Arriving in Guangzhou

Metro Line 3 (Airport South or Airport North station) runs directly to Tianhe and Zhujiang New Town, taking about 40 minutes; fare approximately ¥9–14. This is the most reliable option. Taxis from CAN cost ¥100–150 to central Guangzhou; use the official taxi rank in arrivals. Airport shuttle buses run to various city hotels. Didi works from the airport pickup zone.

China Mobile and China Unicom tourist SIMs are available at CAN arrivals. Given that Guangzhou is a gateway for business travel from Hong Kong and Southeast Asia, airport staff are familiar with assisting foreign travellers. Hong Kong SIMs with a data roaming package are a popular option for visitors spending time in both Guangzhou and HK. VPN setup must be done before arrival.

Alipay and WeChat Pay are universal in Guangzhou. The Guangzhou metro accepts Alipay and WeChat Pay as well as the local Yangcheng Tong transit card. Foreign card linking for Alipay (international version) is effective here as elsewhere. Note that older market vendors in Liwan and Xiguan sometimes prefer cash.

ATMs with foreign card support are at the airport and throughout the Tianhe and Zhujiang New Town business districts. Bank of China branches near Shamian Island can exchange cash; bring your passport. Guangzhou has a large number of money-exchange booths near Shamian Island catering to visitors, but rates at bank ATMs are generally better.

Guangzhou is UTC+8 (same as all of China despite the country's size). A practical arrival strategy is to land before 20:00 local time if possible and head directly to dinner in the evening market areas — a strong Cantonese meal is an effective anchor to the local time zone.

English is less prevalent in Guangzhou than in Shanghai, though hotels in the Tianhe and Zhujiang New Town areas have English-speaking staff. The Canton Fair (held every April and October) means the city is accustomed to international business visitors and English-language hotel service is reliable in that season. Carry the name of your destination in Chinese characters at all times. In an emergency, dial 110 or 120; hospital international centres can assist with basic English.