What to Pack for China: The Complete 2026 Checklist

The non-negotiables

Six things belong in every bag for China: your passport with at least six months validity, broken-in walking shoes, a universal power adapter, a power bank under 100Wh, RMB 1,000 in cash, and a phone with Alipay and WeChat Pay already set up.

Walking shoes come first. A sightseeing day in Beijing or Xi'an easily runs 15,000–25,000 steps over stone, gravel and steps; the Great Wall at Jinshanling adds steep, uneven ramps on top of that.

Keep the passport on your body rather than in a hotel safe, because you need it for train gates, museum entries, hotel check-in and SIM registration — often several times in a single day.

Clothing by season

Layers beat bulk. Spring and autumn in Beijing run 12–27°C across a single day, so a light base layer, a mid-layer fleece and a packable shell cover everything; a down jacket is only needed from December to February.

Summer (June–August) is hot and humid: 28–33°C in Shanghai with high humidity. Pack quick-dry shirts, one smart outfit for a good restaurant, and a compact umbrella — afternoon thunderstorms are routine.

Winter means −4°C to 4°C in the north. Bring a proper coat, gloves, a hat and warm socks; indoor heating makes restaurants and trains warm, so layers again rather than one heavy garment.

One modest outfit solves temple and monastery dress codes: covered shoulders and knees for Tibetan and Buddhist sites, and shoes that slip off easily where you remove them.

Phones, power and getting online

China runs on 220V at 50Hz with Type A (flat pin), Type I (angled) and combination sockets. One good universal adapter covers everything; most modern chargers handle 220V without a converter.

Power banks must be under 100Wh — about 27,000mAh — and are banned from checked luggage on flights. Bring one you can prove the capacity of, since airport staff do check the label.

Install and test a VPN before you land. Google, WhatsApp, Instagram, Facebook, X and most Western news sites are blocked, and app stores are inaccessible from inside China, so nothing can be downloaded later.

The workaround that matters more than a VPN is a local eSIM or SIM, which keeps your foreign apps working by routing traffic outside the firewall. See /chinaguide/china-sim-card-internet/ for the options.

Health, medicine and documents

Bring prescription medicine in its original labelled packaging, plus a copy of the prescription. A 30-day supply is the sensible limit, and a few common drugs available over the counter abroad are controlled in China.

Add oral rehydration salts, ibuprofen, plasters for blisters, and any altitude medication if you are heading to Lhasa at 3,650m or Everest Base Camp at 5,200m. Pharmacies are everywhere but rarely have English-speaking staff.

Carry two paper copies of your passport and visa, stored separately from the originals, plus a card with your hotel address in Chinese characters. Travel insurance documents and your embassy emergency number complete the set.

What to leave at home

Leave the hairdryer, the travel iron and the heavy guidebook. Hotels supply the first two, and a phone replaces the third — offline maps, translation apps and saved screenshots do the job at a fraction of the weight.

Skip a money belt and a dedicated anti-theft bag. Pickpocketing in China is opportunistic rather than professional; a zippered cross-body bag and a front pocket for your phone are enough.

Do not bring large amounts of cash to exchange. ATM withdrawals on arrival give a better rate than airport bureaux, and you only need RMB 500 before you reach the city.

Last updated: 2026-10-02 · Reviewed by JoyoTour