Travelling with kids

Documents

• Children require their own passport and visa (or visa-free entitlement).
• For families with one parent travelling, Chinese authorities increasingly want a notarised letter from the absent parent giving consent. Carry it to be safe.
• Parents and children should travel with matching passports if possible.

Transport

• HSR is comfortable for kids — wide seats, big windows, walkable carriages.
• Taxis and Didi do not require child seats. If you want one, bring a portable folding car seat.
• Strollers fit on metros (most stations have lifts; not all).

Food

• Rice, noodles, dumplings, eggs are universal and kid-friendly.
• Spice tolerance varies — Sichuan, Hunan, Chongqing default to chilli; ask for bù là (not spicy) and adjust to wēi là (mildly spicy) only when ready.
• McDonald's, KFC, Pizza Hut and similar chains are everywhere as a fallback.
• Fresh fruit is excellent — winter mandarins, summer lychees, autumn persimmons.

Sights

• The Forbidden City, Great Wall (Mutianyu cable car), Terracotta Army, pandas in Chengdu, Shanghai Disneyland, Hong Kong Disneyland, Hong Kong Ocean Park, Beijing Universal Studios — all family-friendly.
• The Wild Wall sections (Jiankou) and high-altitude areas (Tibet, Jiuzhaigou) are not.
• Long imperial-tomb walks or temple sequences are tiring for under-7s; mix with playgrounds and parks.

Practicalities

• Most hotels accommodate two adults plus one child under 12 in a standard double room without extra charge.
• Diapers, baby formula and basic infant supplies are available at any large supermarket; brand familiarity will be limited.
• Public toilets are not always Western-style — squat toilets are common.

Health

• Children should have routine vaccinations up to date.
• Air quality matters more for kids — track AQI, mask if 150+.
• Sunscreen — China's sun is fierce, particularly at altitude. Sun hats matter.