What Should I Do During My First 24 Hours in China?

At the airport: do only the jobs you actually need

After a long flight, airports are bad places to make complicated decisions.

Your first objective is simple:

be legally admitted, get online and reach the correct hotel.

Do not feel you must buy every travel product in arrivals.

If your roaming or eSIM already works, use it.

If your payment app already works, you do not need to solve banking at the airport.

If your hotel is waiting, go there.

Before leaving arrivals, check mobile data

Open:

• your map;
• your hotel booking;
• a message app;
• your payment wallet.

If all four load, your data connection is usable.

If not, connect to official airport Wi-Fi if available or activate your backup connection.

Do not spend an hour troubleshooting a non-essential app while exhausted.

Get a small cash backup if you have none

Mobile payment is the default for many daily purchases, but arrival day is the worst time to discover a card or wallet problem.

If you have zero RMB, consider withdrawing or exchanging a small amount.

You do not need to carry a large stack of cash. You need enough to keep moving if your phone payment fails.

Reach the hotel with the Chinese address ready

Before approaching a taxi, ride-hailing pickup or transport desk, have the hotel address open in Chinese.

A good hotel note includes:

• property name in Chinese;
• full address;
• phone number.

If your hotel has multiple branches, confirm the exact one.

Airport taxi drivers do not need a speech about your itinerary. They need the correct destination.

At hotel check-in, use your original passport

Hotels register foreign guests as part of the check-in process.

Keep the original passport accessible.

If you are not staying in a hotel, accommodation registration rules still apply. As of September 2026, online registration for foreigners staying in non-hotel residences is available nationwide through National Immigration Administration channels, with offline registration still available.

Do not leave that task until the end of the trip.

Once in the room, test one real payment

Do not assume that because a card linked successfully, every payment will work.

Buy something small:

• water;
• convenience-store item;
• coffee.

Test the QR payment workflow while you still have:

• hotel Wi-Fi;
• time;
• a front desk nearby;
• backup cash.

If it fails, troubleshoot now rather than at tomorrow’s railway station.

Confirm your map is using the right city

Open Amap and search:

• your hotel;
• tomorrow’s first attraction;
• tomorrow’s railway station if you have a train.

Check the travel time.

This often reveals bad assumptions immediately.

A station that looked “central” in an itinerary may be 45 minutes away from the hotel.

If you need a local SIM, buy it after you are rested

Foreign nationals can purchase SIM service with a passport at official operator stores.

Unless you urgently need a Chinese number, there is no prize for doing this immediately after a 12-hour flight.

Go after checking into the hotel.

Bring your passport.

Ask clearly about:

• plan validity;
• data allowance;
• top-up;
• whether calls/SMS are included;
• cancellation or expiry.

Eat somewhere easy

Your first meal does not need to be a legendary restaurant from a social-media list.

Choose somewhere close.

Use:

• photo menu;
• translation;
• QR menu;
• staff recommendation.

If you have a serious allergy, show a prepared Chinese-language allergy statement rather than trying to improvise the vocabulary while tired.

Take one short walk, not a city marathon

If jet lag has not destroyed you, walk around the hotel neighborhood.

Find:

• a convenience store;
• the nearest metro entrance;
• a breakfast option;
• an ATM if you need one.

This short orientation makes the second day feel much easier.

Before bed, check tomorrow’s hard commitments

Review only the things with a fixed time:

• train;
• domestic flight;
• timed attraction;
• tour pickup.

For a train, confirm:

• station;
• train number;
• departure time;
• travel time from hotel to station;
• passport used for booking.

Set an alarm with margin.

Charge everything

Plug in:

• phone;
• watch;
• camera;
• backup battery if appropriate.

Arrival day can drain a phone quickly because of roaming, maps, photos and payment setup.

You want day two to start at 100%, not 28%.

A realistic first 24 hours

A successful first day might be:

15:00 — land
16:30 — clear entry formalities and collect luggage
17:00 — confirm data and payment backup
17:30 — leave airport
19:00 — hotel check-in
19:30 — test mobile payment at convenience store
20:00 — simple dinner nearby
21:00 — short neighborhood walk
21:30 — confirm tomorrow’s route and ticket
22:00 — shower, charge devices, sleep

That may sound unexciting.

It is exactly what makes the next nine days easier.