I’ll be going for the first time in march. Will be there for about three months. I’ll be happy to tell you what I learn once I’ve leaned it

I’ve been to Beijing many, many times. It’s really a shame with Tiananmen Square. You used to be able to walk freely there on 长安街 at anytime, including midnight, with no restrictions whatsoever. This ended when wholesome Uyghur freedom fighters started killing random civilians by ramming cars into crowds. You need an ID and security check now. Total pain on the ass. Thanks CIA

潘家园and琉璃厂has lots of very cool antiques/vintage items stores. I got an old propaganda poster and a cookbook from the ‘30s last time I went. And also an original little red book. You should definitely try to bring along a native speaker though, and preferably someone who knows their shit. These kinds of places have a reputation for being hucksters and dumb foreigners are easy marks for fake antiques.

Luckily I speak mandarin so it was very easy for me, you might have some trouble

It’s such a completely different city than it was in the early 2000s. God damn am I nostalgic for 2001 Beijing. The vibe, man! The three body problem series pretty heavily capitalized on sentimentalism towards this era. You had to have been there to see the incredible change in barely 20 years. I’m friends with a cabbie there, and the stories he tells about the 70s to now is some of the most interesting shit I’ve ever heard.

It’s gonna be hot and humid in the south! Dress accordingly and bring ways to hydrate.

Eat where locals eat. Ask people for recommendations and specifically where they like to eat. You’ll find really cool places that way.

Use trains to get around whenever you can! They’re really great.

Scope out walking tours and big tourist destinations you’d want to hit. You may need to book a tour in advance to have any chance of seeing some sights.

Give yourself at least one rest day in each location where you can just walk around a cool part of the city if you want to or just hang out in a park or sleep if you need to. Many cities have very interesting, often very old neighborhoods with unique characters. For example, I would recommend checking out some Hutongs in Beijing.

Figure out your plans for sim cards and identification and such in advance. Plan out what apps you’ll use and how you’ll navigate them if you don’t read Chinese. Many will have English modes but you’ll need to find them and familiarize yourself with mistranslations.

You’re not super super far away from Hakka walled villages for part of your trip. Could look into it as an option!

Have fun!

I live in China (Hangzhou, actually). Just to add to what people have already said. WeChat now accepts international credit/debit cards and it works fairly reliably now (my girlfriend recently visited and she was able to use both WeChat and AliPay), but I think AliPay is probably more reliable. I’m fairly confident they both would work in Guilin/Changsha, but bring cash just in case.