Trust
About China Travel Radar
China Travel Radar is an independent, solo-run guide for foreign visitors to China, focused on visas, entry rules, internet access, payments, and practical city planning.
China Travel Radar is an independent, solo-run travel-information project for international visitors to mainland China. It is built for the questions that usually cause stress before arrival: whether you need a visa, how the digital arrival card works, whether your apps will work, how to pay without a Chinese bank account, and how to plan a first trip without losing days to avoidable friction.
The site is not a travel agency, tour operator, visa broker, or government website. It does not sell China tours. The goal is to give travelers a clear starting point, then point them toward official sources, on-the-ground checks, and practical next steps.
What this site is trying to do
Most China travel information is either promotional, outdated, or written for people who already know how China works. China Travel Radar is written from the foreign-visitor angle: what breaks at the airport, which app needs setup before you fly, which rules changed recently, and what a first-timer should do next.
The site focuses on practical pages rather than broad inspiration. A good China Travel Radar page should answer the question directly, name the exceptions, link the next required step, and say when the information was last checked.
How information is checked
Policy pages prioritize official sources first: China’s National Immigration Administration, government notices, consulates, airport or railway operators, and official attraction or payment-provider pages when available.
Practical pages combine official documentation with recent traveler reports, platform behavior, screenshots or field checks when available, and China-specific context. If something depends on device, card issuer, app version, or port of entry, the page should say so instead of pretending one answer covers every case.
What gets updated first
The highest-priority updates are visa rules, transit rules, the digital arrival card, payment setup, internet access, blocked apps, and major city logistics. These are the topics where old information can create real travel stress.
City guides and planning pages are updated more gradually. They should still carry useful dates, prices, transport times, and trap warnings, but policy and entry pages come first when rules change.
Independence and disclosure
China Travel Radar is independent and solo-run. If a page includes affiliate links or paid partnerships in the future, that relationship should be disclosed near the recommendation, not hidden in a footer.
Recommendations should be based on usefulness for a foreign visitor, not on whether a product pays a commission.
Corrections
China changes quickly. When a rule, app flow, fee, or transport detail becomes wrong, the right fix is to update the page, note the date, and prefer the safer interpretation until the new rule is confirmed.