 花江峡谷大桥 · Huajiang Canyon Bridge
World's tallest bridge — 625m above the canyon floor.
07 · 培育珠宝 · Lab-grown gems
World capital of lab-grown diamonds, sapphires, emeralds.
08 · 汉服 · Hanfu photo session
A weekend of dynasty silk in West Lake or Forbidden City.
04·How it works
Buy once. Read anywhere. Stay current.
1
Pay $19 through Stripe
Any major card, one checkout page, no account needed first. Your library is created with your email.
2
Download in your language
The full 240 page PDF in English, 日本語 or Français. It reads well on a phone, a Kindle, an iPad or on paper.
3
Get every update for a year
Visa rules and apps change. Each new edition lands in your library for 12 months, and you get an email when it does.
05·Read before you buy
The first page of chapter 2.
No sample PDF to download. Chapters 1 and 2 are free to read in full, right here in the browser.
EXCERPT · CHAPTER 02 · PAY LIKE A LOCAL
The first time your card fails at a noodle shop, you'll understand why this chapter exists.
The cashier looks at your Visa like it's a museum artifact. The line behind you grows. The owner gestures at a QR code taped to the counter. You point at your phone and shrug. Someone behind you sighs. You leave without the noodles.
This happened to me in November 2019, in a 12 seat shop in Hangzhou that served the best wonton I'd had in months. I walked back to my hotel, set up WeChat Pay with a workaround that took twenty minutes, and came back. The owner laughed. The noodles were cold. They were still excellent.
You don't have to do that. The workaround used to take twenty minutes. Today it takes three, if you know which screen to tap.
Chapter 2 keeps going — all of it is free.
Read all of chapter 2 free“I wish I'd had this on my first day. It would have saved me an entire week of being lost, stressed and overpaying for everything.”
06·One price · one file
No subscription. No upsell. Just the guide.
You buy it once and get it in three languages. Every update for a year is included, because China keeps changing and so does this book.
Survive in China
The complete guide · PDF · 2026 edition
$19One time12 months of updates included
- Full 240 page PDF in English, 日本語 and Français
- Free updates for 12 months as visa rules and apps change
- Download again anytime from your library
- 30 day refund, no questions asked
Secure checkout with Stripe
07·Questions
Before you pack.
I'm only visiting for ten days. Is this for me?
Yes. Chapters 1 to 4 cover arrival, payments, food and getting around, which is what a short trip needs. Skip the visa, apartment and banking chapters until you move here.
Will my foreign card work in China?
Often not at small shops, which only take QR payments. Chapter 2 shows how to link a Visa or Mastercard to Alipay and WeChat Pay, and what to do on the day it gets declined.
Which apps will stop working when I land?
Google (search, Gmail, Maps, Drive, YouTube), everything Meta makes including WhatsApp and Instagram, and most Western news sites. Chapter 9 covers which VPN to pick, what to install before you fly, and the Chinese apps that replace what you lose.
What languages is it in?
English, 日本語 and Français. All three are in your library from day one, each edited by hand rather than machine translated.
How do the 12 months of updates work?
Each time a chapter changes, the new PDF replaces the old one in your library and we email you a short note on what changed. Updates are free for 12 months from your purchase date.
Is it a printed book?
It's a 240 page PDF. It reads well on a phone, a Kindle or an iPad, and prints cleanly on A4 or Letter if you want paper in your bag.
What if it isn't useful for me?
Email us within 30 days of buying and we'll refund you in full. No form, no questions.
How do I pay?
Through Stripe Checkout with any major credit or debit card. We never see or store your card details.
Land, pay, eat, move. Sorted before your first noodle.
240 pages, three languages, a year of updates.
Get the guide$1930 day refund · Secure checkout with Stripe