Travel guide

Straight answers for East China travel.

Practical, first-hand guides from our Shanghai planning team — routes, costs, transport and the details that guidebooks skip.

Visa & Entry

The 30-day visa exemption and the 240-hour transit explained by our Shanghai team — and what to check for your passport.

Practical Tips

Alipay and WeChat Pay with a foreign card, step by step — plus the few places where cash still matters.

Planning

Blossoms, plum rains, golden autumn and quiet winters — choosing your month for East China.

Transport

Times, stations and passport booking for the fast trains that link East China’s cities.

Muslim-Friendly

Halal restaurants, how to spot them and the historic mosques of Shanghai and Hangzhou.

Itineraries

Days per city, the best order and where a water town fits — the route our Shanghai planners recommend.

Transport

Maglev, metro, taxi or a driver waiting with your name — how to get from PVG or SHA into Shanghai.

Practical Tips

Roaming or eSIM, which apps work and what to install before you fly to Shanghai.

Planning

Five water towns compared by travel time, atmosphere and whether an overnight stay is worth it.

Itineraries

Thirty minutes by train, two gardens and a canal street — a one-day Suzhou plan that actually fits.

Planning & costs

Typical 2026 prices for guides and drivers in Shanghai, what should be included and how to avoid a bad deal.

Travel tips

Pace, trains, steps, hotels and health — how to plan a comfortable trip for older travellers.

Itineraries

Our two-day plan for West Lake, the tea hills and Lingyin Temple — with timings, food and where to stay.

Business travel

Venues, hotels, registration, transport and interpreters — a practical guide for trade visitors to Shanghai.

Let’s sketch your route.

Share your dates and a few things you love. A planner in Shanghai sends a free draft itinerary within 24 hours.