How We Research

Most China travel guides ask you to trust them. We'd rather show you exactly how we know what we know — so you can check it yourself.

The short version: Every guide on UnlockChina starts from real traveler reports on Reddit, gets verified against the original threads, and is cross-checked against official sources before it's published. Every quote is dated and linked. We name our sources.

Where our evidence comes from

We work primarily from three subreddits where foreign travelers actually report what happened to them in China:

• r/travelchina — the densest source of first-hand, recent traveler experiences
• r/solotravel — independent-traveler reports, often with detailed write-ups
• r/China — broader context, expat and resident perspectives

We pull these threads directly through Reddit's own data — not through a search engine that strips context. For policy and procedure (visa rules, payment limits, customs), we then cross-check against official government and platform sources.

How we verify a quote

Before any traveler quote makes it into a guide, it goes through the same checks:

1. Pull the full original thread — not a screenshot, not a paraphrase.
2. Read the post body and the top comments, so the quote isn't taken out of context.
3. Confirm the exact wording exists in the source, and record the date and the score (upvotes).
4. Tag it Primary (a first-hand Reddit account) or Secondary (supporting context).
5. Link the original thread so you can open it and read the whole conversation.

That's why every traveler quote in our guides looks like this:

"I was at a vendor in Chongqing, ready to pay. I open Alipay… rejected. Try again… rejected. After a few attempts, my account suddenly gets suspended for 'suspicious transactions.'"

— r/travelchina · 👍 61 · October 2025 · Original thread

What we reject

• AI-generated posts. Some "local tips" threads are now written by AI. When the community flags a post as AI slop, we don't quote the body — we only use verified human comments, and we say so in the article.
• Unverifiable claims. If we can't find a real source for a price, rule, or "hack," we don't print it. If we can't confirm a product or booking, we remove it rather than guess.
• Outdated advice. China's rules change fast. A 2022 blog post is not evidence for 2026.

Dates and updates

Every guide shows when it was last updated. Policy-sensitive topics — visas, payments, banned medications — are reviewed on an ongoing basis as rules change. When we update a claim, the source date updates with it.

Why this matters

Other guides say things like "informed by 500+ traveler pain points" — but never show you which 500. We link every single one. That's the whole point: you shouldn't have to take our word for it.

Found something out of date or wrong? Tell us — hello@unlockchina.co. We read every message and update the guides.