Geopolitical restrictions, economic shifts and reduced demand have reshaped flight routes, frequencies and costs between the UK and China
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For UK travellers heading to China, securing a local mobile phone SIM card can transform the experience, ensuring reliable connectivity to accessing maps, translation apps, and local services like WeChat, which are integral to daily life. While international roaming offers familiarity, the costs can be prohibitive, and many foreign apps, such as WhatsApp or Google, are inaccessible without a VPN due to China’s internet restrictions. A local SIM card not …
Business travel to China can be an exciting opportunity, but preparation is key – especially when it comes to visas, connectivity, payments, and transport. To help you navigate your trip smoothly, here’s a quick, practical guide covering the must-know tech and logistics tips for business travellers. Secure the right visa in advance Obtaining a visa for China requires careful preparation, as the process varies depending on the purpose of travel. …
Getting a visa for China is a crucial step for UK business professionals planning to engage with China’s dynamic market. This guide provides an overview of who requires a visa, outlines the application process, highlights visa-free policies, and offers essential tips to ensure a smooth journey. Who needs a visa for China? UK citizens must obtain a visa before travelling to mainland China. This requirement applies to various purposes, including …
On 22 November 2024, China expanded its visa-free entry policy to include Bulgaria, Romania, Croatia, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Malta, Estonia, Latvia and Japan. On the same day, the visa-free stay was extended from 15 to 30 days, with entry allowed for business, tourism, visits to family and friends and exchanges. This means the list of countries with visa-free entry to China now includes: Switzerland Ireland Hungary Austria Belgium Luxembourg Singapore …
Amid a series of efforts to tempt foreign travellers to visit China, three ministries have vowed to ask all hotels in China not to refuse foreign guests It’s an inconvenience that many foreigners in China have faced: booking a hotel only to find that the hotel can’t (or won’t) accommodate foreign guests. Usually the reasons given, as the Global Times puts it, are that the hotel “doesn’t have qualifications for …
As China enjoys a five-day public holiday, debate about the country’s unusual ‘compensatory working day’ system has once again resurfaced online, so what is it exactly? China is currently in the middle of a public holiday to mark Labor Day on 1 May. It’s a five-day break from work for many Chinese people – or is it? Two days of the holiday fall on Saturday and Sunday, while the other …
Over the past few years, China has fully embraced mobile payments, becoming an almost cashless society. While this makes life very convenient for people living in China, it can create problems for people who are just visiting. Thankfully, the Chinese authorities have recognised this and have launched a new push to optimise payment services for use by foreign nationals. This comes as part of a raft of measures to encourage …
Also referred to as the Spring Festival travel rush, chunyun is the world’s largest annual human migration Chunyun (literally “Spring transport”) refers to the 40-day peak travel period around Spring Festival (aka Lunar New Year), which this year falls on 10 February. Millions of people take advantage of the extended time off from work and study to travel back to their home regions and spend the important festival with family. …
In the latest in a gradual softening of China’s entry requirements following the lifting of its Covid-era restrictions in early 2023, in January 2024, the National Immigration Administration (NIA) formally implemented five measures to facilitate the arrival of foreign travellers in China. Relaxed requirements for port visas (aka visa on arrival) This measure will primarily help people who need to urgently travel to China for non-diplomatic reasons such as business, …