What to Pack for China: A Practical List for Foreign Travellers

Published 2026-10-14 · 71Asia Tours

I have packed for China more times than I can count, and the bag keeps shrinking. That is the whole philosophy behind this list: bring less than you think you need, spend the saved space on a handful of things that are genuinely awkward to replace after landing, and buy the rest in China, which is very good at selling you things.

Paperwork and the phone

Your passport goes without saying. Print your hotel bookings and train confirmations anyway: English gets thin at smaller station counters, and a paper backup has rescued me more than once. Tuck in two spare passport photos too. You probably will not need them, but the day you do, hunting for a photo booth that produces the right size is exactly how trips go sideways.

Set your phone up before you fly, not at the airport. Install your travel eSIM at home, download offline maps, and sort out whatever access you need for your usual apps. We have a separate guide on staying connected in China, so I will just say this: whatever you decide about SIMs and VPNs, decide it before departure. Airport Wi-Fi plus jet lag is a bad combination for troubleshooting.

Plugs, power banks and the rule people miss

Mainland China runs on 220V. Sockets are a mix: two flat pins, two round pins and the angled Australian style, sometimes all in one panel. One universal adapter covers it. Rather than packing three adapters, bring one adapter and a small multi-port USB charger, because hotel rooms never have enough sockets and never have them where you want them.

Hong Kong and Macao use the chunky British three-pin plugs, so if your route includes either, the same universal adapter saves you a second purchase.

Here is the rule most travellers miss: power banks go in carry-on only, never in checked luggage, and since mid-2025 airlines in China refuse power banks without a CCC safety mark printed on the case. Check yours. No mark, no boarding. If yours fails the test, buy a cheap certified one after you land and give the old one away. Keep any power bank under 100Wh, which covers nearly everything sold for travel.

Clothes and shoes

Pack for the regions on your route, not for "China". A winter week that includes Harbin and Hong Kong spans forty degrees of difference. Layers beat bulk everywhere: a couple of quick-dry shirts, one warm mid-layer and a packable rain shell cover most trips. April in Chongqing and October in Beijing are both lovely, and both reward a light jacket you can stuff into a daypack.

Shoes matter more than clothes. You will walk further than planned: old towns are cobbled, metro interchanges run long, and Chongqing is essentially stairs wearing the disguise of a city. One pair of broken-in walking shoes. No exceptions, no brand-new boots.

For temples, pack something that covers shoulders and knees, plus a pair of decent socks. You will take your shoes off on temple floors in Beijing, Xi'an and Lhasa, and those floors are colder than you expect.

The bathroom kit

Two humble items earn their space: a packet of tissues and a small bottle of hand sanitiser. Squat toilets are standard outside hotels and shopping malls, and paper supplies in public washrooms run out early. I carry one flat packet per travel day. Hotels provide slippers and toothbrush sets, though not always a face cloth, so add a small quick-dry towel if that matters to you.

Medicines

Bring your regular medicines in original packaging with a copy of the prescription. Pharmacies are everywhere and cheap, but labels are in Chinese and brand names differ, so your own painkillers and stomach remedies are worth the space. One caution: medicines containing codeine or pseudoephedrine, common ingredients in some countries' cold remedies, can raise questions at customs. Check what is in your bag before you fly.

What I stopped bringing

Umbrellas. Every convenience store sells them for the price of a coffee.
Big rolls of toilet paper. The flat tissue packets do the same job.
Piles of cash. You will pay by phone almost everywhere; a modest float is plenty.
More than a week of clothes. Laundry is cheap and fast in every city on a tourist route.
A snack stockpile. Supermarkets in China are excellent and weirdly fun.

Region-specific extras

Tibet: strong sun cream, lip balm and sunglasses, plus a warm layer even in July. Mornings at 3,650 metres bite.
Zhangjiajie: a light rain jacket and shoes with grip. The stone paths stay slick after drizzle.
Chengdu and Chongqing in summer: quick-dry everything, because it is furnace-hot and humid.
Beijing in winter: thermal base layers and a real coat. Indoors is heated hard, so pick layers you can shed.
Hong Kong and Macao in summer: nothing dries overnight, so quick-dry shirts and underwear earn their keep.

Leave space in the bag

Half the best souvenirs in China are bulky: tea, ceramics, cloth shoes, things you never planned to buy. Leave a foldable duffel or at least some spare room, and remember that big suitcases on high-speed trains live in overhead racks or at the end of the carriage, so travelling smaller pays off twice.

Written by the team at 71Asia Tours, a China-based tour operator with licensed Spanish- and English-speaking guides. Browse all tours · About us · Our guides · Reviews · FAQ