Frequently Asked Questions
Citizens of 38 European countries can stay in China without a visa for up to 30 days.
The full list of European countries now includes Andorra, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Malta, Monaco, Montenegro, the Netherlands, North Macedonia, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain and Switzerland. Tourists from these countries will be allowed to enter China for short stays without a visa until the end of 2025.
If you are not from these countries, you may also qualify for visa-free transit for 144-hours, which applies to 58 countries. You can attend our retreat with the 1-week package. Confirm with the Chinese consulate of your passport country.
Our retreat attendees will mainly be remote workers, digital nomads and travelers who are curious about the remote work lifestyle.
China is a vast country. Our retreat is based in Yunnan Province, which is one of the best places to live in China with extraordinary natural landscape, high quality of life with affordable living cost and convenient direct flights to Southeast Asia. It is not located in Beijing, where the Great Wall is, which means we will not be visiting the Great Wall as a group.
But if you want to maximize your time in China, apply for the tourist visa before you come and take a few more weeks to visit other parts of China after the retreat.
China is now an entirely cashless society – you do not need cash even for small purchases at a food stall or in a traditional market. However, please make sure you set up Alipay or WeChat Pay with identity verification (your passport) and link your bank card before coming to China. You will be paying for everything with either of these two mobile phone-based payments.
There are mobile phone power bank stations everywhere in urban areas to help people conveniently charge their phones in case they run out of power and do not have their own portable power banks.
You will need VPN to access most websites in China. We provide enterprise-grade VPN to all of our attendees which can be used on your computer or mobile phone. In addition, we recommend purchasing eSims for your phone as an additional backup in case of temporary VPN outage, which is rare but does happen from time to time and often for no more than a few minutes.
You can choose your own SIM cards, but we recommend purchasing eSims from vendors like Holafly, Airalo or Nomad, which we have personally tested.
Our retreat is based in Mile, Yunnan Province, China. You will need to fly into Kunming Changshui International Airport and take the high-speed bullet train from Kunming City to Mile Station, which takes roughly 1.5 hours.
You will be provided with your guest house address once you signed up for the retreat.
50% of the retreat package cost can be refunded to you up to 45 days before the retreat. After that there is no refund.
We recommend installing ride share apps like DiDi before arriving in China. Ride share is widely available, safe and affordable in China. Chinese cities are also extremely walkable. There are plenty of city buses available that you can pay for with WeChat and Alipay directly upon boarding as well. Renting a car and driving is not an option due to China not recognizing international driver’s license.
All activities (nightly and weekend) are optional. Nightly activities are already included in the retreat price – with the exception of group dinners. We want to make the retreat as flexible for everyone as possible.
If you work a remote job that requires you to be online at the same time as your other colleagues in that time zone, we don’t recommend working North America/South America hours because it is the exact opposite of China’s timezone. You will be working all night and miss out on our activities. Our retreat is best suited for those who work European/Middle Eastern/Asia hours and those who are self-employed/business owners/freelancers who do not have to be online in certain hours.
While our attendees are mostly digital nomads and remote workers from all over the world, we will be interacting with locals during our nightly and weekend activities.
China does not recognize international driver’s license. In order to drive in China, you must submit your valid driver’s license from your home country as well as pass the written test in China separately. This administrative process will take longer than the retreat, so it is not possible to rent a car and drive. Instead, utilize China’s many affordable and safe ride share apps or convenient public transportation to get around.
The guest house is responsible for the catering – it includes at least 15-20 dishes in each meal, which is in buffet style. You will find a wide variety of balanced and fresh food options. The food will be cooked in Chinese cooking style. If you are a strict vegetarian or vegan, please contact us in advance so that we can coordinate with the guest house to create options for you.
The weather is mild, dry and pleasant year round in Yunnan Province. During the retreat, be prepare to enjoy this mild weather. You can always check weather forecast services for temperatures in Mile, Yunnan, China while you pack. Be prepared with some short sleeves, a few long sleeves, some light jackets and a small umbrella.
The coworking space is perched on a small hill about 5-10 minutes by ride share or bus or a 45-55 minutes walk by foot.
You must have travel and health insurance – we are not responsible for any sickness or accidents during the retreat. For mild illnesses, you can purchase over the counter medicine from local pharmacies. If you need to go to the hospital, you should go with someone from our team or a fellow attendee who speaks Chinese as there are no English-speaking doctors available. For medical emergencies, please make sure you have access to calling features on your phone and dial 120, which will dispatch the ambulance. Moderate medical expenses can be paid out of pocket and are generally much more affordable than Western countries. Large medical expenses should be covered by your insurance – please check with your insurance company in advance.
You can buy daily essentials from a local super market or convenience store – do not go to a pharmacy as in China and many other Asian countries, only medicine is sold in pharmacies.
Chinese cuisine is diverse and there are many vegetarian options when you ask in advance. However, strictly vegan food may be much more limited and require you to either 1) cook yourself 2) go to a high-end vegan restaurant which may be more expensive and limited in where you can find them. Gluten free is not a very well-known concept in China so you will have a hard time finding gluten substitute products – however, rice is always gluten free! If you have strict dietary restrictions, please contact us in advance so that we can make special arrangements for you.
However, halal food is widely available and great in the region our retreat is based in because there is a sizable Chinese Muslim population.
Kosher food is not available in China as there is virtually no Jewish population here.
We recommend getting the visa as far in advance as possible, if you intend to stay for more than 2 weeks if your country is listed as one of the 15-day visa free countries or if you intend to stay more than 1 week if your country is listed in one of the 144-hour visa-free countries. If your country is not listed in any of the above visa-free countries, you need to apply for a visa regardless. Please contact the Chinese consulate of your country to confirm how far in advance you need to apply for the visa. if you need assistance, we can contact them for you as well.
Google Map does not work very well in China – although you can access it with VPN. Apple Map is also accessible but it does not have great support for Chinese streets with no English names. The vast majority of businesses are not listed on Google Map or Apple Map, with the exception of popular tourist sites.
Amap (also known as “Gaode Map” 高德地图 in China) is the most accurate map. It is not fully translated into English but we still recommend downloading it as the interface is intuitive enough even if you do not read any Chinese. It is always recommended to copy and paste the Chinese characters of important locations you always go to which we will supply to navigate to ensure accuracy. We can also assist with direction whenever you need.
Most public toilets in China are squat toilets – it is designed to avoid any contact with unsanitary surfaces during your use of the toilet. This type of toilet may not be comfortable for those who are not used to it but please understand that it is what is available.
Please make sure you bring your own toilet paper to the toilet because there will not be any toilet paper.
However, in most higher-end hotels, including our guest house during the retreat, all toilets are Western-style sit toilets.
Please drink bottled water that you can easily buy from a supermarket or convenience store nearby. Tap water can be boiled to 100 Celsius with an electric kettle and safe to drink but we do not recommend drinking unboiled tap water in China.
No, you do not have to tip in any restaurant in China. In fact, most Chinese waiters will not come to your table at all after they deliver your meal unless you call on them.
You will pay with WeChat Pay or AliPay once you finish your meal at the front counter.
In some fast causal restaurants, you do need to pay at the time you order food just like in most other countries.
The electricity in China is 220V. If you come from Europe, your personal electronics should have the same voltage. If you come from a country with 110V (or other) electronics like the US, you should bring a mini, portable transformer with you (not adapter, but a transformer). Most laptops are dual voltage nowadays. With a global travel adapter, you should have no problem plugging into outlets in China. If you run into any issues, you can always get one locally once you arrived. We recommend having at least one portable power bank fully charged before you arrive.
Our 2025 retreat is between March 15, 2025 to April 15, 2025. You have the option of joining us for 1, 2, 3 or 4 weeks. We encourage most people to join for at least 2 weeks if you can and 4 weeks if you want to maximize your experience and save the most in your retreat fees.
We will have another one either in the summer of 2025 and/or winter of 2025. To stay tuned for updates, please subscribe in the footer of the website.
We do not recommend booking your own accommodation because 1) we have chosen our guest house building because it can accommodate our entire retreat group and it is located in the most desirable and convenient location of the city. It is also extremely modern and beautifully-constructed in Chinese architectural style. You will also receive language and checkin assistance as part of the package. As the vast majority of Chinese locals do not speak English, booking your own accommodation can be challenging. We also host nightly and weekend activities frequently during the retreat so commuting back and forth between your own accommodation can be a hassle.
If you do want to book your own accommodation for any reason, you may contact us to receive $250 off the 2-week package and $500 off the 4-week package. However, you will find that most accommodation you can book online is more expensive than the discount that you will receive from the retreat.
While the vast majority of Chinese locals do not speak English, we have Chinese-speaking attendees and someone from our hosting committee will help you out whenever you need translation. Installing a translation app on your phone also goes a long way!
We are a curated community so we do not anticipate an issue to happen with your fellow attendees most of the time. However, if you encounter any issues at all, please contact the host committee via WhatsApp or WeChat, which will be shared with you once you booked. We take complaints very seriously and will respond swiftly.
You must not bring any drugs into China, including marijuana, because any type of drugs is illegal in China.
You should also be mindful of discussing politics – please avoid it, especially any criticism towards the Chinese government.
You should also not browse any political websites that are critical towards the Chinese government while using our VPN – while the VPN grants access to every site just like you normally have access to, accessing highly-sensitive political sites of this nature will put our account in jeopardy.
Respect local laws and custom – you will enjoy China and make meaningful connections with fellow attendees and locals that may last a lifetime!
China has had multiple food safety scandals. However, the food in restaurants with moderate to good interiors are usually safe to consume. Most street vendors in licensed food fairs and night markets are okay as well. We recommend avoiding lone-standing food stalls not in an organized market.
China is extremely safe for both Chinese locals and foreigners. There are security cameras virtually in every public space in every city. Pick pockets are extremely rare even in crowded areas but please still exercise normal caution and use common sense. Do not enter unauthorized vehicles or follow anyone you don’t know to any destination.
It is more difficult to find other cuisines in China, especially in smaller cities like the one our retreat is based in. In big cities, there are more Western-style restaurants. In smaller cities like Mile (where our retreat is based), you will still find Western fast food chains like McDonalds or Pizza Hut, although the food is adapted to Chinese taste. There may be a few select Western-style restaurants. You can ask us for help if you want to dine in Western-style restaurants.
You will not find English menus in most restaurants. However, most restaurants have photos of their menu items which makes it easier for you to identify food you want to order. You can also use translation apps to communicate with wait staff. If you have complicated requests or strict dietary restrictions, please ask one of the attendees who speak Chinese or our hosting committee to help you translate.
Most street signs and store signs are not in English. You can translate some of them using the camera function in most translation apps. Or use common sense and walk into a store to see what it sells.