Two trips to China this year（Harbin，Shanghai，Shenzhen）

I hit China twice this year, first Harbin in winter and then Shanghai and Shenzhen. My Harbin trip was pretty rough since I only had an eSIM. Most spots need a local number for bookings so I ended up having to scrap a lot of my plans. The second round was way smoother. I grabbed an itinerary package online which saved me a ton of legwork on research. I also made sure to get a local SIM and a VPN, then used apps like Amap, WeChat, and Alipay. Having those set up made the whole experience much easier.

I almost got stranded during a holiday cuz the trains were completely packed, so remember book your tickets between cities early on Trip.com. China is awesome but you really need your tech and planning sorted out before you land.

P1-2: Mermaid Cave, Shenzhen

P3-4: The Oriental Pearl Tower, Shanghai

P5-6: Harbin Ice and Snow World, Harbin

P7: KK100, Shenzhen

P8:Ping An Finance Center, Shenzhen