Practical Information for visiting Sichuan

Coverage for mobile networks is excellent throughout the basin, with 5G in Chengdu and the cities, and reaches surprisingly far into the mountains along the main roads. The high plateau has gaps.

The internet is filtered. Most non-Chinese services — search, social media, messaging, mapping and many news sites — are blocked. A VPN is what most foreign visitors use and should be installed before arrival, since the means of obtaining one are themselves blocked. Expect it to work intermittently.

Payment is the bigger practical issue: Alipay and WeChat Pay dominate, both now accept foreign cards for visitors, and setting one up before arriving saves a great deal of difficulty.

Wi-Fi is widespread and usually requires a Chinese phone number to register, which is another argument for getting a local SIM.

Sichuan is safe and crime against visitors is rare. The considerations are natural hazards and access rules.

• Earthquakes: the plateau margin is highly active, and the 2008 Wenchuan quake killed tens of thousands. Aftershocks and landslides follow, and mountain roads close.
• Landslides and road closures in the rainy season, particularly on the routes to Jiuzhaigou and into the west. Build spare days in.
• Altitude in the west: Kangding is at 2,560 metres and the passes beyond go well above 4,000. Ascending from Chengdu at 500 metres in a day causes real sickness.
• Tibetan areas are subject to access restrictions that change without notice, and some prefectures periodically close to foreigners. Check before committing.
• Macaques on Mount Emei steal aggressively and bite.
• Traffic: crossing roads requires attention even on a green signal.

Chengdu has good hospitals including international clinics used to foreign patients; smaller cities are adequate and the western prefectures have limited facilities. Insurance covering evacuation is sensible if you go west.

Vaccinations: routine cover plus hepatitis A and typhoid; Japanese encephalitis and rabies for longer or rural stays. Rabies is a genuine consideration — China has a significant burden, and the macaques on Emei are a specific risk.

Altitude sickness on the plateau. Kangding, Litang at 4,000 metres and the Jiuzhaigou airport at 3,400 are all high enough to affect people arriving quickly from the basin. Ascend gradually, and note that flying directly into Jiuzhaigou’s airport catches people out.

Air quality in the basin is poor in winter, when the enclosed geography traps pollution.

Water: drink bottled or boiled; hot water is provided everywhere.

Chilli: genuinely a digestive issue for some visitors after several days.

Politics — particularly anything touching Tibet, Xinjiang or Taiwan — is not a topic to raise, and in the western prefectures a conversation can create problems for the local person rather than for you.

Photography: do not photograph police, military or government buildings. In Tibetan monasteries, ask before photographing inside and expect a fee at some.

Monasteries: walk clockwise around stupas and prayer wheels, remove hats, and do not point your feet at an altar or a monk.

At the table: the host orders, the guest of honour sits facing the door, and chopsticks are never stood upright in rice. Toasts are constant and refusing every one is awkward.

Tipping is not customary and can confuse.

Queueing is less formal than western visitors expect; hold your place.

Emergency numbers: 110 for police, 120 for ambulance, 119 for fire. English is unlikely; have your hotel or a Chinese speaker call if possible, and carry your address written in Chinese characters.

Medical. Chengdu has international clinics and major hospitals; payment is generally required upfront and insurance claimed afterwards.

Earthquakes: alerts are pushed to Chinese phones. In the mountains, the danger afterwards is rockfall and landslide rather than the shaking.

In the west, altitude illness is the most likely emergency and descent is the treatment; roads are long and hospitals far apart.

Have a VPN and a payment app working before you arrive — being unable to pay or call a taxi is the most common practical difficulty foreign visitors have here.

Several countries maintain consulates in Chengdu.