Jiang

Why this site exists

I'm Chinese, born in Jiangsu, and I've lived abroad for a long time. For years my foreign friends have come to me with the same questions: do I need a visa, how do I get one, where should I actually go, how do I pay for anything, will my phone work. China is enormous, but the way in — for someone who doesn't read the language — is narrow and needlessly hard.

I first wanted to build something for them back in 2019. I put it off for years. This site is me finally doing it: the answers I'd give a friend, written down, checked, and dated.

Where I've travelled

I travel constantly, and have across six continents — Asia, Europe, Africa, North America, Oceania and around the Middle East, where I lived in Dubai. Japan, South Korea and much of Southeast Asia; road trips through the United States, Australia, New Zealand and Iceland; the UK. Inside China I've been through most of the provinces.

That's the eye I bring to this site: someone who knows what a traveller needs to be told before they arrive, because I've needed it everywhere else.

How I split my time

Between Dubai and Beijing, with a lot of the country in between. Work keeps me in the travel industry, which is partly why the practical details here — fares, schedules, how booking works for a foreign passport — get taken seriously.

The rules I write by

• Every recommendation comes from somewhere I've been or checked myself.
• Hard facts — prices, times, visa rules — are checked against official or primary sources and carry a date.
• No company pays for a placement, a rating or a mention.
• If something here is wrong, tell me and it gets fixed, with the date changed.

The method & honesty page has the detail; the disclosure page covers how the site is funded.