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Tell your bank you will be in China, so the first Alipay or WeChat charge is less likely to be blocked. Install Alipay. Bind a foreign Visa, Mastercard, JCB, Discover or UnionPay card, or complete Tour Pass if that is what you will use. Do this on home Wi-Fi. Install WeChat. Set up WeChat Pay with a foreign card if you can. A new account may need an existing user to verify it — easier at home than at the gate. Know the typical 3% fee on a single Alipay or WeChat payment over 200 yuan with a foreign card. Confirm in the app; fees can change. If the app lets you, make a tiny test payment (a mobile top-up, a tiny online order) before you fly. Bring a backup card that can withdraw at a UnionPay ATM, and a little cash. You do not need a large stash of yuan. See the cash-versus-cards guide. Download offline maps in Amap (Gaode) or Apple Maps. Google Maps is thin in mainland China. Download an offline translation pack. Photograph your hotel's Chinese address and the characters for your own name if you have them. Install an eSIM before you fly, or know where you will buy a Chinese SIM (passport required, real-name). Confirm the plan actually includes mainland data. Screenshot flights, the 12306 ticket if you have one, and any ferry or attraction booking. Screenshots work when a signal does not. Save the hotel Chinese address, a map pin, and a phone number. You will be asked for an address at immigration. Photograph the passport photo page and your entry plan. Keep the paper passport in your cabin bag, not the hold.
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