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China On Arrival PLAN CHINA BEFORE YOU LAND

Rescue cards

Verified 2026-09-21 · Each card works from a phone, offline · Print-friendly (Ctrl/Cmd+P)

The short answer

Ten failure moments cover most of what goes wrong for foreign visitors in China. Each card below: what actually happened, three steps in order, what not to do, a sentence to show someone in Chinese, and where to escalate.

Alipay verification failed

What happened: At the counter or checkout, Alipay rejects your passport: name mismatch, blurred scan, or a 3DS timeout from your bank. The QR in your hand is a dead end.

Do this now — in order

  1. Check the exact name order: Alipay needs your name exactly as printed on the passport photo page (surname field separate).
  2. Re-shoot the passport page flat on a dark table, no flash, all four corners visible — 90% of rejections are photo quality.
  3. Still failing? Switch to WeChat Pay for today (separate app, separate verification) and retry Alipay on hotel Wi-Fi at night.

Do not: Don't reinstall the app to 'fix' it — you'll lose your verification progress and start the queue again. Don't enter the card CVV on any link someone sends you.

Copy / show this Chinese sentence

我的支付宝护照实名认证失败了，请帮我联系人工客服，谢谢。

Show this at any Alipay service point, hotel front desk or bank counter

Alipay official help →

If it still fails: Card declined at 3DS is your bank, not Alipay — call the number on the back of your card (roaming charges beat a dead wallet).

DiDi driver cancelled

What happened: You're at the pickup pin and the driver calls asking YOU to cancel — usually because he took a better fare or wants to dodge a fee. If you cancel, your wait time resets and coupons can burn.

Do this now — in order

  1. Don't cancel. Say (or show) that the driver should cancel from his side.
  2. If he drives off or refuses, report the trip as 'driver no-show' in the app — the platform reassigns and your coupon stays valid.
  3. In a rush? Cancel-and-rebook loses 2-3 minutes on average; hail a street taxi instead and let the DiDi ride time out.

Do not: Don't pay the driver outside the app 'to save the fee' — that ride has no insurance trail and no receipt.

Copy / show this Chinese sentence

请不要让我取消订单，请您这边取消，或者平台重新给我派一辆车。

Show this to the driver on your phone screen

DiDi help center (in-app: ride → safety → help) →

If it still fails: Charged for a no-show? In-app support refunds no-show fees in minutes — escalate in the trip record, not by phone.

A hotel says it cannot check you in

What happened: Midnight, you have a booking, and the desk says their license can't register foreign passports — or they're suddenly 'full'. It's licensing, not you, but that's cold comfort at 23:40.

Do this now — in order

  1. Ask the desk to state it on the record and show it in the app: open your booking and use in-app chat so the platform logs the refusal.
  2. Have the platform rebook you: Trip.com/Booking support can place you in a comparable nearby foreigner-friendly property at no cost when the property can't honor the booking.
  3. No movement in 15 minutes? Book a new hotel yourself (filter foreigner-friendly), keep every receipt, dispute the original charge afterward — platforms side with documented travelers.

Do not: Don't accept 'just leave your passport with us and come back tomorrow' — registration has to happen on check-in. Don't ARGUE the license point; relocate instead.

Copy / show this Chinese sentence

请问这家酒店可以接待外国护照吗？如果不能，请帮我找一家附近可以接待外宾的酒店，费用请联系平台处理。

Show at any hotel desk or hand to a taxi/DiDi driver to take you somewhere that works

Trip.com help (24/7 in-app chat) →

If it still fails: No rebooking and the desk won't budge? Any mid-range chain (Ji, Atour, Holiday) two metro stops over will take your passport at midnight — walk in, don't call. Pattern of refusals? Report it to China's national tourism hotline 12301 with your booking reference — hotel-refusal complaints are exactly what it takes.

eSIM or firewall problems

What happened: You land, your eSIM shows bars, but nothing loads — or Google/WhatsApp died the moment you touched a Chinese network.

Do this now — in order

  1. Check which kind of eSIM you bought: mainland-data SIMs get the real (restricted) network; roaming-routed eSIMs (Airalo global, home-carrier roaming) bypass the restrictions entirely.
  2. Mainland data + blocked apps is normal, not breakage — switch to the workarounds: Amap instead of Google Maps, DiDi instead of Uber.
  3. No data at all? Toggle airplane mode, then check the eSIM is set to data-on (phones love to default to your home SIM for data and rack up roaming).

Do not: Don't buy a random free VPN app at the airport kiosk — unreliable, occasionally sketchy. Roaming and abroad-routed eSIMs are the legal, boring, working answer.

Copy / show this Chinese sentence

我的eSIM卡在中国上不了网，请问可以帮我看看设置吗？

Show at a carrier counter (China Mobile / Unicom / Telecom) in any airport or mall

Your eSIM provider's in-app support — carriers: China Mobile 10086 →

If it still fails: eSIM dead on arrival and no counter open? Airport hotel Wi-Fi + a physical SIM from a 24h convenience store gets you through the night.

Missed your train

What happened: Security ate your buffer and the gate closed 5 minutes before departure. The ticket in your pocket just became a souvenir — except it didn't.

Do this now — in order

  1. Go straight to the ticket window (人工窗口) — same-day changes to any later departure on your route cost only the fare difference.
  2. In 12306 or Trip.com, use 'change' (改签) instead of refund: after departure, refunds are gone, but changes usually aren't.
  3. Everything sold out? Standing tickets and next-class-down seats release at the window even when the app shows full.

Do not: Don't queue at the wrong window — look for the one marked 改签 (changes). Don't buy a new full-price ticket before trying the change first.

Copy / show this Chinese sentence

我误了刚才这班高铁，请帮我改签到今天最近的一班，谢谢。

Show at the ticket window (look for the 改签 sign)

12306 official (change/refund rules) →

If it still fails: Full walk-through with fee tiers and screenshots: our missed-train rescue guide.

WeChat Pay fails

What happened: Binding your card throws 'insufficient balance' (that's your own bank's 3DS block), the liveness check rejects your face, or a shop QR just won't take your foreign-linked wallet.

Do this now — in order

  1. Binding error? Open your own bank's app first - failed 3DS challenges (often from VPN subscriptions) sit there waiting for approval.
  2. Liveness check keeps failing? Switch to natural daylight, remove glasses, and re-record - the check is brutally picky about lighting.
  3. Unverified foreign-card accounts cap at about 1,000 yuan per year. Submit full passport verification on day one; approval takes 1-3 working days.

Do not: Don't swap cards mid-payment or retry ten times in a row - repeated failures flag the account. Don't assume WeChat and Alipay limits are shared; they're separate systems.

Copy / show this Chinese sentence

我的微信支付绑外卡失败了，请帮我看看是哪里的问题，谢谢。

Show at any bank branch or carrier counter

WeChat Pay help (in-app: Me → Services → Wallet → Help Center) →

If it still fails: Locked out of both wallets with no cash? Hotel front desks can usually call the payment platform's merchant line for you - they deal with this weekly.

Police registration (staying outside hotels)

What happened: You're in an Airbnb or a friend's flat. Hotels register every foreign guest with the police automatically - private stays don't, and the law gives you 24 hours. Since Sept 21, 2026 you can register online nationwide - no police station visit required.

Do this now — in order

  1. Register online first: NIA 12367 app / WeChat / Alipay mini program (or s.nia.gov.cn). You OR your host can file it - same legal effect as in person. Free.
  2. Ask the host FIRST, before booking, to confirm in writing they'll handle registration if online fails.
  3. Online fails or the case is unusual? Go to the police station for YOUR DISTRICT (not any station) with passport, host's ID copy and rental agreement.

Do not: Don't wave it off because 'nothing happened last time' - enforcement is spot-checky but real. Don't pay anyone for the form; it's free.

Copy / show this Chinese sentence

我住在民宿，需要办理境外人员临时住宿登记，请问是在这里办吗？

Online registration needs no Chinese; show this at the local police station (paichusuo) for your district only as a fallback

NIA — Online Accommodation Registration (official guide) →

If it still fails: Host refuses to help and you can't register? Move to a hotel - any front desk registers you in one minute, and the cheapest one beats a departure-hall fine.

Departure tax refund (11% shopping refund)

What happened: You bought tax-refund goods in China and you're flying out - but the refund window closes in ways nobody tells you about, and one wrong move voids the claim.

Do this now — in order

  1. At the airport, check in and get your boarding pass - but DON'T check the refund goods. Customs must see them before they're checked in.
  2. Find the CUSTOMS counter (at PEK's Daxing it's on level 4F, before security and bag drop) and get your refund form stamped.
  3. After security, take the stamped form + goods + receipts + passport to the refund payout counter in the airside area. Cash is instant; card refunds take 30-90 days.

Do not: Don't clip the tags off anything you're claiming - attached tags are part of the inspection. Don't put refund goods in checked bags before the stamp; that voids the refund.

Copy / show this Chinese sentence

我需要办理离境退税，请问海关盖章的柜台在哪里？

Show at the airport information desk

China departure refund — rules and voiding scenarios →

If it still fails: Short on time? Skip the refund rather than the flight - and next trip, ask the shop for the refund form AT purchase, keep a photo of every receipt (they fade).

Lost something (taxi, train, station)

What happened: Phone in a DiDi, bag taken by mistake on a high-speed train, wallet left at a station - the recovery system actually works, but the entry points differ and one is blocked for passport holders.

Do this now — in order

  1. DiDi: in-app trip record → 'Lost item' - the line connects you to the driver directly; most phones come back within the hour.
  2. Train: find the attendant or the station service desk - they file a 'passenger record' that moves your bag between stations free via 12306's forwarding.
  3. Key catch for foreigners: 12306's in-app lost-item registration needs a Chinese ID. Use the station service desk, or call 12306 and press 2 for English service. Items are kept 180 days.

Do not: Don't take a 'found my identical bag' swap without staff involvement - the passenger-record system exists precisely to formalize exchanges. Don't lose the DiDi receipt - it's your evidence.

Copy / show this Chinese sentence

我把物品落在车上了，请帮我联系司机或车站服务台找一下，谢谢。

Show at any station service desk or show to your driver

12306 English line: 12306, press 2 →

If it still fails: Driver denies having it and the app trail is solid? Police take payment-record evidence seriously - dial 110, it resolves most denial cases.

Need a doctor

What happened: Midnight kidney stone in Yangshuo, a fever in Shanghai, a sprained ankle on the Great Wall - China's public hospitals are fast and cheap, but the flow is unintuitive and the registration step trips foreigners hardest.

Do this now — in order

  1. At your hotel, tell the front desk FIRST - the Yangshuo case got a car and an English-speaking escort in five minutes; hotels do this constantly.
  2. At a public hospital ER you register (guahao), pay, get examined, pay again, collect meds - each step is a separate window. Bring your passport; a photocopy speeds every window.
  3. No appointment? ER takes walk-ins around the clock. For next-day clinics, register in the hospital's mini-program 1-3 days ahead - foreign passports need a manual review step, so do it early.

Do not: Don't default to international/private clinics - the public ER did a full workup for about 130 yuan where a private MRI quotes 3,000. Don't be surprised by open-curtain consultations; that's normal here.

Copy / show this Chinese sentence

我需要看急诊，请问挂号在哪里？我没有预约。

Show at any hospital entrance or information desk

Guide to navigating Chinese hospitals →

If it still fails: Serious emergency: 120 is the ambulance number. Keep every fapiao (receipt) - insurance claims require the originals, and pharmacies sell most medicine without prescriptions.

This page prints clean — save it as a PDF before your flight and it works with zero connectivity.