Source & Update Policy | China Travel Decoded

Sources we use

National Immigration Administration (NIA / 国家移民管理局) for visa policy, visa-free transit rules, and entry requirements.
Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) for aviation rules and battery regulations on domestic flights.
China Railway 12306 for rail booking rules, ticket procedures, and station information.
Ministry of Transport and local transport bureaus for transportation regulations.
Official attraction websites and mini-programs for ticket prices, opening hours, booking rules, and temporary notices.
Local government tourism portals for city-level public information.
Multiple independent traveler reports for practical, on-the-ground context that official sources do not describe.

Sources we do not use as primary references

Travel blogs and personal websites for prices, opening hours, visa rules, or other changeable facts. They may provide supplementary experience only.
AI-generated content as evidence for factual claims. AI can assist editing and organization, but it is not a source.
Social media rumors and viral posts without confirmation from a responsible authority or operator.
Images without clear usage rights. We use original, properly licensed, or clearly labeled editorial imagery and keep source and license details where required.
Outdated guidebooks for fast-changing topics such as payments, booking systems, and immigration policy.
Unsourced aggregation sites that repeat claims without showing where they came from.

How we verify information

Direct access: We open the responsible authority or operator's source directly, including Chinese-language pages and platforms.
Cross-referencing: A claim found in only one non-official source stays unverified, receives a caveat, or remains unpublished.
Last-checked dates: Pages show when they were reviewed so readers can judge freshness.
Change-risk labels: Visa, payment, booking, and seasonal-event information is reviewed more often than stable history or geography.
Visible uncertainty: We label unresolved details instead of smoothing over gaps.
No fabricated links: We do not guess an official URL when one cannot be confirmed.

High-risk claims require a higher bar

Medical guidance, medication legality, penalties, emergency response, immigration, and personal safety require stronger evidence than an ordinary travel recommendation.

Current primary sources only: We use the responsible authority, official operator, or recognized public-health authority.
No universal claims from anecdotes: A forum answer or social post cannot establish that a medicine is legal, a treatment is safe, or a penalty will apply.
No guessed precision: We omit unsourced response times, dosage advice, detention outcomes, and similar specifics that could cause harm when wrong.
Uncertainty stays visible: When a rule or local practice cannot be confirmed, we direct travelers to the appropriate authority or leave the claim unpublished.
No individualized advice: The site provides preparation and navigation information, not medical, legal, or emergency-service guarantees.

Correction policy

Found outdated information, a broken link, an incorrect price, or something that did not match your experience? Send it through ourcorrections page. We review submissions against the strongest available source before updating a page.

Prices, opening hours, booking rules, and immigration policies change often. Always recheck critical details with the responsible official source close to your travel date.

Independence statement

This site accepts no sponsored editorial placement, paid ranking, or free travel in exchange for coverage. Recommendations are based on editorial judgment about what is genuinely useful for international visitors.

Correct before clever.

Not every source carries the same weight.

Official government sources

Official operator sources

Cross-referenced traveler reports