Some tips based on my own experience:

• Holofly esim works well as a mobile sim (with built in VPN) though I hadn't tried others
• Having a voice/camera translation app is extremely helpful, though if you don't have an esim/VPN then good luck using anything Google, because their apps are blocked (rightfully so). Apple stuff is is allowed and works AFAIK, and Baidu is popular there, though I confess I never used their apps much.
• For VPN, Astral was really the only thing that I tried that worked. Stuff like Express or NordVPN does not.
• Try to get setup with WeChat. As a foreigner, you can't use it for payment, but it's still very useful for information and reserving tickets and stuff. You'll need an invite to get on it, so I'd ask any contacts you have there if they can do that for you.
• You CAN use AliPay for payments, and I HIGHLY recommend getting that set up before you go. You can use cash at a lot of places, but sometimes even cash won't work, as the Chinese basically use WeChat/AliPay for everything. Credit cards are pretty much worthless.
• If you need a cab or rideshare, Didi app is probably the best way for foreigners, and you can use AliPay for payment.
• You should check your visa requirements and make sure you follow their rules. For example, I believe you have to let authorities know if you're staying in a hotel that was not mentioned in your visa application. Also make sure you pay attention to any covid rules and follow their requirements. Even though "zero covid" is over, the Chinese government still takes it somewhat seriously.
• Chinese people are VERY friendly in my experience, and they're more than willing to help out tourists assuming they're polite. So don't hesitate to ask for help if you need it (this is where translation apps are useful) and this includes the police in China, who are way more friendly and chill than cops in the US.
• The western media would never tell you this, but China is actually extremely kid-friendly. There are lots of options for kids and most places cater to families, so your kid is going to love it.
• Also on the topic of being kid-friendly, China is the safest place I've ever been to, hands down. It wasn't uncommon to see young kids running around the city at night without parents there, because they know nothing bad will happen.
• Museums and historical sites in China are absolutely mind blowing. You should visit some if you ever have the chance.
• If you need medicine, it's amazingly easy to get it at a Chinese pharmacy. They do prescriptions right then and there and you don't even need to see a doctor, though what they carry might be a little different. Also, they'll have herbal remedy stuff that really does work. I had stomach pains and they recommended some of these herbal tablets. I was skeptical at first, but that stuff worked better than anything I could get at a drug store in the US.
• Ok, on the topic of being vegan there, I'm vegetarian and even just being that was difficult in China. Animal products are used in a lot of foods there, even stuff some might not expect, like fried rice being made with lard, ma po tofu using meat for the sauce, etc. You can try ordering food without meat but the language barrier can make that difficult. One thing I'd recommend is to plan ahead and try to find food places that are explicitly vegan. A regular food place likely won't have many meat free options, but there might be vegan places where you don't have to worry about it. Where I was has a big Buddhist community, so there were at least some veg/vegan places run by/for Buddhists. I expect big cities have more options like this than rural places. Also, hot pot or buffet style restaurants might be a good bet as you can pick and choose from more options. Just be careful they aren't using beef or pork broth for the hot pot.

Sorry I'm done rambling. Hopefully this was helpful, and I hope your trip is awesome!

I’ve been to Beijing many, many times. It’s really a shame with Tiananmen Square. You used to be able to walk freely there on 长安街 at anytime, including midnight, with no restrictions whatsoever. This ended when wholesome Uyghur freedom fighters started killing random civilians by ramming cars into crowds. You need an ID and security check now. Total pain on the ass. Thanks CIA

潘家园and琉璃厂has lots of very cool antiques/vintage items stores. I got an old propaganda poster and a cookbook from the ‘30s last time I went. And also an original little red book. You should definitely try to bring along a native speaker though, and preferably someone who knows their shit. These kinds of places have a reputation for being hucksters and dumb foreigners are easy marks for fake antiques.

Luckily I speak mandarin so it was very easy for me, you might have some trouble

It’s such a completely different city than it was in the early 2000s. God damn am I nostalgic for 2001 Beijing. The vibe, man! The three body problem series pretty heavily capitalized on sentimentalism towards this era. You had to have been there to see the incredible change in barely 20 years. I’m friends with a cabbie there, and the stories he tells about the 70s to now is some of the most interesting shit I’ve ever heard.

It's gonna be hot and humid in the south! Dress accordingly and bring ways to hydrate.

Eat where locals eat. Ask people for recommendations and specifically where they like to eat. You'll find really cool places that way.

Use trains to get around whenever you can! They're really great.

Scope out walking tours and big tourist destinations you'd want to hit. You may need to book a tour in advance to have any chance of seeing some sights.

Give yourself at least one rest day in each location where you can just walk around a cool part of the city if you want to or just hang out in a park or sleep if you need to. Many cities have very interesting, often very old neighborhoods with unique characters. For example, I would recommend checking out some Hutongs in Beijing.

Figure out your plans for sim cards and identification and such in advance. Plan out what apps you'll use and how you'll navigate them if you don't read Chinese. Many will have English modes but you'll need to find them and familiarize yourself with mistranslations.

You're not super super far away from Hakka walled villages for part of your trip. Could look into it as an option!

Have fun!

I live in China (Hangzhou, actually). Just to add to what people have already said. WeChat now accepts international credit/debit cards and it works fairly reliably now (my girlfriend recently visited and she was able to use both WeChat and AliPay), but I think AliPay is probably more reliable. I'm fairly confident they both would work in Guilin/Changsha, but bring cash just in case.

Never been to China, but I can offer basic generic travel tips:

Adjust your sleep schedule weeks before you leave to avoid jet lag. Much better to have a few unpleasant "jet lag" days at home before you leave than missing out on fun stuff the first few days while you adjust.

Learn what basic medicines look like over there and what to ask for at a pharmacy. It can ruin a holiday if you're stuck with a headache and no paracetamol or anything. Also, if you've got a kid, knowing what child friendly medicine exists over there is always a good idea. You don't want your kid to miss out on their holiday either.

Don't feel like you have to spend every second "doing something" either. Sounds like you'll be traveling around a lot, so having the occasional "rest day" can make the whole experience a lot more fun. Don't just assume you'll be able to rest on the train or plane.

If you or your wife are a light sleeper, investing in some earplugs and eye covers could make it much easier to sleep, especially if you're sensitive to sleeping in unfamiliar environments. Especially if you're going to be taking a nap on a train or something like that.

A lot of this is probably very basic stuff you already know, but I still like to share it, just in case.

Have fun!

I'll be going for the first time in march. Will be there for about three months. I'll be happy to tell you what I learn once I've leaned it

I hope you have fun, sounds cool.

I haven't been there in more than a decade (and wasn't a commie at the time*) so can't give advice, but make sure to check out West Lake while you're in Hangzhou! iirc most of the nearby food on the shore is a tourist trap though, so you might wanna arrange meals a little further away, but again, dunno what it's like now. For vegan food, probably look into places catering toward Buddhists (not necessarily vegan but higher chance of vegan items on the menu and/or the people running the place understanding more specific dietary requests), sometimes hard to check even without a language barrier though.

I'm also tempted to suggest taking a day or two to check out Suzhou (Zhouzhuang is super cool and there are a gazillion gardens; Tiger Hill is also interesting but I'm biased cuz I'm into the related history) but that probably makes the itinerary too cramped.

Oh right, this again is probably outdated info but I'd recommend carrying around packs of toilet tissue/wipes as not all facilities have toilet paper. Similarly, some places will only have squat toilets, so that's also something to maybe plan ahead for if it's a concern for anyone in your family.

• I will mention Lu Xun wrote two famous essays on the collapse of the Leifeng Pagoda (near West Lake); I thought it was kinda ironic visiting the reconstructed pagoda but think my feelings have shifted a bit since. It's the kind of place worth checking out once but maybe not a second time, I think, and there's so much to see and do in the area I might not prioritize it personally.

I just want to say enjoy your trip. Pooh's comment pretty much touched on everything I could think of and more (It's called Astrill VPN tho, pay once and both you and your wife can use the same account). Use Trip.com to book trains!

One thing we did in Chengdu was a bicycle tour, it was so fun! Though with a little one it might not be as feasible. Also, we just stumbled upon the largest building in the entire world lmao https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Century_Global_Center

We did our trip with Alipay only but we met an Israeli whose hotel gave them an invite to WeChat. The only shortcoming with Alipay is that it didn't allow us to 'transfer to individuals '. I don't recall know the difference but if I wanted to pay someone they had to have a QR code to scan. So, cash can be useful for cabs or whenever someone doesn't have an Alipay qr code (sometimes they'll only have a WeChat qr). Funny story they only approved the Israeli visa for 30 days, single entry whereas our Canadian ones are valid until our passports expire.

Guilin is beautiful, I trust you will also go to Yangshuo to see the Lijiang? There's a really fun buffet type restaurant called Changji(I think) in Guilin. My hotel recommended it, their signature goose was the best I ever tasted.

I also wish you a very 'get accosted by schoolkids learning English in Hong Kong' 😁 and enjoy the beautiful parks. Oh, and AlipayHK never worked for me .. you can use cash or credit cards

When you return you must give me your tips from Shanghai/Beijing! So excited for you comrade. I wish I could go back already

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