Home › Travel

Getting Around China: Travel Essentials for Students

Metro, buses, Didi, shared bikes, airport transfers and high-speed trains work in much the same way in every Chinese city. Learn the system once here; each city guide then covers only the local routes and stations that matter.

✓ Last verified: September 2026Official source: China Railway 12306 (opens in a new tab)Rules, prices and apps change, so confirm before you travel.

📘 Part of our complete guide to student exchange in China

Short answer: Inside cities, use the metro (usually ¥2–10 a ride, paid by an Alipay or WeChat transit QR code), Didi for door-to-door rides and shared bikes for the last kilometre. Between cities, take high-speed rail booked on 12306 or Trip.com with your passport.

Travel Guides

High-Speed Rail Guide

12306 vs Trip.com, the 15-day booking window, passport boarding, holiday crowds and a rail cheat sheet.

A neatly arranged student study desk in a compact Hangzhou apartment, styled for an international exchange experience. On a light wood tabletop, an open slim laptop displaying a map of China, a Chinese-language textbook with sticky notes, a metro card, and a minimalist white ceramic mug of green tea sit in ordered harmony. Behind, a large window frames blurred high-rise dorm buildings and leafy campus trees. Late afternoon natural light filters in, casting soft, warm highlights on the laptop and gentle shadows across the desk. Photographic realism with a shallow depth of field keeps the desk in crisp focus while the city outside is softly bokeh’d. The atmosphere is focused, organized and aspirational, suggesting productive study and preparation for exploring China.

Essential Apps

Didi, Amap, 12306, Hellobike and the rest — what each does and how to set it up.

Weekend Trips from Hangzhou

Shanghai, Suzhou, Nanjing, water towns and mountains — with journey times.

Metro and Buses

  • Most major cities have large, modern metro systems with English signs and announcements.
  • Fares are distance-based — typically from ¥2 and rarely more than about ¥10 for a single ride.
  • Pay with the city’s transit QR code (乘车码) inside Alipay or WeChat: search “metro” or the city name plus 地铁 in the app and activate it once. Single tickets from machines also work.
  • Metros usually run from about 6:00 to 23:00. Check the last train before a late night out.
  • City buses cost about ¥1–2 and accept the same QR codes. Amap shows live bus times.
  • Expect a quick bag scan at metro entrances.

From my exchange (ZJU Zijingang, autumn 2026): We relied on Didi at first. Setting up the transport code in Alipay took about five minutes, and since then we mostly take the bus and metro. My flat to a Zhejiang FC match cost ¥4 by metro.

Didi and Taxis

  • Didi (滴滴) is China’s Uber: set a destination, see the price upfront and pay in the app. It has an English interface and also runs inside Alipay and WeChat.
  • Your pickup pin matters — choose a named gate or landmark, and check the licence plate before you get in.
  • Street taxis are metered and accept Alipay/WeChat; keep your destination in Chinese characters to show the driver.
  • At busy scenic areas taxis are sometimes restricted on weekends and holidays — the city guides flag where this happens.

Shared Bikes

  • Hellobike, Meituan and Didi bikes are everywhere; scan the QR code on the bike with Alipay, WeChat or the operator’s app to unlock.
  • A ride usually costs about ¥1.5–3 for 30 minutes; monthly passes are cheap if you ride daily.
  • Park only in marked parking zones shown in the app, or you may be charged a fee.
  • If an app opens in Chinese, look for Me (我的) → Settings (设置) → Language, or use a camera translator.

From my exchange (ZJU Zijingang, autumn 2026): I use HelloRide by scanning the bike’s QR code with Alipay, with no separate app. A one-month pass was on offer for ¥14, and parking has never been a problem.

Airport Transfers

  • Most big-city airports connect to the metro or an airport express line — usually the cheapest option.
  • Didi and official taxi ranks are the easy choice with luggage; follow the 出租车 (taxi) or 网约车 (ride-hailing pickup) signs.
  • Arriving late at night? Check the last metro time in advance and have your address in Chinese ready.
  • Many universities offer an airport pickup for exchange students on arrival day — ask your international office.

Planning Holiday Travel

National holidays — especially Spring Festival and the 1–7 October Golden Week — mean sold-out trains and packed attractions. Book as soon as tickets open, or travel just before or after. Details and dates in the rail guide.

Switching Apps to English

Alipay and WeChat follow your phone language or can be switched under Me (我的) → Settings (设置) → General (通用) → Language. 12306 has a 中/EN toggle on its opening screen, and Didi is in English by default. Menus shift slightly between updates, so a camera translator is a good fallback.

Explore Your City

Once the setup is done, the city guides cover what changes from place to place: neighbourhoods, local food, attractions, student areas and weekend trips.

Hangzhou — West Lake, tea villages, local food · Shanghai — neighbourhoods, food, day trips · Shenzhen — bay parks, beaches, Hong Kong trips · Beijing — Forbidden City, Great Wall, hutongs · Nanjing — Ming walls, Purple Mountain · Wuhan — Yangtze, East Lake · Hefei — science city, Huangshan trips · Harbin — ice festival · All city guides

Related Guides

Last updated: September 2026. Prices, opening hours and rules in China change often — treat costs as estimates and confirm anything important with the official source before you go.

Photos: Photo by Afiqah Ct on Pexels.com · Photo by Richard L on Pexels.com