Your numbers
Working hours here
Chengdu is +6h from your team's timezone. Tell us the hours you cannot move and every city will show what your working day looks like on the local clock.
Cost breakdown
* Reference only — alternatives to central rent, or a per-meal price. Verified 2026-08-04.
Scores
Fast domestic internet, but Google, WhatsApp, Slack and most Western tools are blocked. A VPN is effectively required, sits in a legal grey area, and is periodically disrupted. Test your entire work stack before committing to a long stay.
Visa
Visa rules vary significantly by passport — confirm for yours.
A fresh allowance each time you enter. Border runs may reset it, but repeated same-day runs draw scrutiny.
Non-Schengen — days spent here do not burn your Schengen 90/180 allowance.
30-day visa-free entry applies to roughly 50 eligible nationalities — most of Europe, Japan, South Korea, Singapore, Australia, New Zealand, Brazil, and the UK and Canada since 17 February 2026. The United States is NOT on that list; US passport holders need a visa in advance. The separate 240-hour (10-day) transit exemption requires an onward ticket to a third country — China cannot be your final destination, so it is not a way to spend ten days working here. There is no digital nomad visa, and working remotely on a tourist entry is not permitted; enforcement against laptop work is reportedly light, but that is the legal position.
These visa-free policies are trials, currently set to expire 2026-12-31. Verified 2026-08-04. If your stay runs past that date, confirm the rules before booking anything.
Not a work visa. Enrol in a Chinese language program, typically 10–15 hrs/week. The common legitimate route for stays beyond 30 days. Remote work on this visa remains a grey area.
Most nomad visa applications require proof of health cover for the full permit duration — here that's 6 months.
Subscription model, cancel anytime. Check whether motorbike accidents are covered — they often are not without a local licence.
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Tax
Six-year rule: worldwide income liability only after 183+ days for six consecutive years. Before that, foreign-sourced income paid by foreign entities is generally exempt — unusually favourable for medium-term stays.
The honest note
The largest expat and maker scene outside the tier-one cities, at roughly half Shanghai's cost. Excellent food and transit. English is limited outside international circles; expect to rely on translation apps daily.
Informational only. Not legal or tax advice. Verify with the relevant authority before travelling.