Guides

Get a Chinese SIM card in ten minutes: the 办卡 dialogue, three carriers compared, and what a 2026 prepaid plan actually costs — passport required, no haggling needed.

The 值机 check-in, 登机口 gate, and boarding phrases that get you through any Chinese airport in 2026 — a 14-word table, a check-in dialogue, and the boarding-call skeleton.

Booking 高铁 high-speed rail in China: the 12306 app’s English mode, passport registration, 二等座 vs 一等座, and the station script — 3号站台, 检票, tones included.

China’s laundry math: 干洗店 dry cleaning by the piece, hotel wash bags, self-service 自助洗衣, and the line that saves your sweater — 这件能洗吗, tones included.

Chinese ATMs in 2026: the 取款 qú kuǎn button, 余额查询 balance checks, daily limits for foreign cards, and the 换汇 counter exchange — with tones.

Ordering 外卖 (wài mài) delivery in China in three steps: the app, the 备注 note, and the two-line delivery call 放门口就行 — with the 不要香菜 codes and tones.

The Chinese coffee order is a three-part code: size (大杯), temperature and ice (热的/去冰/少冰), and sugar (无糖/半糖/少糖). Plus 生椰拿铁 and the 取餐号 pickup shuffle.

A Chinese pharmacy visit in five phrases: 感冒药 cold medicine, 退烧药 fever relief, 有没有治…的药, and the 一天几次 dosage script — the counter exchange with tones.

Checking into a Chinese hotel takes one opener: 我预订了，办理入住 (I have a booking, checking in). Deposit, room card, breakfast, invoice — the full reception script with tones.

A Chinese haircut runs on three phrases: 剪短一点 (a little shorter), 打薄 (thin it out), and 别剪太短 (not too short). Add 洗剪吹 and the visit runs itself — barber script with tones inside.