What to Prepare When Visiting China
April 23, 2024
This blog post is more for me to remember what exactly to prepare when visiting China as so much has changed in China since we last went 5 years ago! Hopefully you’ll find it helpful too!
How to apply for China visa
We no longer apply to the China Embassy, instead you apply through the New Chinese Visa Application Service Center
- Address: 6/F Noble Square, Ayala Avenue, Makati (next building to STI/Jollibee/Dunkin Donuts)
- Operating Hours: Monday to Friday (except Public Holidays): 9 AM – 3 PM
- Processing time: roughly 4 working days, including the application date
- Single Entry: ₱2,898
- Double Entry: ₱3,448
- Over 6 months Multiple: ₱4,998
- Accomplished Visa Application Form (fillable online through CVASC Manila website, just Google it. Use laptop to fill this up!)
- One 48mm x 33mm Photo (taken within 6 months): Tell the photo studio that you’re applying for a China visa. Then make sure to request them to send you the digital copy of the photo (note: some studios charge extra for this), as the visa application form will require you to upload the photo. Also, do NOT wear white when getting your photo taken, and make sure to wear a collared top
- Original Passport and Old Passport (if your previous visa is in your old passport)
- Photocopy of Passport’s Bio Page (make sure to sign your Passport)
- Photocopy of Previous Chinese Visa/s
- Travel Itinerary (detailed is better)
- Roundtrip Airline Ticket
- Confirmed Hotel Accommodation
Other notes:
- CVASC only accepts walk-ins, no appointment needed. Come early and try to be there as soon as they’re open. Previously at the China Embassy, they allow proxies to submit the application, not sure if it’s the same case for CVASC
- Only cash payment currently accepted
- Photocopy and printing services are provided (for a fee), while there’s a free desktop to modify your application and free water (bring your own bottle)
- Be vigilant and listen to the guard calling out numbers. If you’re skipped, they won’t accept your number anymore and you have to queue again
How to pay for stuff in China (WeChat and Alipay)
As you might have heard, China has gone all digital and people prefer being paid via WeChat or Alipay instead of plain cash. So in this section I’ll walk you through which apps to download and how to link your credit card to them)
App #1: WeChat
Once you’ve downloaded WeChat, go to Me > Services > Wallet > Cards, then add a card. Note that certain establishments might charge a 3% fee in case you use a credit card-linked to WeChat when paying. This occurred to us once, but only once! So I actually preferred using WeChat to pay vs Alipay (where you’re always charged a 3% fee)
Also, we noticed that if the wallet we were paying to was a personal one, the credit card-linked WeChat wouldn’t work. When that happens, we use Alipay insted
Note: Make sure to verify your account (just upload your passport photo to verify your account). Otherwise, once you go past a certain spend limit, you won’t be able to use your WeChat Pay anymore.
App #2: Alipay
Download Alipay (Lifestyle) from the app store. Don’t confuse this with Alipay HK (Finance) – which is different.
Once downloaded, go to Account > Bank Cards, then just add a card. Similar to WeChat, make sure to verify your account as well so there won’t be a spend limit.
Also, Alipay will charge a 3% fee every time you use it via credit card. Super bummer
Actually, one tip friends have told us if you pay your hotel concierge in cash and have them transfer money to your WePay/Alipay wallet instead. In this case, no 3% fee would be charged and you can use WeChat/Alipay everywhere. Then once you’re done with your China trip and still have money left over in your wallet, you can then just transfer it to someone else. Ohwell, we didn’t explore this option
Cash and Credit Cards
Not sure if it was because we were in a touristy area (we were in Guangzhou during Canton Fair), but all the establishments accepted cash whenever we couldn’t use WeChat Pay or Alipay. Likewise, bigger establishments – e.g. hotel, big restaurants, all accepted credit cards. So overall, no problem paying for stuff in China
How to get VPN and data
Globe/Smart data plans
So first off, if you avail of Globe/Smart data plans, they automatically come with VPN. It is quite pricey though, so I never use this. My husband does though because he also makes use of the unli call and text plan. He’s quite happy with it, and I must admit it’s way more convenient than esims/physical data sims!
eSim with VPN
This eSim worked really well for us: 4G/5G eSIM for China, Hong Kong, and Macau – Klook
Just make sure your phone is eSim compatible. Unfortunately, my husband’s phone is Globe locked, and mine was purchased in Hong Kong. So, both of our phone weren’t eSim compatible. What a bummer. My sister used this though and she was pretty happy with it
Physical data sim
Instead, I used a physical data sim purchased from Lazada: Happy – China 15 Days 8GB Unlimited Data Travel Sim | Lazada PH
Popped this data sim into a Glocal Me wifi device (TP Link works too), and it worked like a charm!
Pokefi China VPN data
In case you have Pokefi, you can also purchase a China VPN package. This was super expensive though, so I didn’t bother with this option!
Overall, just keep in mind that without VPN, the only thing you can access would be WeChat, Alipay, and Baidu (Navigation). Weirdly, at certain moments, my Viber would work also. But all other apps and browsers wouldn’t. Save yourself from the hassle and just get VPN. BUT take note, VPN uses a ton of data. We ran through 5GB in 3 days (2 people), so just err on buying more data if needed.
What airline and hotel to book for Guangzhou?
For airline, I super recommend China Southern – their flight times are great, seats are good with decent legroom, and overall just very efficient.
For the hotel, we typically book with LN Guangzhou Hotel, which is located in a very central spot, and most importantly for us, they provide a shuttle bus to and from Canton Fair every day.
How do you get around Guangzhou?
DiDi
We primarily got around using Didi (make sure to download this – it’s their Grab/Uber equivalent). There are multiple Didi options that pop out when you search for it in the app store – get the one that says DiDi-Rider, where the creator is DiDi.
DiDi is super convenient and also VERY cheap. Our airport to hotel ride only costs RMB 70, and this was a ~50 mins ride, including a RMB 10 toll fee already. The only hassle here is finding your driver (especially at the airport). Pro-tip, take a photo of yourself where you’re standing (preferably with a landmark in the photo) and send it to the driver, so the driver can easily find you.
Metro
The Guangzhou Metro is pretty efficient too. You can buy tickets via Alipay, but we just bought straight from the ticket machine (change the language to English and the buying process is pretty straightforward). You’ll get tokens, which you scan when entering the metro, then you drop it in going out.
Cab
There were a ton of cabs in Guangzhou, but we never got to try because DiDi was so convenient to use. Still, you can try this next time!
What do you eat when in Guangzhou
Well obviously this is Canton food, so their dimsum and duck etc are great. Whatever is good in Hong Kong is also excellent here.
But aside from that, their specialty here is really this sauerkraut fish soup, which is sour but actually super delicious!
We also ate claypot rice (amazing! Super yummy) as well frog dishes, which seemed to be a regional specialty as well.
Lastly, their pastries were really excellent – although I’d wager that’s all across China and not just specific to Guangzhou