This is a one-person site, so the honest version of a roadmap is a short one. Everything listed below is real work in progress or a real decision under consideration — nothing here is a placeholder to look busy. If a topic you need isn't on this page, write to me; reader questions get priority over my own list.
Live now
All published guides sit in five tracks, each a self-contained journey:
- Visa & Entry — a visa checker that gives you a direct answer, the 240-hour transit rules, application steps, fees, and type-specific guides.
- Money — Alipay and WeChat Pay with foreign cards, cash, and tax refunds.
- Getting around — eSIMs and connectivity, high-speed rail, and landing at Pudong.
- Business & factories — the Canton Fair, a full factory-visit walkthrough, and the sourcing-trip service (Shanghai + ~300 km).
- Trip plans — day-by-day itineraries shaped around the visa clock.
In the works
- Visa fee tables by region researching
The reduced fee schedule differs depending on where you apply, not your passport. The UK table is live; per-country figures for other regions are being collected from official consular sources only. Where two official sources conflict — which they currently do for some jurisdictions — nothing gets published until that's resolved. - Live chat in the works
A chat option alongside the inquiry form, so quick questions don't need a form and an email address. - Policy-change email alerts planned
The visa-free lists and fee schedules have been extended repeatedly and will be again. The plan: an optional email when a policy you might rely on actually changes — not a newsletter.
Considering
Real candidates, not yet committed — told apart from the list above on purpose.
- Metro, taxis and maps that work — the Shanghai metro, Didi, and which map apps behave on each network.
- Hotels for business trips — where to stay relative to factories, fair grounds and the rail hubs.
- After the factory visit — sample follow-up, re-orders and quality checks once you're back home.
How this site stays maintained
- Visa-free country lists are re-checked monthly against the National Immigration Administration — they have been expanded repeatedly and will be again.
- Every policy page carries its verification date, and pages with known expiry dates say so (the current fee reductions run to 31 December 2026).
- Found something wrong or out of date? Email me — corrections get fixed before new pages get written.