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China, beyond the big cities
Practical guides to the counties, towns and villages most travelers never reach — how to get there, where to sleep, what to eat, and how to pay.
Hani rice terraces, Yuanyang County, Yunnan · Photo: Chiu Ho-yang, CC BY-SA 2.0
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- Every guide lists its sources and the date it was last checked
Explore by region
Where our guides are
Pick a region to see the places we cover. Every place links to its guide, and you can open it in your own map app.
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We don't publish maps of China on this site. Use the “Open in Maps” links to see a place in Apple Maps, Google Maps or OpenStreetMap.
Browse by region
Every province, down to the township
Province → city → county → town. Places with a guide are listed first.
Featured guides
Small places, worth the trip
Each guide covers getting there, getting around, sleeping, eating, paying and local customs — in that order.
Before you go
Travel essentials
The practical things first-time visitors ask about most.
Visa-free entry
30-day visa-free entry, 240-hour transit, Hainan visa-free and the L visa — who qualifies and how.
Draft · not yet verifiedPaying for things
Alipay and WeChat Pay with a foreign card, cash, ATMs and what to do when a payment fails.
Draft · not yet verifiedTrains & taxis
Booking high-speed rail with a passport, getting to the station, and hailing a ride without Chinese.
Draft · not yet verifiedEmergency numbers
110 police, 120 ambulance, 119 fire, 12345 hotline with English, and your embassy.
Draft · not yet verifiedHeads up: China's 30-day visa-free policy is currently set to run until Dec 31, 2026. We'll update the visa page as soon as an extension is announced.
Ask me
Stuck on a detail? Send me a note.
This is a one-person, non-commercial site. Save places to My Trip, then email your list — I answer when I have time. There's no guaranteed reply time.
General travel tips only — not visa, legal or medical advice.
How every guide is checked
- Facts come from official sources: government, tourism bureaus, the venue itself.
- I call or message places in Chinese to confirm hours, prices and whether foreigners can stay.
- Every page shows its sources, the date it was last checked, and a change log.
- AI helps draft and translate. A person checks everything before it's marked Verified.
Pages marked “Auto-compiled, not yet verified” are starting points only.