Primary sources first
Visa, entry and safety facts are taken from official sources — the National Immigration Administration, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, embassy advisories — not from other travel blogs.
About · 关于我们
Who we are, and how we work.
CathayGuide is an independent English-language field guide to travelling China. Here's who writes it, how we verify every page, and how we make money — in plain sight.
Our editorial principles
We started CathayGuide because travel advice for China was either a decade out of date, scraped from forums without verification, or buried in YMYL hazards — wrong visa figures that could strand someone at the border.
Every time-sensitive page cites its primary source and shows when it was last checked. Where the official position is unclear, we say so rather than guess — and we correct mistakes openly.
How we work
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Dated and re-checked
Each guide carries a "last updated" date. We re-check visa and entry rules against the official source whenever the policy changes, and on a regular review cycle.
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Corrections published
If we get something wrong, we fix it and note the change. Accuracy on YMYL topics matters more than being first.
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Commercial never editorial
Affiliate relationships are always disclosed. They never change our rankings or recommendations.
How we research each guide
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We read the source
For visa, entry and safety pages we go to the official position first — NIA notices, embassy and consulate pages, and ministry guidance — and link to it.
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We write it plainly
Then we translate the rules into plain English a first-time visitor can act on, keeping the exact figures and noting the conditions that trip people up.
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We date and revisit
Each page shows when it was last checked. When a policy changes we update the page and the date, so you always know how current the advice is.
How we make money
Affiliate commissions. Some links to VPNs, eSIMs and hotels earn us a commission if you buy through them. The commission comes from the vendor — it never adds to your cost.
What it doesn't change. Affiliate relationships have zero influence on which products we recommend or how we rank them. We base recommendations on documented features, current China-connectivity reporting and user feedback, then disclose the commercial relationship. Our top pick would still be our top pick whether or not it had an affiliate programme.
No AdSense on VPN pages. Google's ad policies conflict with VPN promotion. We use affiliate links only on those pages. Everything else may carry contextual display advertising.