China is one of the safest countries in the world for travelers as well as people living in China. Whether you’re exploring big cities like Shanghai or Beijing, or smaller rural areas, most visitors are surprised by how secure and orderly everything feels especially for women.
\nIn this guide, you’ll learn how safe China really is, common risks (or lack of them), and practical tips to stay safe during your trip.
\n", "contentHtml": "\t\tYes, China is extremely safe for tourists as well as for its locals and expats.
Violent crime rates are extremely low compared to many Western countries, and visitors generally report feeling comfortable walking around cities day and night. This is especially important for women, you do not need to worry at all about wearing a short dress and being harassed.
Police presence is visible in major cities, and public areas are heavily monitored, which contributes to a strong sense of safety.
In short: China is considered one of the safest major travel destinations globally.
\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tCrime against tourists is very rare. However, like anywhere in the world, petty crime can still happen. Pickpocketing, occasional scams, or overpriced taxis do occur, but generally very little, especially compared to other tourist desitantions.
If you experience pickpocketing do not hesitate to go to the police station immediately. They are very well equipped and in most of the cases they will even be able to track down the thief to get your items back. We have a friend whose phone got stolen, and within 30 minutes after he reported it to the local police station they caught the thief and he got his phone back.
\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tChina is also quite safe digitally, especially when using local apps like WeChat and Alipay
These platforms are widely trusted and used for communication, payments, and bookings.
The only thing you need to be aware of are scam calls. Sometimes, you would just get a phone call of someone trying to sell you something, or offering you a job. If you don’t speak Chinese you won’t be able to communicate with them anyways, but even if you speak Chinese and get such a phone call, simply just hang up and do not take them seriously.
\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tChina is considered very safe for solo travelers, including women.
As always, standard travel awareness applies, but risks are really low.
\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tThis is probably the “least” safe topic in China. Since China is a massively large country encompassing several climate zones and geological areas it is prone to natural disasters. Therefore, you should apply caution during taiphoon season in southern China, or the sandstorm season in the desert regions of central China and Western China.
Besides, natural hazards there is still an issue with smog in big cities. Although, we have to acknowledge a massive improvement in air pollution throughout the last 20 years, it is still not as good as in a country like Switzerland for example. Therefore, if you are prone to air pollution or asthmatic, it is recommended to use a FFP2 or FFP3 mask, as well as tracking the air quality through the AQI app and avoid unnecessary travel outside when air quality is bad.
\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tIt’s a good idea to save these numbers in your phone before traveling.
\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tAvoid these common mistakes:
\nExplore next:
→ Top 10 Destinations
→ Must-Have Apps
→ Transportation in China
→ Internet & VPN
→ Payments in China
→ Restricted Areas for Foreigners