Start Traveling in China: Where and How?

Hi Everyone,

My Chinese wife made me a deal. When I get the Chinese green card in about 1.5 years, she said I could travel in and out of China.

1. With the Greencard, I can use all the hotels, not just foreigner hotels.

2. I just need to know, where to go to have fun, see beauty, etc.?

3. I admit, I am still naive to China. I only know the big cities.

4. Can you guys give me a list of top places to see?

For example, Dongbei during these months.

Xizhang during the Summer, etc.?

Once you have the GC, wandering across the border is simpler.  Make sure to register for echannel (usually somewhere just after China checks your passport heading in).  Once you do that, your next trip in or out should be far simpler.

Make sure you are inside of China for at least 3 months each year.  There's a way to get a special exemption if you have a pressing need to be out longer, but reports on how easy that is to get are mixed.

1.  Beijing recently made it VERY clear that there are NO "foreigner" hotels, despite persistant beliefs in rules that ended over 20 years ago.  ALL licensed hotels can accept foreigners (limited exceptions for areas where foreigners are forbidden to enter or require special permits).  Note that this may not apply to AirBnB equivalents.  If you encounter a hotel claiming it can't accept forigners, contact the police and also the National Immigration Association.  In some cases, you may be forced to give up, but always DARE them to try to scan your green card into the hotel registration machine.

2.  Depends.  Does a bamboo raft on a river work for you?  If so, Guangxi has multiple candidates.  Do you prefer mountains, deserts, grasslands, forests, or something else?

3.  Pick a province and use your favorite search engines to look for "Best tourist places in _____".

4.  Xizhang is one area where you'll need the same special permits as other foreigners.

For a start: Great Wall (anywhere along it), Southern Wall (in FengHuang), Moutai town , Xishuangbanna, Yangshou (take a raft to see the back of the 20 rmb bill).

Thanks for the advice.

1. I will look into hotels more. My Beijing wife still believes that all non-Chinese, Greencard, Resident, or tourist, need special foreigner hotel.

I will ask her to research.

Obviously, I am fine with a 2 star hotel, with a clean bed and bathroom, when I need a hotel room for a night. I have no desire, and no money, to pay foreign prices.

2. I am not sure where to start in China. I have seen the Great Wall, twice. I live in Beijing.

You mention some other good sites.

3. Maybe I should just pick "top ten cities" in China, and do what something like Lonely Planet tells me.

For example: Chengdu. Hence, tea houses and pandas.

Guangzhou...

There's plenty of Great Wall left.  Go to one end and walk to the other.

There has been no "special foreigner acceptance certificate" or star requirement for hotels for over 20 years, but various conflicting versions of these restrictions are believed to be 100% true by hotel staff as well as some local authorities.  This has let to more and more problems for foreign visitors, so the government issued public statements to make it plain that that foreigners need to be registered the exact same way as Chinese hotel guests.

https://www.globaltimes.cn/page/202405/1312991.shtml[/u]]https://www.globaltimes.cn/page/202405/1312991.shtml

A hotel can refuse you because they don't like you.  What they cannot do is refuse you because you are foreign.  If they do, go full Karen on them.  Ask to speak to the manager/owner.  Ask the local police to come by and clarify the rules.  If the local police claim there is a special rule for foreigners, ask them to show you the regulation (if they do, get a photo of that ancient artifact) and then call 12345.  Worst case, go elsewhere, but file a formal complaint with the China Hotel Association as well as the Ministry of Commerce.

Another note:  If you have confirmed reservations and a hotel decides they can't accomodate you for any reason, the hotel is responsible for finding alternative accommodations and compensating you if the alternative costs more.


The only problem with top 10 cities sites is that most top 10 lists have only partial overlap.  Still, consult a few and see if any of the attractions sound interesting to you.