Beijing & the Great Wall

Currency

China is close to cashless and runs on Alipay and WeChat Pay, both of which now accept foreign cards — set one up before you fly, because it changes the trip completely. Bank of China branches exchange cash if you want a reserve, and you will need a passport to do it.

ATMs & cards

Bank of China, ICBC and China Construction Bank accept foreign cards; many others do not. Keep some cash for small vendors and temple tickets, but expect to pay for nearly everything by phone.

Set up Alipay or WeChat Pay with a foreign card before flying. China is close to cashless and doing this changes the entire trip.

Wherever you are: if the machine offers to charge you in your home currency, decline. That is dynamic currency conversion and the rate is set by the ATM's operator, not your bank.

Safety

Extremely safe for street crime, and comfortable to walk at night. The friction is bureaucratic and digital: you need a visa arranged in advance for most nationalities, the internet is filtered so plan for Google, WhatsApp and Instagram not working, and Forbidden City tickets sell out days ahead and require passport registration. Air quality is genuinely poor on some winter days.

Our own assessment, not a sourced index.

Entry & visa

Health & emergencies

Required to enter

• Yellow fever certificate, but only if you are arriving from a country where yellow fever is present

Worth having

• Hepatitis A
• Typhoid
• Tetanus up to date
• Rabies for longer stays
• Japanese encephalitis for rural summer stays

Getting treated

International clinics and the VIP wings of major hospitals in Beijing are good, English-speaking and expensive; ordinary public hospitals are crowded and require payment before treatment, in advance, at a cashier. Insurance and a translation app are both genuinely necessary.

Do not drink the tap water. Air quality in Beijing is poor on some winter days and worth checking if you have any respiratory condition. Pharmacies stock both Western and traditional medicine — be clear which you are asking for.

Orientation, not medical advice. Entry rules change and what you need depends on your own history and where you have been — check with a travel clinic or your national health service four to six weeks before you go.

Food tip

Peking duck once, properly, at a place that has been doing it for a century. Otherwise jianbing from a street cart for breakfast and hand-pulled noodles for lunch. Have the name of anywhere you want to go written in Chinese.

Getting around

• Subway — enormous, cheap, signed in English, and the only sane way across the city
• Didi — the ride-hailing app, with an English interface; street taxis rarely speak English
• High-speed rail — to Xi’an or Shanghai in a few hours, and worth a day of the trip on its own
• Great Wall day trip — Mutianyu for the cable car and fewer crowds, Jinshanling for the unrestored sections
• Airport: Capital (PEK) or Daxing (PKX); both are an hour or more from the centre

Must-see

Things to do

• Walk an unrestored stretch of wall at Jinshanling
• Book the Forbidden City days ahead and go at opening
• Wander the hutongs on foot or by bicycle
• See the Temple of Heaven early, when locals are exercising in the park
• Take the high-speed train to Xi’an for the terracotta army

Nearby day trips

Say a few words

Mandarin

• Hello你好 — Nǐ hǎonee HOW
• Please请 — Qǐngching
• Thank you谢谢 — XièxieSHYEH-shyeh
• Yes / No是 / 不是 — Shì / Bù shìshrr / boo shrr
• Excuse me不好意思 — Bù hǎoyìsiboo how-EE-srr
• How much is it?多少钱 — Duōshao qiánDWOR-shaow chyen
• I do not understand我不懂 — Wǒ bù dǒngwor boo DONG
• Too expensive太贵了 — Tài guì letie GWAY luh

English is far less common than visitors expect once you leave a hotel. A translation app and the name of your destination written in characters are worth more than any phrase here.

Religion

Officially atheist, with Buddhist and folk traditions

The state is officially atheist and religious organisation is tightly regulated, but Buddhist, Taoist and folk practice is widespread and visible at temples. Do not discuss religious policy, particularly regarding Tibet or Xinjiang.

Do's and don'ts

Do

• Set up Alipay or WeChat Pay before arriving; almost nothing takes cash comfortably
• Offer and receive anything, especially business cards, with both hands
• Carry the name of your destination written in Chinese characters
• Accept tea when offered, and tap two fingers on the table to say thank you while it is being poured

Don't

• Do not tip; it is not the custom and can cause confusion
• Do not stick chopsticks upright in a bowl of rice
• Do not discuss Taiwan, Tibet, Xinjiang or the Party with people you have just met — it can create problems for them
• Do not expect Google, WhatsApp, Instagram or most Western services to work without a VPN arranged in advance