China has extended key visa facilitation measures through December 31, 2026, making visa applications easier for many short-term travelers. The update centers on an expanded fingerprint exemption for eligible applicants. What’s changing? Based on notices issued by multiple Chinese embassies on December 18, applicants applying for short-term visas with a stay of no more than 180...

Most Africans arrive in China and start off in survival mode. Finding a place to sleep. Figuring out visas. Taking whatever small job comes first. Trying to understand a system that moves faster than anything they’ve seen before. It’s a normal beginning — but it shouldn’t be a permanent lifestyle. The turning point comes when you shift from surviving day-to-day to...

Looking for a quick escape this Golden Week? If you want to avoid the big crowds but still enjoy the holiday, here are some of the best day trips you can take from major cities in China. Beijing ➝ Great Wall Hike the Mutianyu or Jinshanling sections of the Great Wall for stunning views and fewer tourists compared to Badaling. Shanghai ➝ Suzhou Known as the “Venice of the...

Aside from essential apps like WeChat, Alipay, Didi, Maps, etc., one of the other apps that I use most often here is Dianping, especially for looking up restaurants and bars. It's a great way to find new places, check opening times and addresses, book tables and get some banging discounts.  Almost every restaurant or bar is guaranteed to have at least one kind of deal or discount....

Artificial intelligence is already advancing at a worrying pace. What if we don’t slam on the brakes? Experts explain what keeps them up at night   Artificial intelligence has progressed so rapidly in recent months that leading researchers have signed an open letter urging an immediate pause in its development, plus stronger regulation, due to their fears that the technology could...