Skip to content
MyVisaPort

🇨🇳 China

China is no. 15 in our list of the 50 most visited destinations, with 26.9 million international arrivals in 2024. Below: visa rules for every passport, cash limits at customs and the tourist traps official travel advice warns about.

Rank 15 of 50 by international arrivals (26.9 million, 2024) · Source: National Bureau of Statistics of China – Statistical Communiqué on the 2024 National Economic and Social Development (28 Feb 2025)

Check your visa route for China

Pick your passport and where you live — China is already filled in.

Visas or permits I hold (optional)

Visa rules for your passport ↓

Explore China: things to do, shopping, food and getting around

Beijing and Shanghai. Every item links to official sources: the Shanghai tourism administration, the Beijing and Shanghai government portals, the Palace Museum and the Great Wall operators.

Things to do

Places to visit

Shopping

Cheap ways to get around

Nightlife

Food

General tips

Summarised in our own words from the linked pages, official tourism boards and transport authorities first; items marked "Not official" come from other guides. Prices and opening times change, so check the source before you go. Last checked 23 Oct 2026.

Common tourist traps and how to avoid them

Scams and risky spots named in official travel advice for China, plus a few reported in public visitor reviews (labelled), in our own words.

  1. Tea-tasting or massage invite

    How it works: Friendly strangers invite you for tea, drinks or a massage; the venue demands a huge fee, sometimes with threats or card fraud.

    How to avoid it: Politely refuse such invitations and pick venues yourself.

  2. QR-code phishing

    How it works: Fake QR codes (on stickers or messages) lead to phishing pages that steal payment details.

    How to avoid it: Scan only codes shown by the merchant, check the payee name in the app before paying.

  3. Fake 100-yuan notes

    How it works: Counterfeit notes, especially RMB 100, are common – even from ATMs – and banks will not replace them.

    How to avoid it: Check notes carefully when you receive them; pay by app where possible.

  4. Unmarked or unmetered taxis

    How it works: Robberies and sexual assaults have happened in unmarked cabs; fare disputes can escalate.

    How to avoid it: Use marked taxis, insist on the meter, ask for a receipt with the taxi number.

  5. Fights mean detention

    How it works: Anyone in a physical altercation can be fined or detained and asked for compensation, whoever started it.

    How to avoid it: Walk away from confrontations.

  6. Restricted military areas

    How it works: Foreigners entering restricted zones or photographing sensitive sites can be detained, fined or deported.

    How to avoid it: Watch for signs and do not photograph military or sensitive sites.

  7. "Tea ceremony" with friendly students

    How it works: Near People's Square, Nanjing Road and the Bund, friendly young people ask to practise English or take a photo, then invite you to a tea tasting or bar. Visitors report bills of hundreds or thousands of yuan and pressure to pay.

    How to avoid it: Be polite, but don't go to a venue a stranger chooses. If you do sit down, ask for the menu with prices first. Police: 110.

    From visitor reviews, not official People's Square, Nanjing Road and the Bund, Shanghai. Sources: reddit.com · reddit.com · tripadvisor.com · china.org.cn. Researched 23 Oct 2026; there is no official page to re-check, so this date is not updated automatically.

Areas flagged in official advice

  • Restricted military areas
  • "Sensitive" regions and dates (more attention from authorities)
  • Gyirong County, Tibet (Aug 2026 floods)

Official advice: FCDO: no areas advised against.

Emergency numbers in China

Other traps paraphrased from official travel advice: FCDO travel advice – Safety and security · FCDO travel advice – Warnings and insurance · FCDO travel advice – Getting help (emergency numbers) · FCDO page updated 27 Aug 2026 · Last checked 2 Nov 2026. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

Cash you can bring in and take out

Customs rules for banknotes and other cash when you enter or leave China.

China Customs / SAFE

Bringing cash in
Use the red channel and declare if carrying RMB 20,000 or more, or foreign cash worth USD 5,000 or more.
Taking cash out
Declare on exit RMB 20,000 or more, or foreign cash worth USD 5,000 or more. Foreign cash above USD 5,000 can only leave with your entry declaration or a bank permit (above USD 10,000: SAFE permit).
Local currency (CNY) in
RMB 20,000 maximum (amounts above are not permitted).
Local currency (CNY) out
RMB 20,000 maximum.
Foreign currency
No import limit, but declare above USD 5,000; if you will take it out again, fill in two declaration forms on arrival and keep the stamped copy.

Official source: english.customs.gov.cn · gov.cn · Last checked 2 Nov 2026

China visa rules by passport

The general rule for each passport, from official sources. Open a passport to see conditions and options that depend on where you live.

Visa-free79 passports
Embassy visa116 passports

Verified rules for China: 195 of 198 passports; awaiting verification: 3; not yet covered: 0. A rule that is awaiting verification or not yet covered is not a negative visa decision: it only means we haven't confirmed it on an official source yet.

Requirements for all visitors to China

These apply on top of the visa rules above, whatever your passport, unless an item says otherwise.

  • HealthYellow fever certificate if arriving from a WHO yellow-fever risk country

    Applies to: travellers aged 9 months or over arriving from a country WHO lists as a yellow-fever risk country; also after an airport transit of more than 12 hours in such a country; itineraries limited to Hong Kong or Macao SAR are exempt (CDC).

    Official source: cdn.who.int · Also checked: wwwnc.cdc.govNot official · Last checked 25 Oct 2026

Nearby destinations

Official travel advice

Suggest something for our China guide

A place, a tip or a correction. We check every suggestion against a reliable source before anything is published.

Don't include personal details. We store the suggestion, the optional name and the page, not your email or IP address. No cookies are set. Privacy

Optional travel offers

Some links are affiliate links. Booking through them costs you nothing extra, and a small commission helps pay MyVisaPort’s ongoing hosting and maintenance costs and keeps the site free of banner ads. We only list services we think are useful, and they never affect the visa information we publish. These offers are not part of the visa guidance above and are never used to rank routes. How partner links work

Plan your trip to China

Verify with the embassy before you book. Visa rules change without notice. We link every rule to its official source and last checked it on 2 Nov 2026, but the embassy, official e-visa portal and your airline have the final say. MyVisaPort is not a visa agent and is not affiliated with any government.