Already in Guangzhou / China?

This is what you might need.

Guangzhou Fast Help →

Heading to China? Get your phone, payments, and tickets sorted before you land.

Nick
"My goal is to help you land with confidence and travel like a local."

Hi, I'm Nick, a Guangzhou (Canton) local.

China is safe and easy to get around once your phone is set up. Most first-time visitors don't run into danger. They run into small problems that can ruin a day:

  • "Will my card work?" Many shops want an Alipay or WeChat Pay QR code, not a card swipe. Linking a foreign card works, but passport verification and your bank's text code can trip you up if you wait until you land.
  • "Will Google and WhatsApp work?" Not on hotel Wi-Fi or a local SIM. A roaming eSIM gets around that on cellular data, but not every "China eSIM" works that way.
  • "The tickets sold out before I woke up." Popular sights like the Forbidden City release tickets 7 days ahead at 8 PM Beijing time (early morning in the US), and you book with your passport.
  • "My hotel isn't on the map, or it turned me away." English hotel names often return nothing in Chinese map and ride-hailing apps, so you need the Chinese name and address. Some small hotels also can't register a foreign passport, so they refuse you at check-in.
  • "I can't read a word, and something just went wrong." A driver calls you in Chinese, a menu has no English, a metro gate won't open.

You don't need a group tour for any of this. My free guides cover the basics so you can do it yourself. If you'd rather have a local on your side, I can help before you fly and while you're here.

Do it yourself

Free Step-by-Step Guides

Four short guides, in the order you'll need them. Each takes a few minutes, and there's a PDF version you can save offline.

Read the Free Guides →
If you'd rather not do it alone

Hands-On Help From a Local

No pressure and no group tours. Each service has a clear scope, and pricing and payment are explained on the Services page.

  1. Pre-Trip Setup Call

    A 45-minute video call before you fly, so problems show up while you can still fix them.

  2. Ticket & Train Booking

    For sights that sell out or only sell through Chinese apps. Full refund if I can't book.

  3. 7-Day Text Concierge

    A local you can message anywhere in China, for hotel pins, menus, and drivers.

  4. Guangzhou 90-Min Landing Pass

    In person in central Guangzhou: local SIM, metro code, and a payment test.

See Services →
Nick assisting and hosting international travelers and business guests in Guangzhou
Guangzhou, China · Helping international travelers and business guests.

Questions about your trip?

Send me your travel dates or whatever is worrying you. I'm happy to point you in the right direction, even if you don't need my services.

Contact Nick →

Based in Guangzhou, Guangdong Province, China.