My Story
Hi, I'm Xi Yu (于熙). I grew up in China, studied computer science, and then spent eight years as a product manager at Chinese tech companies like Sohu, VIPKID, and Palfish.
That work taught me to pay close attention to the small moments where real people get stuck. Most travel stress does not come from a lack of information. It comes from the gap between what a system says on paper and what actually happens when you try to use it.
For foreign travelers in China, that gap shows up everywhere: payments, train tickets, app setup, hotel check-in, attraction booking, maps, and even simple questions like which entrance you are supposed to use.
Why This Site Exists
In 2024, I moved to Boston to study at the Brandeis School of Business and Economics. There, I met people from all over the world who were curious about China in the best possible way: they did not just want to read about it. They wanted to go.
Pretty quickly, I became the person friends came to before a trip.
- Can I use a foreign card with Alipay?
- Do I need a VPN or an eSIM?
- Which train station is the right one?
- Can I book the Great Wall before I arrive?
- Why does every app seem to ask for a Chinese phone number?
I honestly loved answering those questions. China is home to me, and I want people to experience how welcoming, layered, fast-moving, funny, delicious, and generous it can be.
But after helping enough friends, I kept seeing the same pattern: China was not impossible for foreign travelers. It was just explained from the wrong angle. A lot of advice assumed you already understood Chinese apps, Chinese booking systems, Chinese phone numbers, and Chinese platform habits.
I wanted a guide I could send to people before they flew out. Something written from inside the system, but translated into practical decisions: what to install, what to book early, what can wait, and where a backup plan will save your day.
I looked for that guide. I could not find the version I wanted. So I started building China Trailhead.
What Makes It Different
China Trailhead is not a travel magazine, a tour company, or an official tourism brochure. It is the guide I wish I could have sent to every friend who texted me, "Wait, how do I actually do this?"
My goal is not to make China sound exotic, effortless, or perfectly polished. My goal is to make it feel understandable. Once the systems make sense, travelers can relax a little and pay attention to the good parts: the food, the trains, the neighborhoods, the landscapes, the conversations, and the everyday warmth that often surprises people.
That is why the guides start with the questions foreign travelers actually run into:
- What happens when a foreign passport enters a real-name booking system
- Whether a foreign card will actually work inside Alipay or WeChat
- What to do when an app wants a Chinese phone number
- Where English-language booking pages are useful, and where they fall short
- How to handle train stations, attraction tickets, and local apps that assume you already know the rules
How I Build the Guides
Whenever possible, I start with Chinese primary sources: official policy pages, 12306 railway information, app notices, platform rules, and Chinese-language traveler reports.
Then I turn that into the part travelers actually need: what to do before flying, what to expect after landing, where things commonly fail, and what backup option makes sense.
I also try to keep the tone honest. If something is easy, I will say so. If something is annoying, I will say that too. I would rather prepare you well than pretend every step is seamless.
The site is independent. It does not sell tours, paid rankings, or sponsored placements. Affiliate links may appear in some tool pages, but recommendations have to be useful for foreign travelers first.
What I Hope You Get From It
China is one of the most rewarding countries in the world to travel through. It is fast, layered, safe, food-obsessed, historically deep, and often much warmer to visitors than people expect.
But a first trip is much easier when someone explains the system before you land.
That is what China Trailhead is here to do: make the practical parts clear enough that you can spend less energy fighting apps and more energy actually being in China.
I hope the site helps you arrive with less anxiety and more curiosity. And I hope, somewhere along the way, China starts to feel less like a complicated destination and more like a place you can move through with confidence.