Travel with Pima

First-Timer’s Guide to China: What I Wish Someone Had Told Me

You’ve booked the flight. You’ve read the blogs. You still arrive confused. Here’s what I tell every first-time guest.

• By Pima
Tea garden in Hangzhou

A guest messaged me last week. She’d booked a hotel in “West Lake District, Hangzhou” — only to realize it was 40 minutes from the lake itself. The address said West Lake. The reality was a suburb.

I see this a lot. China is easy to visit. It’s also easy to get wrong.

Here’s what I tell every first-time guest. I live in Hangzhou, so I’ll use it as an example — but most of these tips apply wherever you’re going.

Pick the Right Train Station

Four stations serve Hangzhou:

  • Hangzhou East (杭州东站) — the main one. Metro to West Lake in 20 minutes.
  • Hangzhou Station (杭州站) — older. Closest to the city center.
  • Hangzhou West (杭州西站) — new. Far from the city.
  • Hangzhou South (杭州南站) — no metro.

Book East or Hangzhou Station. Not West. Not South.

From Shanghai: Bullet trains every 10-15 min from Hongqiao. One hour. 73 RMB. Use 12306 app or ask me to help.

Shanghai to Hangzhou train ticket

Set Up Payment Before You Leave Home

China runs on QR codes. You need Alipay or WeChat Pay with a foreign card. Alipay is more common in Hangzhou; WeChat Pay dominates in the north. Have both.

See my step-by-step payment guide.

Set up at home. Link your card. Test it. Carry cash backup — ¥500 in small bills.

Alipay setup

Check the Weather

China spans multiple climate zones. Check your city.

Hangzhou: July-August hits 35-38°C. Honestly? Ten minutes outside and I start sweating. Forget the blazer. Start early, rest at noon, buy cold water everywhere.

Best months: March-May and September-October.

Getting Around

Metro covers the city. HelloBike (blue) — ¥1.50/30min. Free red city bikes — ¥200 deposit, free first hour. DiDi — China’s Uber, English version, fixed price.

Maps and Translation Apps

Google Maps doesn’t work in China.

Amap (高德地图) — has English, works like Google Maps. iPhone users: Apple Maps works too.

Google Translate (offline mode), Apple Translate, Microsoft Translator. Pleco — camera translates menus.

App icons for Amap, Google Translate and Pleco

Download these before you arrive.

What About a Guide?

You can visit on your own. But you’ll walk past stories without knowing. That rock at Feilai Peak? A poet carved a verse in 1073. That well in Longjing? The Qianlong Emperor drank from it.

I connect the dots. Drop me a message.

Also read: How to Pay in China as a Foreigner

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