Guangzhou

• Best use: Start with a Cantonese meal and keep the rest of the day in one part of Guangzhou. The old-city route gives you food and Shamian’s streets; the Canton Tower riverfront is a separate skyline outing.
• Starting point: Tao Tao Ju on Dishifu Road, followed by 45 minutes on Shamian if the weather and your return allow it. For less effort, choose one rice-roll meal at Yinji.
• Big mistake: Leaving payment, translation and return-route checks until you are already trying to get back.
• What to skip: Skip a wholesale district without a shopping target. Wedding-dress shopping deserves its own appointment and fee discussion; do not add it casually to sightseeing.

Getting back before pickup

Set your accommodation as the start and end of the outing. Check both journeys, waiting and any connections before leaving. Set a leave-by alarm that gets you back with time for rest and preparation before your required crew pickup. Cut the extra stop if the return becomes uncertain.

Set up Alipay or Weixin Pay before departure, then make a small test purchase. Keep another payment method and some cash available. Check the displayed total and any card or foreign-exchange fees before approving a payment.

Guangzhou Metro supports overseas contactless Visa, Mastercard, American Express and JCB cards. Look for the card-reader logo at the gate and use the same card for the journey. This does not establish acceptance on every bus, in every shop or on intercity trains; ask staff if your card fails.

City journeys and payment

Save a licensed-taxi or working Didi fallback before a late riverfront outing.

Save English and Chinese destination names in a map app that works on your device, such as Apple Maps or Amap/Gaode. Download translation languages and test Didi login while you can still receive verification messages. Do not make the outing depend on one app or an untested Wi-Fi connection.