Shanghai Pudong International Airport

Official Languages: Standard Chinese

English Is Limited outside Hotels, Airports and the International Districts of the Big Cities. Signs, Metro Announcements and Station Names Are Usually Bilingual There, but Menus, Taxis and Small Shops Are Not. A Translation App with a Camera Mode, and Your Destination Written in Chinese, Does Most of the Work

Mobile Network: Coverage Is among the Best Anywhere. 4.84 Million 5G Base Stations Were in Service at the End of 2025, and the Signal Holds in Metro Tunnels, on High-Speed Trains and across Most Rural Counties. The Old 2G and 3G Networks Are Being Switched Off Province by Province, so Bring a Handset That Can Do 4G

Roaming/SIM/eSIM: Which Apps You Can Reach Matters More than the Price of Data. Traffic on a Roaming SIM or a Travel eSIM Normally Reaches the Internet through a Gateway outside the Mainland, so the Services You Use at Home Usually Keep Working — Confirm How Your Plan Is Routed, Because It Is Not Guaranteed. An eSIM Also Activates before You Land. A Local SIM Is Cheaper on a Long Stay and Gives You a Chinese Number, but It Sees the Same Filtered Internet as Everyone Else

Daily Spending Runs on Alipay and WeChat Pay, and Both Now Take a Linked Visa, Mastercard or JCB Card with No Chinese Bank Account, Up to about 5,000 US Dollars per Payment. Do It before You Fly. Foreign Cards Must Be Taken at Hotels Rated Three Stars and Higher and at 4A and 5A Attractions, but a Market Stall May Have No Terminal. Refusing Cash Is Unlawful, so Keep Small Notes

Tipping Is Not Part of the Culture and Is Not Expected in Restaurants, Taxis, Bars or Hotels. Staff May Hand the Money Back or Follow You Out to Return It, and the Bill Is the Bill. Rounding a Taxi Fare Up to the Next Yuan Is Normal. The Exceptions Are Private Guides and Drivers Booked through an Agency, Where a Tip Is Welcome but Never Demanded, and International Hotels That Add a Service Charge

Plug Type: Type A, Type C and Type I

Voltage: 220 V, 50 Hz

Adapter: Sockets Take the Flat Angled Type I Pins, the Round European Type C Pins, and Very Often the Flat American Type A Pins as Well, so a Universal Adapter Covers Everything. British Type G Plugs Always Need One. The Supply Is 220 V, so a 110 V Appliance Needs a Converter Rather than Just an Adapter