LOADING

What to know
before China.

the short version

A small field guide from people who live here. Not a packing list. Not a seven-day fantasy itinerary.

Six things
that actually matter.

Read this on the plane. The longer notes sit underneath.

支付

Your phone is the wallet

Alipay and WeChat Pay cover almost everything. Foreign cards work more often than they used to. Keep a little cash for the one stall that still wants it.

高铁

Take the train between cities

A G-train beats most flights once you count the airport. Book on Trip.com or 12306 with your passport. Stations are their own small cities. Arrive early.

成渝

Chengdu is not Chongqing

Chengdu sits in a basin and moves slowly. Chongqing stacks itself over two rivers and never really sits down. Same region on a map. Different trip.

避坑

Skip the noon checklist

The famous photo spots at midday are a queue. Go at dusk, or go somewhere the guidebook finished in 2014. A mall with English signs is not the city.

吃

Eat on local time

Lunch is the real meal. Hotpot is a night thing. A teahouse is for sitting, not a quick drink. If a place is full of locals at 12:30, sit down.

向导

A local is for the layer under the book

Which door, which hour, which order to eat. That is the job. You do not need a scripted tour. You need someone who already lives here.

From the ground.

Longer notes, written when there was something worth saying.