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Your First 30 Days in China

A practical first-month plan arranged in the order that makes each next task easier.

Last checked 7 September 2026 · Practical orientation

Your first month is easier when you handle tasks in dependency order. Start with your accommodation record, a working phone and a tested way to pay. Then make daily travel predictable, organize your records and move on to tasks that depend on your address, work, school or family situation.

This is national orientation. Local submission routes, service-office capability and provider procedures can differ. Check the current route for your city and situation before submitting information or making a long-term commitment.

Before you arrive

Keep an arrival file within reach. Include your passport, current entry or stay documents, accommodation address, hotel or host contact, relevant employer or school contact, insurance details and secure copies of key records.

Keep your destination address in a form you can show or copy, store key contacts outside your main phone and bring more than one way to pay. Your stay purpose, documents, sponsor and accommodation determine which later tasks apply and who owns them.

First 24 hours: confirm your accommodation record

If you stay in a hotel, the hotel handles foreign-guest registration. Confirm at check-in that it recorded the passport used for the stay.

If you stay in a rented home, a friend's home or another non-hotel address, you or the person accommodating you must complete registration with local public security within 24 hours after arrival at that address.

Local channels differ. Use the current route for the address where you are staying, not instructions copied from another city. Follow the full accommodation registration steps and keep the resulting record or confirmation.

First few days: get connected

Current national guidance directs foreigners using a passport or Foreign Permanent Resident ID Card to a service office of China Telecom, China Mobile or China Unicom to apply for a SIM card. Confirm that the specific office can process your document and ask for the current plans and terms.

Before leaving, test calls, messages and mobile data. Record the account-management, support and recovery routes. Use the complete SIM and mobile setup guide.

First few days: create a payment route and fallback

Current official guidance describes registration for WeChat, Alipay or UnionPay apps using a foreign or Chinese mobile number, followed by linking an eligible bank card through the product's current prompts. Eligibility, verification and acceptance can vary; no card logo guarantees that every issuer, card or transaction will work.

Set up one route, make a small ordinary purchase and keep cash or a physical card as a fallback. Follow the mobile payment setup guide.

Your first week: make daily movement predictable

Save your home address and main destinations in a usable format. Test the journey you will make most often and keep a fallback for the last part of the trip.

If you need intercity rail, current national rules accept a foreign passport for real-name ticket purchase through 12306 online and at a ticket window. Check the current verification and travel instructions before relying on the booking.

Use the first-week checklist to record the owner, result and next action for each task.

Weeks two to four: settle the tasks that depend on your situation

Define your commute, budget and essential needs before committing to longer-term housing. Ask an employer, school or sponsor for a written list of the steps it owns and those you own. Save an emergency route, routine-care option, medicine and allergy notes, and insurance information before you need care.

Personal banking may be a later task, but this guide does not state nationwide eligibility, a universal document list or a standard branch process. Keep working payment fallbacks and wait for a separately verified banking guide.

First-month checklist

I can show my address and contact my hotel, host or landlord.
I confirmed who handles accommodation registration and kept the result.
My phone can make calls, receive messages and use mobile data.
I tested one everyday payment route and have a fallback.
I know how to get home and reach my main daily destination.
My identity, stay, registration and account records are stored securely.
I know which employer, school or sponsor tasks apply to me.
I have a healthcare and emergency fallback.
I separated urgent tasks from later commitments.

Common mistakes

Treating hotel and private accommodation as the same path

They have different responsible parties. Identify the accommodation type first.

Copying a local process from another city

The national obligation and local implementation are separate layers. Use the current route for your actual address.

Depending on one phone or payment method

Account checks, card eligibility and merchant acceptance can vary. Test early and keep a fallback.

Frequently asked questions

What should I do first after landing?

Confirm your accommodation and who handles its registration. Then establish working phone access and a tested payment route.

Do I need to finish everything in the first week?

No. Finish time-sensitive arrival tasks first. Move longer-term and situation-dependent work into weeks two to four.

Which tasks depend on my location?

Submission channels, requested materials, office capability, transport systems and provider processes can be local.

Can I rely on one mobile wallet or foreign card?

Do not assume universal compatibility. Test it with a small purchase and keep cash or a physical card available.