Country planning guide
Plan a household move to or from China.
Use free reviewed country facts for China. Plan an arrival, departure, or trip home around dates you set in the US Expat Desk app.
China planning facts
- Planning capital
- Beijing
- Primary time zone
- Shanghai (Asia/Shanghai)
- Currency
- Chinese yuan (CNY)
- Calling code
- +86
- Languages
- Standard Chinese
- Common date format
- YYYY-MM-DD
- Driving side
- right
- Household electricity
- 220 V
- Common plug types
- A, C and I
- Emergency numbers
- 110 police, 119 fire, 120 ambulance
- Clock changes
- No seasonal clock change.
- Measurement
- Metric for ordinary local planning
Fixed-date holiday references
These entries are planning references, not a complete holiday calendar. Confirm regional, substitute, lunar, religious, school, and employer dates.
- 01-01. New Year's Day
- 10-01. National Day
Complete 44-field evidence record
Every field is either sourced and available or marked unavailable. US Expat Desk does not copy information across countries or invent a local answer.
subdivisions. Unavailable.
Local subdivisions vary. Use the national portal before relying on a regional process.
municipality Context. Unavailable.
Municipal processes are not yet mapped for this country.
public Holidays. Available.
2 fixed-date planning references. Regional and substitute dates require confirmation.
address Format. Available.
Use China's national postal guidance before addressing mail.
measurement. Available.
Metric system for ordinary local planning. Confirm sector-specific units.
official Sources. Available.
National portal and the linked U.S. federal source directory.
us Embassy. Available.
Use the U.S. Embassy directory for the current mission website.
state Department. Available.
Open the current country information page before travel.
civil Registration. Unavailable.
No verified country-specific entry is published yet.
tax Authority. Unavailable.
No verified country-specific entry is published yet.
social Insurance. Unavailable.
No verified country-specific entry is published yet.
public Health. Unavailable.
No verified country-specific entry is published yet.
housing. Unavailable.
No verified country-specific entry is published yet.
utilities. Unavailable.
No verified country-specific entry is published yet.
driving. Unavailable.
No verified country-specific entry is published yet.
vehicle. Unavailable.
No verified country-specific entry is published yet.
education. Unavailable.
No verified country-specific entry is published yet.
employment. Unavailable.
No verified country-specific entry is published yet.
professional Licensing. Unavailable.
No verified country-specific entry is published yet.
postal. Unavailable.
No verified country-specific entry is published yet.
telecommunications. Unavailable.
No verified country-specific entry is published yet.
veterinary. Unavailable.
No verified country-specific entry is published yet.
translation. Unavailable.
No verified country-specific entry is published yet.
family Life Events. Unavailable.
No verified country-specific entry is published yet.
accessibility. Unavailable.
No verified country-specific entry is published yet.
departure. Available.
Customer-controlled departure checklist using the shared country format references.
return. Available.
Customer-controlled return checklist using the shared country format references.
Plan it in the app
The US Expat Desk app builds plans for a move, your first month abroad, a visit to the US, or a permanent return around dates you set. Coming soon to the App Store for iPhone and iPad. Get the app.
Sources and review
China national government portal. IANA Time Zone Database. Source language. Standard Chinese. Retrieved and reviewed September 22, 2026.
Limits
This page organizes planning information. It does not decide immigration status, tax, legal obligations, eligibility, document sufficiency, or official deadlines.